a day at the Getty Villa

The highlight of our short stay in Malibu was a visit to the Getty Villa, which rises high above the coast. The home, and now museum, is modeled after an ancient villa in Herculaneum, outside of Pompeii. The landscape draws links to ancient Mediterranean garden traditions, through terracing, an herb garden, and plants (like Acanthus) that played an important role in ancient art and architecture (the Acanthus leaf, a symbol of everlasting life, adorns the Corinthian column).

Terraces along the entry walk, planted in olive and Italian Cypress:

Gorgeous plantings of prostrate rosemary trailing over concrete walls:

This fountain is designed so that the water falling over wet stones creates a striking pattern:

I love these planters of lavender at the edge of the amphitheater:

The herb garden was not fussy-- simple rectangles were filled with large areas or lines of one plant, creating large brushes of color and texture:

Finally, the sun peaked out-- what an amazing view of the Pacific!

swim, eat, repeat

I had the amazing fortune of spending the weekend with a wonderful group of women in a lovely house in Palm Springs over the weekend. I kept wanting to say I was at the beach, but of course it was the desert, but it was LIKE the beach in that all we had to do was relax-- in the sun, in the shade, in the pool, or eating delicious food that we all chipped in to prepare. With high temperatures above 100, it was about 20 degrees or so hotter than LA, hot enough (and indulgent enough) for an afternoon siesta. Good thing the pool was always there, and so were we...

Mount San Jacinto to the west

The pool was all we needed to get cool, to relax, to meditate, to get exercise, and to socialize.

A beautiful in-ground planting of bougainvillea:

Robust olive trees in a nearby park

a gray day at the beach

A few weekends ago Taylor and I camped at Leo Carillo State Beach in Malibu. Since I was hoping for a sunny day of swimming, this was the first time I was disappointed by June Gloom. Usually it seems like a cozy, calming break from the relentlessly perfect, sunny weather here, but not when you are at the beach! Had we known, we may have committed to having a campfire and a warm dinner to ward off the misty chill in the air. The beach was beautiful despite the gray skies, and I enjoyed watching surfers wait patiently out by the rocks, and then catch a few gentle waves.