Central Garden at The Getty Museum

One of my favorite parts of visiting the Getty Center in Brentwood besides the art works is the garden in the back. The garden is designed with circle of hedges and trees. 

Central Garden is at the heart of the famous Getty Center which is a 134,000 square-foot garden created by artist Robert Irwin. The garden features a ravine and tree-lined walkways. The walkways traverse a stream that winds through a variety of plants and descends to a plaza with bougainvillea arbors. The arbor itself is a piece of art used to hold the bougainvillea vines.  A stream cascades over a stone waterfall into the signature maze of clipped azaleas surrounded by a garden of specialty plants.

The garden is well kept and maintained with all the plants looking nice; no dead foliage anywhere and the hedge are neatly trimmed. The garden needs to be cared for continuously, this is an example of what a garden in Los Angeles should be. Most of the plants are not from somewhere and are not suited for the Los Angeles climate.

If you like a good place to watch the sun set while eating al fresco, the Central Garden should be high on your list when visiting the Los Angeles region. This garden is not for serious gardeners but would be good just for visiting.

The Getty Center is located at 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles, CA, 90049. Other than the parking fee, there is no entrance fee to visit the museum.

Tree Rose

Tree roses are also known as standard roses. They are cultivated by grafting a rose on a trunk to produce a tall plant that has long stems and colorful flowers. Standard roses combine the best elements of a strong rootstock, a tall stem, and the desired flower. Standard roses are used in the landscape to create height.

Just Joey Tree Rose

Full-size standard roses grow 4 to 6 feet while varieties grow 12 inches tall. Dwarf standard roses share the tree-like shape, the long stems, and the rich flower color, just in a smaller size.

I have planted several standard roses a few years ago and they are still in very good shape. I give them a good pruning every spring and once again middle of summer; severe pruning in spring must be done in order to have a compact crown. Deadheading must be done as soon as the flowers fade. 

Red Ingrid Bergman Tree Rose

Some of my favorite tree rose I have in my garden are the Just Joey and the red Ingrid Bergman which I have several. Although both roses does not have fragrance, their bloom size and form are spectacular.

Freesia

Freesias are one of the earliest corms to bloom in spring. These are perennial bulbs, easy to grow and consistently come back every spring with little care.

This bulb is a native of southern Africa from Kenya down to South Africa. It has blade like leaves with fragrant funnel-shaped flowers. The flowers come in many different colors and some have combination of colors.

Freesias grow very well in Southern California. I planted several bulbs a few years ago and come back every year from mid-winter to early spring. They not only come back but also produce more freesia; from a few bulbs I now have clusters of bulbs. You can plant the bulbs in winter and you can forget it but it will surely come back without any additional care. 

Freesia flowers are not only used as a cut flower but also used in commercial use for its essential oil, it is used in perfumes and scented oils and toiletries.

Daffodils

Daffodils or Narcissus are bulbs that look like onions with flowers that have pronounced necks. The leafless stems, appearing from early to late spring bear from 1 to 20 blooms. Each flower has a central bell that looks like a bowl bowl or disc-shaped corona surrounded by a ring of six floral leaves.

Flower color varies from white through yellow to deep orange. The most common color is the bright yellow. Breeders have developed some daffodils with double, triple, or ambiguously multiple rows and layers of segments, and several wild species also have known double variants.

Daffodils don’t thrive very well in Southern California. The ones that I have planted come back the following year but most don’t come grow back by the third year. One exception is the smaller variety. The leaves and flowers are small but they grow back every spring unlike the larger variety. This one measures approximately 4 to 5 inches in height. Each bulb has 4 to 5 flowers per bulb. The flower color is as bright yellow as the bigger variety.

 

This variety may not be as stunning as the ones grown in colder climates but it is beautiful nonetheless. 

Daffodils makes you feel spring.

Camellia

One of Southern California’s winter blooming plants in the garden is the camellia.

Camellias include about 80 species most of which are used as ornamental plants. The leaves are leathery and evergreen. They are native to southern and eastern Asia, and have been cultivated in China, Japan and Korea for centuries.

They are easy to grow in Southern California with a little extra care, some shade and plenty of organic mulch.

I planted several shrubs a few years ago and they are now in full bloom. I planted the Japonica variety which is characterized by huge, double blooms.

Pink Japonica Camellia

 

Once they are established, they require little maintenance and you can enjoy their blooms every year. In Southern California where summer can be dry and hot, plant them where there is some shade to protect the plant from the scorching sun. Weekly watering is also recommended to prevent the plant from drying out.

Red Japonica Camellia

 

Late winter to early spring is the best time to buy and plant camellias. Buy the plant that is already in bloom so you know how the bloom looks like.

Bud of a Red Japonica Ready to Open