An artist of the alfresco

Occasionally designers produce work that changes the way we see. This is the case with Nancy Goslee Power. In the 27 years since she arrived from New York, she has rewritten the rule about what may constitute a frontyard, first enclosing it, then excavating it for good measure. She has used aloe, agave, lavender and olive trees so dramatically that the blue-gray western plant palette now belongs to this Easterner. She put a garden outside the Norton Simon Museum of Art that is as good as anything inside of it. The Chinese rain trees now softening Grand Avenue's glare are hers. The plans being considered for the rejuvenation of the Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden in Arcadia: hers. The 2-acre garden that opens today at Kidspace Children's Museum in Pasadena: hers, too.

By Emily Green

December 16, 2004