moody hues
It’s hard to separate the old from the new in this moody Pasadena garden, which has been almost 80 years in the making. Heavily shaded, full of leaf whispers and a trailing heaven of wisteria, it speaks of time, not trends, and a deep respect for things that grow--despite heat, drought and occasional neglect. Located around a Mediterranean-style bungalow from the 1920s, the garden belonged to one owner for half a century before architect Hugh Maguire purchased the property in 1988. Intrigued by the mysteries it presented, he recalls that, “Every room in the house was painted black--floors, walls and ceilings--and the windows were swagged in burlap. But outside, there were wonderful trees (Chinese elm and pittosporum), mature hedges, this monumental wisteria and the accents of vintage ornaments and statues.” Among these were fountains, friezes, a pair of concrete sphinxes with women’s faces and two giant fan-tailed fish.
Preserving these treasures, Maguire linked the home’s interior with the garden by adding a glass-walled second-story bedroom, a solarium off the kitchen and plenty of single-paned French doors to draw the eye outside. He repainted the house in a medley of greens, and behind it followed the dictum that “compartmentalizing makes a landscape seem bigger.” He created a raised terrace, for example, alongside the wisteria arbor, paved it with broken concrete and hung a faux gate at one end to suggest a fanciful destination.
In 1990, before completing his garden plans, he sold the house. He continued to work with the new owner, designing a guest cottage that resembles an Old World orangerie. Plantings have continued too, most recently under the direction of landscape designer Jeannene Sands, who has boosted the soil with leaf mold and sought out shade-loving greens that can weather the Pasadena heat. The most successful include liriope, abutilon and callas. She experimented with Japanese maples, chosen for seasonal interest, which thrived in spring but drooped in summer, and hydrangeas died out completely until Sands enriched the heavy clay beds with even more organic matter. Recently, on the garden’s perimeter walls, she introduced Boston ivy for its fall blush and the delicate tracery of its winter vines. And though the color palette is largely cool-- green, white and blue-- she splurged on roses, adding to the existing shrubs at the front of the house and tucking new ones into the back garden. There, in the property’s single sunny, open spot, are mixed Austins in exotic shades-- apricot ‘Tamora’ and maroon ‘The Prince’-- along with other richly toned selections such as lavender ‘Pinocchio.’ “We went wild with the sherbet colors,” says the owner, “in an otherwise quiet place.”
Nearby, in the garden’s “living room,” potted ivy and kalanchoe cluster around a fountain, while boughs of the Chinese elm form an overhead canopy. “It’s meditative and healing here,” the owner reflects. “I’m just lucky to be the caretaker for a while--before it all passes to someone else.”
(3 photos) Along the path to the front door, sheared myrtle hedges showcase rose selections, including ‘Heirloom’ and ‘Silver Spoon’ varieties. An ‘Angel Face’ rose crowns the head of a stone garden sphinx, right. Opposite: Trailing vines and potted plants make a garden entrance inviting.
