Preview: Venice Garden & Home Tour backyards
Havent yet created that backyard dream retreat? Take a few lessons from residents in Venice who took on small spaces in different and creative ways. These five landscapes were among more than 25 properties open for the 2008 Venice Garden & Home Tour.
A shoji-like screen in the front of Dan Seavers house creates a sense that you are entering a sanctuary. The thing about Venice gardens is that most are intimate a little refuge, says Seaver, who designed the landscape.
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Six African sumac trees provide not only much-needed shade from the afternoon sun but also a lovely setting for the dining area. Dan Seaver, left, and Will Speck bring out breakfast. A small patch of grass lies close to the house between two California sycamores; the rosemary hedges in the foreground separate an area planted with vegetables and fruits.
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Its my secret garden, landscape designer Ric Mondragon says of his charming Japanese-style pavilion, which, along with his cottage, is tucked behind a Craftsman house. The retreat is all about scale and proportion. How did Mondragon make his 22-by-16-foot garden feel more spacious? The grassy area expands the floor and acts like an area rug; the teahouse creates a separate room. They guide the eye, and that psychologically translates into space.
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A statue of Ganesh, the revered Hindu elephant god, that Mondragon brought back from Cambodia resides in his garden.
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Its a tiny oasis of calm for humans and wildlife in the concrete jungle, Ian Kimbrey says of the L-shaped garden between his house and home office. Wife Joanne Forchas says it puts your mind in a good space. Designed by Jay Griffith, the garden features an aboveground pond (a new galvanized cattle-feeding trough) and a corrugated aluminum screen.
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Water lilies in the aboveground pond in the Forchas-Kimbrey garden. Native plants and shelter for birds make it a National Wildlife Federation-certified habitat.
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A sculpted Panton chair sits in the garden of Juan Jose Quintana and Daniela Rechtszajd. Concrete pavers, mid-ground plantings in plinths, and tropical accents create a sense of depth. Decorative and functional elements include benches, a fire pit and colored glass balls.
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A lounging area in the front yard of the Quintana-Rechtszajd garden.
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The view from Thomas Schallers shower. Timber bamboo towers in the background and a red Japanese maple and blue gray senecio provide color.
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A wisteria frames the outdoor area outside the living room and kitchen. Japanese maples and purple aeonium add contrast.
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A view from the back of Schallers house outside the master bedroom.
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At Thomas Schallers garden in Venice, concrete squares seem to float over the pool and lead to a carpet of artificial grass. The manufacturer, Synlawn, says its faux turfs are far more realistic-looking than the products of years past. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
