It’s one of my favorite places, so on my recent trip to California (my first since the start of Covid in 2020) of course I had to revisit the beautiful Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades. Here are a few random images of art that impressed me inside the building — something different, since I usually focus on the gardens and beautiful views.
An archer made of glazed brick from the reign of Darius I, 522-486 BC. He was one of many decorating the walls of the palace at Susa in Iran. Beautiful colors!
Persian Guard from Persepolis in Iran. 486-465 BC
Awesome and dramatic marble sculpture of Mithras standing on the back of a bull and sacrificing it with a dagger. This Roman sculpture dates from AD 150-200.Great view of the Outer Peristyle Garden and pool from second floor balcony. It was HOT the day I was there, 95 degrees by noon, and I really wanted to sit in that pool for a while.
The Getty Villa is smaller and more serene than the big Getty Center museum in Los Angeles. Here’s a link to their website for info about visiting. If you’re in the area it’s worth a visit!
A friend told us about Schnormeier Gardens in central Ohio — privately-owned gardens open to the public for just one weekend a year. This year’s open-house fell on June 4-7, and the weather was great — so off we went.
There are actually nine separate gardens on the 75-acre grounds, along with water features including a lake, stream, and waterfall as well as a woodland creek. It’s a beautiful place, with a distinctive Asian influence to most of the gardens. You can read more about the grounds at this link to the Schnormeier Gardens website, but I’m going to focus on the sculpture, because that’s what I loved most.
“Affirmation of Rejection” by Michael Kenneth Smith, in the Meadow Garden
“Draco Terribilis” by Lou Ferrario, in the Chinese Cup Garden
“Evolving Sphere” by Thomas A. Yano, in the Stream Garden
One of many animal sculptures in the gardens. This one is near the woodland garden.
“Fatman Dancing” by Michael Kenneth Smith, in the Meadow Garden
There are many more sculptures scattered throughout the gardens, as well as a private residence inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater. A beautiful place to visit — and almost hidden in the hills near Gambier and Mount Vernon. In fact we had a bit of an adventure finding our way out of the place without a GPS. But a lovely day regardless, and so glad the gardens are open once a year so the public can enjoy them!
Yesterday’s discovery: the Secret Garden at Inniswood.
We went in through the secret entrance, a child-height tunnel made of green branches. This guardian met us at the entrance to the brick-walled garden:
Owl guarding the corner of the Secret Garden
Outside, looking in through the crumbled wall.
A little bit of magic.
Inside, looking out.
The Secret Garden is close to the Sisters’ Garden inside the park, one of several areas geared toward children — but I liked it, too! Inniswood is a 121-acre park in Westerville, Ohio with gardens, trails, water features and a beautiful and aromatic herb garden. Here’s the link to the metro park site about Inniswood gardens.
Author Anne Marie Lutz 