This magnificent Italianate 1919 estate is in the process of an overall renovation. In the last century several renowned landscape architects and landscape architects worked on the property. Their work has been studied and incorporated into the ongoing renovation process. The original owner’s plans were never realized as the construction completion of the home coincided with the stock market crash of 1929.
The landscape structure and plan around the pool has been edited and enhanced to produce a supreme lounging location with an Italian edge. The footprint of the decking has been expanded, and enormous pots filled with Italian cypress have helped to create a formal rhythm in the space. Seasonal color in the pots includes soft grey licorice plant (Helichrysum petiolare), blue lobelia and yellow-orange pansies. White flowering trees (Chionanthus retusus) bloom in early spring against the pink pavilion. Seasonality in the area is celebrated with the concurrent blooming of four desert willow tree (Chitalpa tashkentensis) and pink azaleas.
Natural Italian Hot Spring...Almost!
An awning over the pink pavilion is being recreated from a 1930 Architectural Record photo of this area. A large challenge has been to incorporate a fabulous modern spa to the area. Lenkin created a turn of the century octagonal gazebo that she tucked into the corner of the walled pool enclosure. The spa was tucked into the gazebo.*
*(Not pictured.)
Quick Tip:
- Subtle lighting reinforces the elegant architecture of the space in the evening.
The north entry to the orchard area has been renovated and now includes a spectacularly scented Michaelia dotsopa tree underplanted with ferns and several hundred bluebell that flower in the spring. An eighteenth century knot garden has also been constructed, with teucrium, bereris thunbergii and boxwood as the framework for an herb garden. This is surrounded by laurel trees, (laurus nobilis), used as a hedge.
1 comment:
Hey, i love the pictures of the English & Munger Residence. Looks like things are going swimmingly.
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