Landscape architects Pamela Burton & Company employ the metaphor “bringing light to the world beneath the surface.”  The metaphor plays on Santa Monica as a city by the bay and the Library as a revealer of the depths of human knowledge and cultures.

The Library's interior spaces are woven together with a series of courtyards that are fully integrated with the building.  The ocean is represented through the use of recycled seashells and blue glass incorporated in the paving that connects the courtyard and the crescent-shaped water feature.

Artist Carl Cheng's 'Underwater Canopy' is a thirty-foot, round canopy that arises from the cafe and projects seaweed and sea life shadows on the ground of the courtyard.  The landscaping planting palette mimics a marine landscape and the hardscape materials recall underwater topography. 

We invite visitors to explore our courtyards and gardens, their plantings, and their sustainable features that contributed to the Main Library
obtaining a prestigious Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) Gold rating through the U.S. Green Building Council.

Click thumbnails for high resolution photographs

The Central Courtyard is visible from both floors of the Library. Its design and plantings welcome people into a lush space marked by contrasting colors and textures. Plantings include the Red Yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora) and the native Dudleya paucifolia (no common name).  Dragon Trees (Dracaena draco) and Mediterranean Fan Palms (Chamaerops humilis) add height and shade to this serene space.

Acacia stenophylla Shoestring Acacia	Aeonium ‘Mixed Green’ No Common Name (NCN)
Agave attenuata Century Plant	Agave parryi huachucensis NCN
Chamaerops humilis Mediterranean Fan Palm	Clivia miniata ‘French Hybrid’ Kaffir Lily
Clivia miniata ‘San Marcos Yellow’	Dracaena draco Dragon Tree
Dudleya paucifolia NCN	Echeveria x imbricata Hen and Chicks
Hesperaloe parviflora Red Yucca	Kalanchoe beharensis Felt Plant
Phormium tenax ‘Jack Spratt Flax’	Sedum spathulifolium ‘Cape Blanco’ Sedum
Senecio mandraliscae Blue Stalk Sticks

People gathering for events in the Martin Luther King Jr. Auditorium are treated to a variety of sustainable plantings in raised concrete planters in the North Reception Courtyard.  This partially open-air Courtyard features the Shoestring Acacia tree (Acacia stenophylla) and a variety of plants including Blue Stalk Sticks (Senecio mandraliscae ) and Hen and Chicks (Echeveria x imbricata).  The North Reception Courtyard provides access to the paseo, a covered passageway that connects the eastern and western portions of the Library.

Acacia stenophylla  Shoestring Acacia	Aeonium ‘Mixed Green’  No Common Name (NCN)
Agave attenuata  Century Plant	Echeveria x imbricata  Hen and Chicks
Kalanchoe beharensis  Felt Plant	Senecio mandraliscae  Blue Stalk Sticks

Set back from a busy thoroughfare, this entry courtyard, with its series of raised planters, serves as a gathering place or as a waiting area. A wide variety of Aloes, accented by the Century Plant (Agave attenuata), are represented. California Fan Palms (Washingtonia filifera) in the planters and Chinese Flame Trees (Koelreuteria  bipinnata) along Santa Monica Boulevard add a vertical dimension to the plantings in this area.

Agave attenuata   Century Plant	Aloe brevifolia     No Common Name (NCN)
Aloe saponaria     Soap Aloe	Aloe striata Coral Aloe
Beaucarnea recurvata   Ponytail Palm	Koelreuteria bipinnata   Chinese Flame Tree
Phormium tenax  ‘Bronze Baby’	Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Prostratus’   Rosemary
Washingtonia filifera   California Fan Palm

Concrete planters and four varieties of flax, including Yellow Wave Flax (Phorumium tenax hybrid) and Jack Spratt Flax (Phormium tenax), border the Sixth Street entry to the Library and the Martin Luther King Jr. Auditorium.  The space, which includes California Pepper Trees (Schinus molle) and California Fan Palms (Washingtonia filifera), is fully integrated with the Parking Garden.

Ceanothus griseus horizontalis ‘Yankee Point’ California Lilac	Lantana ‘Compacta’  Shrub Verbana
Lantana ‘Gold Rush’ No Common Name (NCN)	Mahonia repens   Creeping Mahonia
Mrytus communis ‘Compacta’   Dwarf Myrtle	Phormium tenax  ‘Bronze Baby’
Phormium  tenax hybrid   ‘Yellow Wave Flax’	Phormium tenax  ‘Jack Spratt Flax’
Phormium tenax hybrid  ‘Maori Maiden’	Schinus molle   California Pepper Tree
Washingtonia filifera   California Fan Palm

The Parking Garden features a grove of California Pepper Trees (Schinus molle) and 35 Mexican Fan Palms (Washingtonia robusta). These palms were moved during the construction of the Main Library and then replanted on the site as part of the sustainable landscape program. Drought tolerant shrubs at the base of the trees are fragrant and colorful.  The impact of storm water runoff is reduced by the absence of curbs surrounding the planting areas that encourages drainage from the parking lot into the planters.  Texas Needle Grass (Nasella tenuissima) on either end of the Garden moves gracefully in the ocean breeze.

Agave attenuata   Century Plant	Agave parryi huachucensis   No Common Name (NCN)
Carissa macrocarpa   Natal Plum	Ceanothus griseus horizontalis    ‘Yankee Point’ California Lilac
Myrtus communis ‘Compacta’   Dwarf Myrtle	Nasella tenuissima   Texas Needle Grass
Salvia clevelandii   Cleveland Sage	Schinus molle   California Pepper Tree
Washingtonia filifera California Fan Palm	Washingtonia robusta    Mexican Fan Palm

Plants with a yellow theme set against a dramatic blue wall enclose the Museum Garden space, making it an extension of the future home of the Santa Monica Historical Museum, as well as a potential gathering space.   Foliage includes Jerusalem Sage (Phlomis fruticosa), Yellow Torch Aloe (Aloe arborescens ‘Lutea’), and Torch Lily (Kniphofia hybrids ‘Yellow’) and Dragon Trees (Dracaena draco).

Agave attenuata   Century Plant	Aloe arborescens ‘Lutea’   Yellow Torch Aloe
Dracaena draco   Dragon Tree	Kniphofia hybrids ‘Yellow’    Torch Lily
Nasella tenuissima  Texas Needle Grass	Phlomis fruticosa    Jerusalem Sage
Schinus molle   California Pepper Tree

The Children’s Garden has a whimsical layout and is ideal for toddlers taking their first steps with a parent in tow. Placed just outside the Parenting Collection in the Children’s Room, this intimate Garden features an earthen cone planted with Nana Mondo Grass (Ophiopogon japonicus ‘Nana’) and edged by a path ending in Pony Tail Palms (Beaucarnea recurvata). Snail Vine (Vigna caracalla) creeps up the steel screen in this garden.

Acorus gramineus ‘Ogon’   Japanese Sweet Flag	Bambusa multiplex   Alphonse Karr Bamboo
Beaucarnea recurvata Ponytail Palm	Ficus pumila Creeping Fig
Ophiopogon japonicus ‘Nana’ Nana Mondo Grass	Vigna caracalla   Snail Vine

The first floor fiction collection looks out onto a small garden area; a fence screens the area off from the Sixth Street sidewalk. Here, the Century Plant (Agave attenuata) and two varieties of Heavenly Bamboo (Nandina domestica ‘Harbour Dwarf’ and ‘Compacta’) are set in a mulch bed of gravel and bark. (Please note: the Fiction Garden is not accessible to the public except when used as an emergency exit to evacuate the Library.)

Agave attenuata Century Plant	Nandina domestica ‘Harbour Dwarf’ Heavenly Bamboo
Nandina domestica ‘Compacta’ Heavenly Bamboo

Agave attenuata Century Plant	Aloe brevifolia    No Common Name (NCN)
Aloe saponaria    Soap Aloe	Aloe striata   Coral Aloe
Convolvulus mauritanicus   Ground Morning Glory	Dymondia margaretae   Silver Carpet
Phormium tenax  ‘Bronze Baby’	Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Prostratus’   Rosemary

Agave attenuata   Century Plant	Aloe brevifolia No Common Name (NCN)
Aloe saponaria Soap Aloe	Aloe striata Coral Aloe
Convolvulus mauritanicus   Ground Morning Glory	Dymondia margaretae   Silver Carpet
Phormium tenax  ‘Bronze Baby’	Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Prostratus’   Rosemary

The Library is surrounded by a variety of street trees that complement the landscaping.  As part of the Downtown Transit Mall Project, all existing trees along Santa Monica Boulevard have been replaced by Chinese Flame trees (Koelreuteria  bipinnata).  Fern Pine trees (Podopcarpus gracilior) are featured on Seventh Street; and Carrot Wood trees (Cupaniopsis anacardiodes) are the dominant species on Sixth Street.
 

Cupaniopsis anacardioides Carrot Wood	Koelreuteria bipinnata Chinese Flame Tree
Podocarpus gracilior Fern Pine

Thanks to landscape architects Pamela Burton & Company,
and volunteer Sally Ashear.