The Getty Center/ Views of the Garden

The Getty Center buildings are situated at the top of a hillside.

From the upper floors I can look down at the garden on the south side of the museum.

The trees in bloom now are Crape Myrtle trees.

The umbrella shaped form is a metal framework supporting a Bougainvillea vine, growing from the inside and then spilling out over the top.

The Getty Center/ Architecture

Richard Meier, the architect of the Getty Center, utilized strict geometry in this series of buildings.  The trees and plantings are mostly all lined up.

The cladding materials of travertine,

aluminium panels and 

window panes

are mostly units

of squares.

The structures are monochromatic.

The trees and plants add color and softness.

The Getty Center/ Cactus Garden

On the southeast side of the Getty Center is the Cactus Garden.

The cactus and succulents are from warm arid areas throughout the world.

Some of the plants have grown as big as trees.

This promontory is not accessible to regular visitors.

I can just look down at the arrangement of Barrel Cactus and other succulents.

This is the view looking up from the lower Cactus Garden to the Museum.

A Santa Barbara Hillside

On a Santa Barbara hillside, only a few miles from the ocean,

grow Firecracker Plants (Russelia equisetiformis), Rosemary,

and cactus (Opuntia basilavis).

But the most remarkable growing things are the Coastal Live Oaks (Quercus agrifolia).

In this grove of trees, the largest are a few centuries old.

They are evergreens with small, leathery leaves, adapted to dry summers, able to extract moisture from fog from the ocean.

Three Insects, Three Spiders and One Lizard

I have tried to plan my small urban garden to attract wildlife.  Sometimes I am surprised by what shows up.  This is a female Praying Mantis (Stagmomantis californica).  The males are thinner and have longer wings.

Some other visitors are: a Bumblebee (Bombus californicus),

a Katydid (Scudderia mexicana),

a Daring Jumping Spider (Phidippus audax), with iridescent green mouth parts,

a Crab Spider (Misumenoides formosipes),

and this one (just in time for Halloween) a Western Spotted Orb Weaver (Neoscona oxacensis) weaving its web in the evening,

and an Alligator Lizard (Elgaria multicarinata) on the compost pile.

October in my Neighborhood

October is more like summer than fall where I live, usually bright and sunny, with summer flowers still blooming. This is Arabian Lilac (Vitex trifolia purpurea),

Crape Myrtle or Lagerstroemia with red blossoms

or white,

Red Gum Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus camaldulensis).

Melaleuca quinquenervia,

and Lantana camara.

A Garden near the Ocean/ Miscellaneous Plants

The Island Bush Poppy (Dendromecon harfordii) is a large shrub covered with flowers.

The poppy is growing beside Hydrangea macrophylla,

with flowers that have begun to turn mossy-green this time of year.

Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea),

Pelargonium,

and Dahlias are all growing in this garden near the ocean.