CLASSICALLY TRAINED PARADISE NESTLES IN THE GLEAMING STEEL CURVES OF DISNEY HALL.Byline: Story by Elizabeth Smilor Correspondent Perched amid the soaring brushed steel of the Walt Disney Concert Hall This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please help Wikipedia by adding references. See the for details. This article has been tagged since September 2007. in downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area. The sprawling, multi-centered megacity is such that its downtown core is often considered just another district like Hollywood or is an unexpectedly serene oasis filled with vibrant colors, textures and fragrances that flow much like a classical concerto. This three-fourths-acre city garden, situated 34 feet above street level, invites visitors to relax and take in the beauty of nature among skyscrapers. Open daily, it has scattered tables that are typically full during lunchtime. During Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic (LAP) is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States. History Founded in 1919 by William Andrews Clark, Jr. intermissions, guests may also roam the grounds. And a new series of quarterly garden talks further showcases the space and offers practical tips. ``The garden serves two functions,'' says Howard Sherman, vice president of operations for the concert hall. ``It's an added experience for concertgoers as well as being a true urban oasis An urban oasis is a public open space, park, or plaza which is located in between buildings or formed by surrounding buildings in an urban setting. It can exist in any kind of culture. There are various sizes of urban oases. for daytime visitors.'' There's much to learn from the garden, which features 150 different plants, including 45 types of blooming trees. ``This is a gardener's garden,'' says Brian Helgoe, general manager of Estate Gardens by ValleyCrest, which was contracted a year ago to maintain the garden. ``We shape it so it is appropriate for the season.'' The array of trees was an integral part of the vision of Disney Hall architect Frank Gehry Frank Owen Gehry, CC (born Ephraim Owen Goldberg, February 28, 1929) is a Pritzker Prize winning architect based in Los Angeles, California. His buildings, including his private residence, have become tourist attractions. , along with landscape designer Melinda Taylor and landscape architect Larry Moline. ``The garden was designed to be a complementary aspect to the building,'' says Taylor. ``It also provides a space that emphasizes the scale of the human vs. the majestic scale of the architecture.'' The low-canopy trees bring the space down to the human level, she says. The trees, which were mature when they were planted by crane into the garden beds, were also chosen for their flowers. ``Frank (Gehry) wanted to use trees with color that would be reflected in the steel throughout the year,'' says Taylor, whose firm, Melinda Taylor & Associates, is located in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . Much like the building, there are no straight lines in the garden. Distinct spaces are linked by coordinating plants and a meandering travertine travertine (trăv`ərtĭn, –tēn), form of massive calcium carbonate, CaCO3, resulting from deposition by springs or rivers. and concrete path. These areas flow much like a piece of music, with crescendos of tall and brightly colored plants followed by softer, lower plants. It is not an institutional, formal garden but rather a free-flowing one that feels as comfortable as your own backyard. That's how Lillian Disney Lillian Marie Bounds (b. February 15 1900, Spalding, Idaho – d. December 16 1997, Los Angeles, California, aged 97) was the wife of Walt Disney from 1925 until his death in 1966. She later married John L. Truyens in 1969 and remained married to him until his death in 1981. wanted it, says Taylor. Walt Disney's widow, who in 1987 pledged $50 million toward the construction of a new home for the L.A. Philharmonic, was an avid gardener. She died six years before the concert hall's completion in 2003. The centerpiece of the garden, a Gehry- designed, 15-ton Delftware delftware. The earliest delftware was a faience, a heavy, brown earthenware with opaque white glaze and polychrome decoration, made in the late 16th cent. Some of the earliest imitations of Chinese and Japanese porcelain were made at Delft in the 17th cent. mosaic rose-shaped fountain, is a tribute to her. The garden is intentionally pruned and tended to be at its peak at the end of September when the L.A. Philharmonic season begins, Helgoe says. However, it is also designed to offer something different throughout the year. ``At any point in the year, some of the trees are flowering,'' Helgoe explains. ``We replant re·plant v. To reattach an organ, limb, or other body part surgically to the original site. n. An organ, limb, or body part that has been replanted. quarterly, and we always find something that will surprise even seasoned gardeners.'' Plants are also chosen for their color, fragrance and ability to attract birds, butterflies and beneficial insects, Helgoe says. ``We coordinate all the colors in threes to unify the garden,'' he says, as he points to different purple-hued plants. ``So, when you're in the space, you feel like you're in a room.'' Some plants, like music, are chosen for their dramatic effect. The elevator opens to a Montanoa, which grows to 15 to 20 feet tall and has daisy-like flowers. Other plants are allowed to grow over the wall so people below can get a glimpse of their beauty. In the fall, Dombeya trees will fill with thousands of large pink blossoms that are reflected in the hall's cladding. ``It is as successful as I'd hoped it would be -- and more,'' says Taylor, noting the many different uses of the space, including tai chi Tai Chi Definition T'ai chi is a Chinese exercise system that uses slow, smooth body movements to achieve a state of relaxation of both body and mind. in the morning, dog-walking and numerous children's events at the W.M. Keck Foundation Children's Amphitheatre within the garden. ``I wish we had more spaces like that, and I think we will.'' Helgoe hopes the garden talks, which continue Wednesday with noted salvia salvia: see sage. salvia Any of about 700 species of herbaceous and woody plants that make up the genus Salvia, in the mint family. Some members (e.g., sage) are important as sources of flavouring. expert Betsy Clebsch, will draw even more people to the space. ``I hope people get inspired (to) create great gardens in their own environments,'' says Helgoe. ``This garden will keep up with the times. So this will always be an avant-garde place -- a fresh part of the Walt Disney Concert Hall.'' WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL URBAN GARDEN What: Garden Talks: Salvias with Betsy Clebsch, author of ``The New Book of Salvias,'' Wednesday. Winter Pruning with Brian Helgoe on Dec. 13. Attracting Birds and Butterflies on March 14, speaker to be announced To be announced (TBA) A contract for the purchase or sale of an MBS to be delivered at an agreed-upon future date but does not include a specified pool number and number of pools or precise amount to be delivered. . All the free, hourlong talks start at noon in the W.M. Keck Foundation Children's Amphitheatre within the garden and include a garden tour. Food and beverages will be sold. Where: Third floor of hall at 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown Los Angeles. When: Open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Tours are offered on weekends at 12:45 p.m. Cost: Free. Parking at the concert hall is $8 with a tour/event validation for up to three hours. Information: Tour department at (213) 972-3688. CAPTION(S): 7 photos Photo: (1 -- cover -- color) SOUND GARDEN Walt Disney Concert Hall's outdoor oasis provides a symphony for the senses (2 -- 5 -- color) Clockwise from left, Verbena bonariensis flowers, commonly known as verbenas; Persicaria's bright red stems are a part of the garden's natural flourish; a coral tree shades a portion of the garden; and verbenas provide a natural foil to the metallic overtures of the Disney Hall's sculpted sculpt v. sculpt·ed, sculpt·ing, sculpts v.tr. 1. To sculpture (an object). 2. To shape, mold, or fashion especially with artistry or precision: curves. (6 -- color) Verbascum Verbascum a potentially poisonous genus of plants in the family Scrophulariaceae. The plants contain cardiac glycosides similar to digitalis but poisoning is not recorded. Called also mullein. chaixii John McCoy/Staff Photographer (7 -- color) A 15-ton rose-shaped fountain in the garden, designed by Frank Gehry, is dedicated to Lillian Disney, an avid gardener. Courtesy of Walt Disney Concert Hall |
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