This fall, the gardens of Beverly Hills are getting a floral transformation worthy of high society. From October 28 to November 4, 2026, Fleurs de Villes THE GILDED AGE comes to Greystone Mansion & Gardens, bringing the HBO Original Series to life through spectacular fresh-floral mannequins inspired by its characters, costumes and opulent world. Created by Beverly Hills floral designers using thousands of blooms, the exhibition will pair Bertha Russell’s ambitious style, Agnes van Rhijn’s refinement, Marian Brook’s elegance and Peggy Scott’s modern perspective with one of California’s most extraordinary historic estates. Visitors can also watch live floral demonstrations, vote for their favourite mannequin and explore the Greystone grounds.

A GARDEN CITY

It is a fitting setting. Long before Beverly Hills became synonymous with movie stars, Rodeo Drive and the Pink Palace, it was a place defined by water, gardens and flowers.

The area was known to the Tongva people as El Rodeo de las Aguas, the Gathering of the Waters, a reference to the streams flowing from the surrounding canyons. The native landscape was rich with colour: blue lupine, orange poppies, wild roses, fuchsia and goldenrod grew among meadows of native grasses and flowering plants. In 1769, Spanish friar Juan Crespi recorded passing through what he described as a landscape filled with wild grapes and “an infinity of rose bushes.”

When businessman Burton Green began developing Beverly Hills in the early 20th century, landscape was part of the plan from the start. The aptly named Green commissioned landscape architect Wilbur D. Cook to design a garden city of curving streets, broad vistas and connected green spaces. Cook created what became known as an “emerald necklace,” a chain of landscaped areas threading through the new community.

That philosophy survives in Beverly Gardens Park, the long green corridor that runs through the city. Originally called Santa Monica Park, it was expanded in the 1930s and renamed. Today its lawns, gardens, fountains and lily pond offer a surprisingly verdant counterpoint to the polished storefronts of Rodeo Drive. The park is also home to the famous Beverly Hills Electric Fountain, whose sculpture pays homage to the Tongva heritage of the area.

THE BEVERLY HILLS HOTEL

The city's most famous hotel was itself conceived as part of this garden-city experiment. The Beverly Hills Hotel, opened in 1912, was built on twelve acres of the former Rancho Rodeo de las Aguas and was intended to attract visitors and prospective residents to the new community. Landscaping was given unusual importance: the original plans included flower gardens, pools and shady walkways, including a terraced triangular garden across Sunset Boulevard that remains part of the hotel's historic landscape. 

But the truly wonderful floral detail comes from a 1986 Los Angeles Times account. At that time the hotel had a full-time gardening staff of eight looking after roughly 16 acres, with dozens of varieties of flowers and century-old magnolias and cypresses. The flower department prepared arrangements for guest rooms, while approximately 250 roses were delivered to rooms every morning. The hotel reportedly spent $135,000 annually on cut flowers in 1986. The hotel soon became the social heart of Beverly Hills, drawing the first generation of Hollywood royalty. Gardens became an essential component of this new Hollywood lifestyle: privacy, spectacle and horticultural abundance all went hand in hand.

GREYSTONE MANSION & GARDENS

It is at Greystone Mansion that Beverly Hills' relationship with gardens reaches its most extravagant expression.

Completed in 1928 for oil heir Edward “Ned” Doheny Jr., Greystone was conceived as an estate rather than simply a house. The 18.3-acre property originally included the 55-room mansion, formal gardens, a greenhouse, lake, streams, waterfalls, swimming pool and pavilion, tennis courts, stables and kennels. Landscape architect Paul G. Thiene combined Gothic and Neoclassical influences in a highly theatrical garden design that complemented architect Gordon B. Kaufmann's monumental house. 

The gardens were designed as a sequence of outdoor rooms, with terraces, lawns, fountains and carefully framed views. One of the most remarkable features was the estate's water engineering. The landscape included two artificial lakes, streams and an 80-foot waterfall that could reportedly be switched on. Thiene used dense tree planting to make the elaborate engineered landscape appear almost natural. A formal rose garden was among its horticultural features, while the greenhouse allowed the extensive estate garden to be maintained on a scale befitting the Doheny family's wealth. Remarkably, the original estate employed 15 gardeners.

The City of Beverly Hills purchased the estate in 1965 and dedicated the entire property as a public park in 1971. A charming restoration detail is the original 19th-century planter basin, which once stood at the entrance to the formal gardens and was restored and returned to its original position in 2008. Today the grounds are open to visitors, while the mansion and gardens continue to serve as a dramatic backdrop for events, film and television. 

That cinematic history gives Greystone another connection to flowers: its gardens have appeared alongside some of Hollywood's most recognizable productions, including The Big Lebowski, Spider-Man, and The Social Network. 

Now, nearly a century after Greystone's gardens were planted, flowers are once again taking centre stage. Fleurs de Villes THE GILDED AGE brings together the elements that have always made Beverly Hills so visually compelling: architecture, fashion, gardens, storytelling and a certain delight in living beautifully.