the hollyhock house

sorry for lagging on posts. erick's family is in town from chicago and we have been tour guides. to begin our tour of currently very rainy LA, we cruised the east side of town and visited one of my very favorite spots in all of los angeles... barndall art park and the hollyhock house designed by frank lloyd wright. i grew up visiting this lovely hilly park admiring the views, the architecture and took many an art class at the studios on location too. many dear friends and myself included have shown at the municipal art gallery and adjoining theater. and now visiting as a self proclaimed plant hoe, the landscape is looking even better. i was so excited when i encountered my first sighting of a native california ceanothus! there was quite a of bit native flora and some sweet surprises in the mix too, like a giant plumeria tree (i own two that i brought back from hawaii and they are still just one branch up).
luckily the sun came out so that we could see la in all her glory! the sky was so loud and blue with giant voluptuous bright clouds. mother nature never fails to blow me away. if you haven't been to this spot yet, i highly recommend that you do. bring a picnic, a lover, or a good friend or family, your dog, a book, a camera and take it ALL in.

(more garden photos to come. i just took some shots of amazing gardens in the hollywood hills).