Santa Monica Hideaway - The Ambrose

The Ambrose Hotel

Befitting the Southern California locale, this lovely hotel features in-ground and container plantings enlivened by colorful, textural succulents and cycads. Santa Monica is a seaside town - an 8-square-mile community tucked within the city limits of Los Angeles, bolstered by a beautiful beach, the famous Pier, Ferris Wheel, and the vibrant 3rd Street promenade for dining, shopping, and night life. On a previous L.A. sojourn, I discovered this boutique hotel about a mile or so from the ocean. In a lovely part of Santa Monica, The Ambrose is walking distance to hip Montana Avenue, a stretch filled with restaurants, shops and galleries. Won over by the convenient, continental breakfast buffet with fresh organic fruit, I was smitten by the hotel's iconic London Taxi that allows guests to hop a ride to nearby attractions.The Ambrose is often fully booked, so when I planned my spontaneous recent trip, I shifted my dates slightly in order to stay 3 consecutive nights.

In the hotel's sequestered front garden, a pond and the sounds of falling water add up to a cool, soothing effect. The hotel's interior decor puts a contemporary twist on Arts & Crafts style, for a serenely comfortable atmosphere.

An Asian influence emerges in the layout of this enclosed space.

Variegated Aeonium plays off the dark strappy leaves of a Phormium in sunny, streetside plantings, while Kniphofias punctuate plantings along the front driveway.

The Ambrose composts, recycles, and as of last year, 

the hotel can boast LEED Silver certification for its conservations efforts, use of non-toxic products, and commonsense practices such as windows that open to let in fresh air! 

Landscape Architect:  Troller - Mayer Associates, Glendale, CA

Adieu to Malibu .. Adamson House Part III

Historic Adamson House Landscape

"Malibu's earliest history begins at this site where the Chumash people lived in a thriving village they called Humaliwo meaning,

"the surf sounds loudly.""

Part III ... final vignettes to say Adieu.


UNDER CONSTRUCTION ...

"Malibu modern history begins around 1802 when Jose Tapia received a Spanish land grant that enabled him to establish the Malibu Rancho - the first large ranch in this area. "

Links to Historic Adamson House, Part I & Part II

Brilliantly Patterned Malibu Tile

City of Angels Sojourn - Adamson House

City of Angels Sojourn - Adamson House, Part I

Dombeya cayeuxii  

Adamson House gardens - Malibu, California.

On a recent City of Angels sojourn, I encountered the extravagant, dangling blooms of a mature, pink snowball tree.

 Colorful tiles from the Malibu Potteries 

adorn historic Adamson House and an expansive landscape 0f venerable trees.

A post in two parts:

On this trip I revisited the gardens of the Getty Center in Los Angeles and the Getty Villa in Malibu. 

They'll soon be featured here.

A serendipitous meeting - one that would not have taken place one minute later or earlier, 

resulted in an opportunity to tour the gardens of the Adamson House:

a lovely property overlooking the Pacific Ocean that had somehow escaped my travel writer's radar.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places,

and a showcase for colorful tilework, Adamson House is adjacent to the Malibu Lagoon Museum, 

situated in the house's attached 5-car garage.

Although part of the California State Parks,

the Adamson House and surrounding gardens receive loving support from the

Friends of the Historic Adamson House & Malibu Lagoon Museum.

Link to the Adamson House on Bay Area Tendrils Garden Travel Buzz 

- Column on the Right -

More to follow!

An old color chart for drawing inks ... one of my favorite things.

I pooh-poohed the West Coast for decades, taking my very first flight east to Boston at age 18.

My plan included a visit to Cape Cod, but it was April - the off-season, 

a time of year when driving was the only option. Instead, I took a train to Cape Ann on the North Shore, 

where I returned a couple months later to live and work.

On my next flight, I traveled north to Montreal, followed by an, 'if it's Tuesday this must be Belgium' trip to Europe.

Never would I have imagined living in Northern California, or looking forward to sojourns 

to sun-drenched Los Angeles, the City of Angels.

And that brings up the subject of color. 

When I lived in Chicago I preferred  black clothing, and earth tones for decor.

Since identifying a visceral need for blue skies and warmer temperatures, 

...hence the move West, I've embraced vivid hues. 

Be it personal adornment, garden ornament, or a planting scheme that juxtaposes brilliantly saturated 'hot' tones,

I now find bold colors uplifting.

 Your comments on color are invited!

Besotted in Berkeley! UC Botanical Garden

Babiana ringens - the South African baboon flower grows in the South Africa - Karoo section of the UC Botanical Garden. The Great Karoo, a region of hot, arid plains: A vast landscape where an amazing 9000 plant species appear (www.centralkaroo.ca.za/).

Photos Courtesy : University of California Botanical Garden

Arisaema sikokianum - the cobra lily grows in the Garden's Asia section, encompassing microclimates and habitats from sunny havens to shady glens. I'm besotted by the dazzling shapes and forms of these botanical treasures!

Regardless of the time of year,  a visit to the UC Botanical Garden surprises and delights.

Cornus florida urbiana ... Mexican dogwood, growing in the UCBG Mesoamerica section.

Plants from mountainous areas, as well as the cloud forests of Mexico and Central America 

appear in this area of the Garden. Gardeners in the San Francisco Bay Area incorporate many of these species into our mixed borders, from agaves and dahlias to salvias and fuchsias. Click on link for more on the University of California Botanical Garden:

http://bayareatendrils.blogspot.com/2009/11/enchanted-flora-uc-botanical-garden.html

Enchanted Flora .. U.C. Botanical Garden

Enchanted Flora

University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley - Part II

Chiranthodendron pentadactylon .. Monkey Paw or Monkey's Hand Tree,

- a relative of California Fremontodendron, the flannel bush -

this evergreen tree grows in the Garden's MesoAmerica Section.

Photos Courtesy: University of California Botanical Garden

Doryanthes palmeri, the spear lily, blooming in the Garden's Australasia Section.

On a brisk Fall Day, glowing reminders of a World of Flora. Other continents ... other seasons. The Garden's Canary Island section is located above the Garden of Old Roses, at the acme of the Garden, overlooking breathtaking views of the San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. Here, a vigorous shrub, Salvia canariensis blooms in the foreground and also further back.

A detail of the Canary Island section, with the flowers of Aeonium lancerottense

taking center stage.

Click on link for more on UCBG:

http://bayareatendrils.blogspot.com/2009/11/autumn-in-east-bay-and-preview-of.html