STYLE : Cottage Charm

High on the broad bajada that flows out from the San Gabriels stands a broken row of gnarled olives that once guarded the drive of a hacienda. The gray-green trees now march right through the La Canada Flintridge garden of Dr. Val and Marilyn Clark, lining each side of their driveway and one side of a patio. A treasure in any garden, the grizzled olives are one of many old, sometimes whimsical, things that the Clarks have carefully preserved.

This is a remarkable place: The Irish country house, built in 1932, looks like a storybook cottage. A 59-year accumulation of Boston ivy covers the residence and threatens the windows. Old moss-laden shingles, which add so much character, haven’t been replaced despite the fact that they leak.

Whimsy flows throughout the garden. The old boxwood maze--planted in a side yard soon after the house was finished--is shaped like a horseshoe (for good luck?). Scattered about are concrete creatures: a squirrel frozen halfway up the trunk of a tree, elves peeking over the top of a tall hedge, a pig smiling from a window. Elsewhere, topiary--a cleverly clipped windmill, for example, stands near the kitchen door--adds a surreal touch.

When the Clarks replaced their narrow concrete driveway a few years ago, they chose pavers with gaps for grass so now it seems like an Irish country lane. A path beside the drive was made by pouring concrete into ordinary plastic nursery flats. The drive and path lead to a carport covered with flowers--the roof is actually a shallow planter filled with soil.

More recently, the Clarks asked landscape architect Mark Berry to refine the rear entry and to add usable backyard space. He moved some of the boxwood, making the back door to the house easier to find, and added a large patio outside the kitchen. He was careful to blend the new additions with the old olive trees and the established brick paths. In this garden, nothing new has time to age gracefully.