Spend Fall in Getty’s Central Garden
A guide to this season’s beautiful plants and flowers
Millet (Pennisetum glaucum), often used as a symbol for autumn harvest, stand tall among a bed of chrysanthemum flowers.
Body Content
As the weather changes, so does the mood in the Central Garden, the living work of art at the heart of the Getty Center.
It’s All about the Vibes
Robert Irwin, the artist who created the Central Garden, did so with the four seasons in mind. According to Irwin, as summer dips into autumn, bringing shorter days and overcast skies, the garden’s “colors get richer, darker with more reds, browns, and grays.”
These changes in color represent Irwin’s idea of the overall feeling or mood of autumn, filled with saturated colors and intensity.
Munstead Wood roses reach toward the sky.
The Munstead Wood rose emits a strong fruity fragrance reminiscent of Old Rose.
Getty Horticulturist Jackie Flor chose to plant an array of chrysanthemums to highlight bold autumn hues. The flowers line paths on both sides of the garden’s bowl.
A Spotlight on Flora and Fauna
The garden currently has more than 800 varieties of plants in rotation. Irwin’s vision for it as “always changing, never twice the same” holds true 25 years after the Center’s opening.
With so much to take in, here’s a handful of flora and fauna to look out for this autumn.
Large firecracker plants bloom nonstop through summer and fall attracting numerous hummingbirds. If you pause on the path by this large, bushy plant, you can often hear the hummingbirds buzzing all around you.
A hummingbird sips from a Mexican Pitcher Sage (Lepechinia hastata).
Large firecracker plants in the garden attract hummingbirds.
The Tatarian aster Jindai is one of the tallest asters, reaching 5-6 feet in height. Most asters are between 2-3 feet.
Tall tatarian asters (Aster tataricus ‘Jindai’) lean on the arbor for support.
Tatarian aster blooms in the garden.
Would it even be autumn without marigolds framing the edges of the garden path?
Tip for your home garden: these golden pom poms give off a scent that acts as an insect repellent.
Marigolds (tagetes) surround a bed of chrysanthemums.
Butterfly bushes feed the local butterfly population. Monarchs and Painted Lady butterflies, among others, are often seen flitting from flower to flower in the gardens.
A monarch butterfly rests on a Buddleja ‘Lochinch’ variety of Butterfly Bush.
A Marine Blue butterfly sips from Veronica flowers.
Allamanda vines are more commonly found with yellow flowers, but these purple allamanda creep to new heights on one of the garden’s arbors.
Purple allamanda vines (Allamanda blanchetii) grow on an arbor.
On the edge of one flower bed, gerbera daisy stalks peek out above the leaves. The plants are currently setting seeds with tiny florets that are surprisingly similar to those of dandelions.
A gerbera daisy (Gerbera jamesonii or Transvaal Daisy) is a feeding ground for many insects. Take a closer peek to see a couple of bug friends.
Up close the gerbera daisy florets resemble dandelions.
Royal Jubilee roses offer pops of pink between lush green leaves. There are many varieties of roses in the garden, and each has a unique fragrance.
Royal Jubilee roses tower over purple chrysanthemums.
Enjoy the gardens!
