Formal axes, xeric plants in the Barrett Garden: GWA Pasadena
The second private garden I toured during the Garden Writers Association symposium in Pasadena, California, last month turned out to be my favorite. Owned by Ann and Olin Barrett, the garden’s formal layout with cross axes and focal points is made California friendly and contemporary with bold, xeric plants.
The largest portion of the garden contains a lap pool set in a (surprisingly green) lawn. The pool leads the eye to an arched grape arbor behind a lattice-style fence. Palms and other trees create a lush, green “borrowed view.”
Along the fence, a deep bed of bold, dry-loving plants like sotol, agave, and aloe make an eye-catching border that requires little water.
Sotol was in bloom.
A Dr. Seussian tree aloe (Aloe barberae) is underplanted with wine-colored aeoniums, if I’ve IDd them correctly.
Looking through the doorway of the lattice fence and the grape arbor, your eye is drawn to a lion’s-head tiered fountain.
The spacious, grape-shaded arbor shelters a table and chairs, and the fountain adds a welcome feeling of coolness.
White oleander offers visual cooling as well.
Handsome brick columns, which support the arbor, are wrapped in lathe painted to match the fence.
Turning around and looking across the length of the lap pool, you see a couple of chaise longues under a feathery tree, an open-air pool house, and a long, narrow pond aligned on a cross axis with the pool.
Here’s another view of the formal pond, as seen from the garden entrance. Planted with water lilies, canna, papyrus, and reeds, it runs perpendicular to, and crosses, the lap pool.
A stone sculpture anchors the far end of the pond. A mirrored “doorway” creates the illusion that the garden continues beyond the wall.
Square parterres with topiary shrubs add to the formal structure. Pale gravel floors this garden room.
The same view as seen from the paver-and-grass patio at the end of the lap pool. White brugmansia blossoms hang overhead.
The brugmansia nestles romantically alongside the open-air pool house. High arched doorways and comfortable seating create an inviting destination.
A comically drooping aloe jazzes up a classic scene of ivied brick and a spherical finial.
Nearby, a jade-green pot elevates a matching fan aloe (Kumara plicatilis).
A nearly secluded path leads around the house to another part of the garden, which feels like tropical Mexico thanks to banana trees and palms.
A collection of terracotta faces adorns the stucco wall.
Through the gate…
…a tiered lion’s-head fountain like the one under the grape arbor splashes softly.
Now you enter a small garden room whose focal point is a multi-level brick-and-tile spa framed by evergreen shrubs and a pergola of brick columns and wooden arches.
The rear windows of the house look out on this view. It all feels completely secluded.
A small lawn is formally shaped and edged with brick and a stained-concrete walk.
A collection of terracotta pots along the back steps display a variety of dry-loving plants.
A small glazed dinosaur with his hands in the air (like he don’t care?) was the only whimsical detail I noticed in the entire garden.
An elegant roofed terrace offers a beautiful place to lounge the day away. Surrounded by lush greenery and tropical plants, it reminds me of outdoor salas in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
Up next: The hedged garden rooms of the Volk Garden. For a look back at the tropical-flowery Conlon Garden, click here.
All material © 2006-2015 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Lovely design, love all the structure. Lawns now look so strange here.
The droopy Aloe might be A. vanbalenii, which puts on an impressive floral show as well as having graceful foliage.
Beautiful post, thanks for the eye candy.
Thanks for the possible ID on the aloe, HB. I’m glad you enjoyed the tour. By the way, as a Southern Californian, you might be in the best position to answer TexasDeb’s questions below, if you’re so inclined. —Pam
It feels like there must be a story behind that glazed dinosaur, don’t you think?
Lovely, classic, but not looking particularly xeric taken as a whole. Do they have plans to redesign to accommodate new water restrictions for California? Perhaps the xeric borders are steps already taken in that direction? I love looking at gardens like this but don’t they require lots of watering during hot/dry spells, (which accurately describes the weather there much of the year?).
I imagined that the dinosaur was a gift from the grandkids. But I didn’t ask.
Good questions about the watering, but we were guests in his garden and I didn’t quiz the owner about these things. Aside from the lawn, I thought the plants looked likely to be drought-resistant. But a gardener from SoCal, like HB above, would be in a better position to say. —Pam
Wow, that garden just goes on and on, doesn’t it? I love the juxtaposed lap pool and ponds. And It looks like my idea of an ideal lap pool.
It was beautiful and serene, but not too serene with that exciting border of desert plants and bold-leaved palms. —Pam
As several have requested info regarding landscape and water usage- This links to a scholarly article on water restrictions, including the impact of lawns and the environment http://ucanr.edu/sites/UrbanHort/files/216568.pdf
In addition, the following op-ed- by leaders in the sustainable garden movement is worthy of consideration.
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-lehrerlatanejacobs-gravel-should-not-be-the-new-grass-20150614-story.html
As the garden-tour organizer, Lydia, do you have any insights into the owner’s response to the ongoing drought? Is the garden weathering through, or have changes been made? We Texans are, you’ll notice, intensely curious about such things, having been forced to garden differently during our own catastrophic drought. —Pam
the jade succulent in the pot looks like our Kumara plicatilis (recently renamed from Aloe)
Have a much larger specimen on my current blog post.
Thanks for the ID, Diana. I loved all the garden art in your post, by the way, not to mention that Kumara against a blue-painted wall. —Pam
I know they’re invasive, and can be lawn and sidewalk killers, etc., but the sight of Pepper Trees (Schinus molle) always warms my SoCal heart. Lovely garden!
Are those the fine-leaved, willowy-looking trees, Luisa? They are quite pretty. I didn’t know they were invasive. —Pam
Such beautiful gardens, wish I could have gone! Hope to meet you in Atlanta next year.
I hope so too, DC. Or at the Garden Bloggers Fling in Minneapolis! —Pam
This garden does look tropical except for that lush green grass. Very pretty.
They did a beautiful job with the design and maintenance. It really was lovely. —Pam
Such a lovely garden! I dream of having a tree aloe!
It would suit your garden, Wendy! Better move to SoCal though. —Pam