An enchanted garden in Malibu
Bob Haggstrom wanted to live amid a nature preserve, so he built his version of one at his home in Malibu, turning 9 acres of dirt into a verdant landscape with mature trees and a 500-foot-long artificial stream. (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)
Four pumps keep the stream running, circulating 100,000 gallons every hour. (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)
Two thousand tons of rock quarried locally are placed around the waters edge and are used to form garden walls, some of which have fossils embedded in them. (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)
With greenery filling in crevices in the rocks and mature trees providing lots of shade, the garden feels as though it has been around for ages. (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)
A one-room boathouse, a gathering spot for Haggstrom and his friends, overlooks the 500,000-gallon artificial lake stocked with trout. Haggstrom imported his two white swans, Ginger and Mary Ann; herons and ducks swoop in on their own. (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)
Smaller flora grow on the limbs of trees near the lake; the boathouse lies beyond. (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)
Bob Haggstrom walks along the stone path leading from his house to his garden. I just know what I like, and thats to avoid making my home look like Disneyland, he says. I hope Ive succeeded. I want to make it natural, comfortable. (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)
Haggstroms spread also includes chardonnay and pinot noir grapevines - 3,000 total. You cant build something like this for yourself, he says of his whole outdoor extravaganza. You want other people to enjoy the different feelings you get throughout the day. In the morning, you think, Its good to be alive. In the late afternoon, its glorious as the shadows come through the trees. And at night, its just enchanting, magical. (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)
