A secret garden in Pomona
Nestled in a Pomona neighborhood behind a metal and bamboo gate is a magical and otherworldly garden built around this bungalow by garden designer John Greenlee and a man called Simple. A symbol of free-spirited California landscape design, the garden was once a magnet for horticulturists and designers experimenting with plants and landscapes. The garden had a tremendous impact on California gardeners and landscape designers. It demonstrated a freedom of spirit and embraced nature, says West L.A. garden designer Pamela Berstler. Greenlee, who has rented the property since 1977 when he was a college student, is closing the garden this month. The author of the Encyclopedia of Ornamental Grasses now lives in Northern California and continues to visit L.A. for his design work and to manage his nurseries in Chino and Pomona. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
The garden still beckons with a contained wildness and sense of mystery. Hundreds of exotic plants crowd meandering paths leading to a maze of hidden outdoor rooms and patios. The Mermaid House, now in disrepair, was the gardens most celebrated destination. It is made of salvaged windows and doors and a thatched roof open to the sky. Canes of the Mermaid rose were attached to inexpensive wire to create the outdoor walls. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Towering bamboo surrounds the perimeter of the half-acre garden. A hand-carved face mask rests at the base of black bamboo. Greenlee designed the garden with Simple, who calls himself the roving garden artist and wouldnt reveal his given name in a recent phone interview from Pennsylvania. He says he legally changed his name because it describes his attitude about life. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
A river rock-lined grotto lies beyond a meadow in front of the bungalows stone porch. Greenlee used the soil excavated from the grotto to elevate the meadow. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Greenlee in his garden where he experimented with plants alive and dead. When a tree died, he would allow vines to grow over it, or hang potted plants from it. The result: living sculptures. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Until the early 1990s, Greenlee had used the backyard for his grass nursery. He began to build the garden after he moved the business next door. Visitors to the nursery, usually garden professionals, were invited to see the adjacent work-in-progress. Stars of the garden world, such as landscape architect Paul Comstock and the late horticulturist J.C. Raulston, donated precious plant finds to the garden. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
A detail of the Mermaid House. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Near the Mermaid House is the Mermaid Pond, where John Greenlee admires the reflections while surrounded by rare ivies. Greenlee is dismantling his labor of love, taking some of the unusual plants with him. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
