Stop 08

Narrator: The Bowl Garden is laid out in circular paths at various levels. Near the perimeter, you can’t help but notice a pungent whiff that emanates from small plants with tiny lavender flowers: “society garlic.” In other areas of the Bowl, trellises bring pleasant scents up to nose-level: wisteria, sweet pea … There are lots of roses. And boxwood—clipped hedges traditional to gardens—which have a very distinctive, musty smell.

The Bowl garden is really a flower garden; a riot of varying colors, heights, textures. It might remind you of an Impressionist painting—or of Giverny, the famous garden of Impressionist artist Claude Monet—for its overabundance and exuberance.

[SFX: a tapestry of sounds: birds, bees, voices, including foreign languages]

Richard Rand: The garden gets replanted three times of year, so visitors coming at different times have different experiences. We consider them as sort of horticultural exhibitions.

Jim Duggan: The spring garden is a variety of poppies and California native annuals. The summer garden features dahlias. And the winter garden is the—willows, dogwoods—that have very beautiful colored bark when they lose their leaves. One of the key things about the Garden is that it stays active, changing, experiential. We’ll use plants for their moment.

Narrator: Some plants—especially the shrubs and small trees—are perennial: Pomegranate, Kangaroo Paw, Hibiscus, Angels Trumpet. Other plants, especially flowers, die or go dormant with the change of seasons.

Charlotte Frieze: Robert Irwin selected plants based on their color and placed them next to each other, even though they might not have the same needs, the requirement for the same amount of water.

Narrator: Lots of plants thrive in this mild climate, especially those from similar regions around the world, like New Zealand, South Africa, the Mediterranean. A key factor in all of this richness is the care that goes into the garden.

[SFX: sound of gardeners tilling soil, etc]

Diana Winston: This garden didn’t just magically appear. There was someone who designed the garden. And then there were laborers, and gardeners. And the people who tend it every single day ...

Narrator: It’s all part of a commitment to maintaining this garden not only as a public space, but as a work of art.