Back when I first started posting about Villa del Greco, I laid it out for you: we chose to launch with this series because this garden in particular reveals the process of how we partner with clients and the kinds of results we get. I can’t say enough how great it is to work with… Read More
It’s Fiesta time in Santa Barbara! We’ve got parades to go to and the rodeo is in town, so this is just a quick share of some of my current favorite “go to” items for the garden – and for entertaining in the garden. Viva la Fiesta! The stuff I love for gardens can be… Read More
We’ve already discussed the process that led to the Smith garden redesign, including the Moorish star motif that was repeated throughout the landscape. But how did the luscious, rich tile patterns actually come to be pieced together? That’s a story unto itself. As I’ve mentioned, the original intersection of the primary and secondary axes of… Read More
Garden designer and social media influencer Carolyn Mullet has launched a new business: Carex Tours. I interviewed her about her first season of planning and leading garden tours, and if you’re anything like me your interest is piqued and you’re thinking about booking her upcoming Fall 2015 tour: Piet Oudolf & the Dutch Wave Gardens, which will… Read More
Back to Villa del Greco, this time to talk about how the garden’s new fountains came to be. The courtyard and wall fountains were from a renovation that took place in the 1990s, while the home was from the 1920s. As I previously mentioned, the owner was keen on restoring as many original details of… Read More
Today’s guest post is written by former Garden Design editor Sarah Ristorcelli, who is working on an outdoor living book for Timber Press. What are origins? Somebody somewhere did something for their own personal use or enjoyment and the word never got out, or it got out incrementally, or a version of the story became a legend.… Read More
When I read the New York Times April coverage of our California drought, I thought it posed a fair question: What will life in California be like in the years ahead? But the article implied that it’s Jerry Brown’s mandate that we reduce our water consumption by 25% that’s raising this question, and I can’t agree. The… Read More
In my last post, I talked about my initial meeting with our client and her home, Villa del Greco, and how we made a list of issues to address, chief among them creating a welcoming and unambiguous approach to the front door. When I first visited the site, I found – literally – that you… Read More
I’d like to share some of the gardens we’ve built – not just to show off the results of our work, which I’m very proud of – but to give you a window into our world and the process of designing and building a great garden. We’ve designed and built a lot of gardens over… Read More
I’ve been designing and building gardens in Santa Barbara for 30+ years (yikes – where does the time go???). We live in our gardens here – the climate is that mild – and we aim for a seamless blend of inside and outside. And because the scenery is the main act, we want everything to… Read More