A hillside haven
The garden at the Sherman Oaks home of Brenda Wehle and John Carroll Lynch is a special retreat for the busy actors. “It’s a real haven,” says Wehle, who is currently appearing on Broadway in “Come Back, Little Sheba” at the Biltmore Theatre. “When I come home in March, I plant to ‘set a while’ in the garden.” Her husband, who is filming “Traveling” in Vancouver with Aaron Eckhart and Jennifer Aniston, describes the garden as a “renewing” place. Visitors entering the garden, pass under grapevines growing around two custom arbors, which form a canopy over a small breakfast patio in the 9-foot-wide side area. (Annie Wells / Los Angeles Times)
On the opposite end of the house, Wehle can open doors to a side area that transforms her bathroom into an alfresco spa with terra cotta planters and hanging vines. (Annie Wells / Los Angeles Times)
A bird sculpture sits among ornamental grasses, shrubs and drought-tolerant plants that fill the garden. (Annie Wells / Los Angeles Times)
The propertys best feature is the view across the canyon, visible from most rooms of the house. I wanted our garden to disappear into that geography, Wehle says. As part of the design to seamlessly connect the pie-shaped lot with the vistas of live oaks, native shrubs, mature Italian cypresses and eucalyptus trees, a new low profile replaced a leaky 1960s pool swimming pool encircled by brick and concrete. A 4-foot-high block wall that spanned the perimeter and an expansive lawn also were removed. (Annie Wells / Los Angeles Times)
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At every turn in the garden, there are lovely visual surprises such as this cross surrounded by swaying grasses. The garden succeeds visually, thanks to the artful grouping of plants. (Annie Wells / Los Angeles Times)
In the outdoor kitchen area, two stucco finished cinder block banquettes are capped with flagstone and surrounded by succulents in variety of pots. (Annie Wells / Los Angeles Times)
The Sherman Oaks garden of Brenda Wehle and John Carroll Lynch incorporates hints of the work of Italian-born painter and sculptor Modigliani. Outside the bathroom transformed into a private, alfresco spa is a pair of terra cotta planters finished with Modigliani-like nudes. (Annie Wells / Los Angeles Times)
Around the Arizona flagstone pathway, Marilee Kuhlmann of Comfort Zones Garden Design created tapestries of California native perennials and shrubs, graceful ornamental grasses, Mediterranean olive trees and low-maintenance ground covers. (Annie Wells / Los Angeles Times)
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An infinity pools melds into the hillside vista. An unsightly, view-interrupting wall was removed so that when Wehle, Lynch and their guests are in the garden, their eyes are drawn through gold and green textures of stems, leaves and blades, past the undulating edge of the pool toward the distant hills. (Annie Wells / Los Angeles Times)
