A colorful, sustainable and budget-conscious garden in Laguna Niguel
By Emily Young
When they’re at work, landscape designers Annemarie and Matthew Hall are the experts, dispensing advice on how to choose plants, maximize space and save water. But when they’re at home in
“Our home garden is putting our money where our mouth is,” says Matthew, design director at the landscape architecture firm EPT Design in Irvine. Here he’s pictured with Annemarie and their golden retriever, Ozzy. To see how they transformed the garden to their 1970s ranch house, keep clicking. (Christine Cotter / Los Angeles Times)
Eventually the Halls developed a taste for contemporary design. In the front, where Mediterranean plants were dying or overgrown, the Halls switched to agaves, senecio and other low-maintenance, easy-to-propagate succulents with shallower roots and meager water requirements.
They replaced the thirsty front lawn with two large raised vegetable beds made of long-wearing redwood planks. The couple even enjoyed a few ears of the corn from stalks that screened the living room window.
For a more informal look, the front flagstone path was converted to concrete pavers set in pea gravel. The little round stones rolled around too much, so they were replaced with crushed gravel, which is rougher on bare feet but stays put better. (Christine Cotter / Los Angeles Times)
In late September, sunflowers bloomed among the late-summer vegetables. This season promises beets, broccoli, carrots, lettuce, arugula and more.
“Everything’s more fun and more playful now,” says Annemarie, who runs her eponymous solo practice from home. “It’s all about color and comfort.” (Christine Cotter / Los Angeles Times)
In the side garden, where the Halls were previously hampered by less-than-optimal native soil, they transplanted hybrid tea and floribunda rose bushes, fruit trees and vegetables to 30-inch lengths of corrugated steel culvert pipe, pictured here, as well as horse troughs. With improved soil and individual drip emitters, the plants are thriving again. (Christine Cotter / Los Angeles Times)
More plants in the repurposed horse troughs.
“Ethan doesn’t garden much, but he plants his own potatoes and strawberries,” Annemarie says of her son, 9. “It’s our hope that he appreciates how things make it to the table as our food.” (Christine Cotter / Los Angeles Times)
In the backyard, Ethan plays with Ozzy on artificial turf that replaced a difficult-to-maintain lawn. The couple kept the sprinklers so that they could rinse the fake grass occasionally.
“We said we’d never do artificial turf,” Annemarie says, “but better products are coming out all the time.”
The Halls junked potted ferns around the house for dwarf philodendron in more galvanized aluminum horse troughs, which they found online for $150 each.
A concrete dining patio -- scored and stained as an economical alternative to stone -- bisects the turf. At the far right: two wood towers salvaged from a client’s project, then wired for lighting, painted blue and yellow and placed the edge of the property.
“We feel like such scavengers,” Matthew says, “but it would have been a shame to throw the towers away.” (Christine Cotter / Los Angeles Times)
Matt Hall stands by the fireplace. The seating, arranged on crushed gravel that banished the rest of the lawn, consists of butterfly chairs with washable covers and eucalyptus stumps that cost $10 apiece at a firewood yard.
“The trees are messy,” Matthew says. “I wasn’t going to put a $5,000 chaise under them.” (Christine Cotter / Los Angeles Times)
The same cheerful color scheme used on Annemarie’s studio and the lighting towers was applied to the gas fireplace, tying disparate elements together. (Christine Cotter / Los Angeles Times)
An earth-toned woven furniture ensemble has been replaced with bright orange Verner Panton chairs around a redwood-topped table. (Christine Cotter / Los Angeles Times)
Succulents planted in a long metal trough serve as a centerpiece to the outdoor dining table. With hammock, butterfly chairs, fireplace and deck seating, the garden now provides a versatile, functional design for the Halls’ growing household.
Most recently, the family adopted three Leghorn chickens, treating them to a custom coop in exchange for fresh eggs. And so it goes as the designers continue to experiment and adapt, blurring the line between playground and proving ground.
Matt Hall can be reached through EPT Design in Irvine. Annemarie Hall can be reached at Annemarie Hall Design in Laguna Niguel, (949) 636-4003, ahalldesign@cox.net.
To see more cool Southern California design, check out our Homes of The Times gallery. (Christine Cotter / Los Angeles Times)