Landscape designer Eric Nagelmann creates a classic Montecito garden with a twist
By Emily Young
Though the setting of this one-acre garden might seem quite traditional a European-influenced home in Montecito delve into the design and youll find unusual plant combinations and unconventional choices by iconoclastic landscape designer Eric Nagelmann. Here, two Michael Taylor stone chairs provide a peaceful spot overlooking the backyard, with the surprises awaiting beyond.Though the setting of this garden might seem quite traditional a European-influenced home in Montecito delve into the design and youll find unusual plant combinations and unconventional choices. Here, two Michael Taylor stone chairs provide a peaceful spot overlooking the backyard, with surprises awaiting beyond.
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Back to L.A. at Home (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
Homeowners Bobbie and Ed Rosenblatt had lived on a park-like, 4-acre spread. But with an empty nest, and retirement pending for Ed, a music industry executive, they downsized to their current property with the intent of creating a simple country ambience. Here, the view from the master bedroom.
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Back to L.A. at Home (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
A wild rabbit pays a visit.
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Back to L.A. at Home (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
Outside the bedroom, an allee of olive trees stretches skyward from huge terra-cotta pots. The red clay containers are set in beds of maroon loropetalum that blossoms hot pink. The effect is classic yet novel.
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Back to L.A. at Home (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
Clivia blooming in Bobbie and Ed Rosenblatt’s Montecito garden adds a splash of color to the landscape.
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Back to L.A. at Home (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
I dont like monotonous gardens with a limited variety of things growing in them, designer Nagelmann says. I love gardens where your eyes are going everywhere to see lots of different surprises.
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A Sally Holmes rosebud begins to open.
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Back to L.A. at Home (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
Nagelmann divided the outdoor space into discrete rooms connected by paths of crushed shale, patios of Chinese slate and steps of local stone. The homeowners goal: a sense of intimacy.
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Cloud-like drifts of unusual plant combinations form a poolside bank of foliage. Bobbie Rosenblatt wanted a painters palette of purple, pink and red and plants that moved with the breeze, rather than anything blue, orange, stiff or manicured. Other than that, she says, she trusted Eric implicitly.
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Back to L.A. at Home (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
I love mixing odd leaf combinations, Nagelmann says. Its all about contrasts. To me, no colors in nature clash. Here, low-growing Tradescantia pallida sits below the flowing Chondropetalum. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
Tradescantia glows in the setting sun. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
Designer Nagelmann by the pool. As part of the renovation, his clients built an attached garage and motor court on one side of the house and converted the existing detached garage into a guest cottage for their four children and six grandchildren. Then they added a loggia, an outdoor kitchen, the pool and a spa. Nagelmann signed on to weave the old and new spaces into a seamless whole. Except for a few mature oak, palm and Monterey cypress trees, the property was barren when he began. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
A cluster of dwarf Buddhas Belly bamboo surrounds a Buddha statue. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
An eclectic mix. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
The loggia provides an open-air living room sheltered from the sun and occasional downpours. When its raining, Eddie and I love to sit outside and read or have cocktails by the fire. Its so romantic, Rosenblatt says of the corner fireplace, where creeping fig has begun to envelop the mantel. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
A place of reflection: the loggia. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
The backyard contains other places for the Rosenblatts to entertain family and friends. The dining patio is decorated with potted succulents and fragrant white jasmine. The alfresco kitchen is tucked out of sight only a few steps away, behind the guest cottage. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
A succulent planter on the Rosenblatts patio.
For a look at more Southern California homes and gardens, check out latimes.com/homesofthetimes.
Design blog: latimes.com/home (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)