By Daily Press staff
Just how does a garden grow and flourish in the coastal desert climate? Find out this weekend on a tour of nine private gardens in Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica and Beverly Hills. The property owners will open their gates to the public on Saturday, May 7 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event is being organized by the Open Days Program of the Garden Conservancy.
The gardens feature a diversity of design styles and a variety of plant material that thrives in coastal Southern California. A unique feature of this year’s tour is wildlife that is welcomed into and thrives in the gardens.
The Nancy Goslee Power Garden is a tiny garden near the beach in Santa Monica. The colorful courtyard with bright walls and fountains is packed with interesting plants, organizers say. A rare Kashmir cypress hangs over a wall fountain, while a giant Burmese honeysuckle drapes down over the house.
Ellen Hoffs and landscape designer Christopher Stopherd of Hidden Garden, Inc., used iron and ceramic sculpture, recycled materials, unusual plants and microenvironments to shape the garden. A path, made out of a conveyer belt, winds through a meadow and, in the “ruins” garden, ceramic pillars emerge from purple, green and brown foliage.
In Santa Monica, the 15th Street Garden designed by Katherine Glascock hides
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 5, 2005. Read the original PDF.