The Central Garden in Bloom

The Central Garden at the Getty Center is at its annual peak—it's the perfect spot for an afternoon stroll or an outing with kids.


Central Garden at the Getty Center

Cannas and alstroemerias brighten the Bowl Garden, and the waterfall into the azalea pool provides soothing sounds

April 25, 2006—Late rains and warming sun are bringing out the colors in the Central Garden at the Getty Center, a 134,000-square-foot living sculpture by Los Angeles artist Robert Irwin. Every spot offers a different color, shape, and scent—from the luminous orange of California poppies along the streamside path to the scarlet red of roses around the azalea pool.

The Central Garden is constantly replanted, so it will never have the same combination of plants again. This spring's color palette is a fleeting work of art, which will be transformed again over the coming weeks as these blooms fade and new ones appear.

Pinks, reds, and purples greet you along the zigzag path down the stream. Dainty bells on the low-lying kalanchoes, echeverias, and houseleeks are set off by exuberant bouquets atop the Madeira geraniums.

Central Garden at the Getty Center
Looking down the streamside path to the bougainvillea trellises that mark the perimeter of the Bowl Garden

The small, tubular flowers of coral fountains provide sparks of red, and hummingbirds dart in and out amid the fuchsias and honeywort.

A variety of textures, patterns, and surfaces complement the flowers—lime and burgundy stripes, silver lace, succulent mounds of lime and orange.

A rainbow of color invites you to the circular maze around the azalea pool. There, the blues and purples of sweet peas, irises, and columbines contrast with the reds, pinks, and oranges of roses, daisies, and corn cockles and the cheery yellows of Canary Island daisies and meadowfoam.

Poppies, some the size of dessert plates, are unfurling their delicately crinkled petals in shades of pink, orange, and red. Don't miss the unbelievable alliums, with light purple globes atop thick stalks. Some are four feet high, others have basketball-sized flower heads.

Central Garden at the Getty Center

View of the Getty Museum from the benches overlooking the azalea pool

Foliage of copper, lime, grey, and burgundy adds to the dazzling range of colors, creating the impression of a vibrant cottage garden within an elegant architectural frame.

More bursts of color greet you throughout the Getty Center grounds: red-blooming succulents in planters in the Museum Courtyard, yellow fruits on cacti in the Cactus Garden, bird of paradise outside the Getty Research Institute.

Each week brings new blooms and new surprises.


How to Get Here
Admission to the Getty Center is always free. See Hours, Directions, Parking for directions and parking information.


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