PROJECT: Landscape Architecture; residential design; historic location; Claremont, California
Report: October 2002 - Ongoing; Last Updated July 2008



~Jump to areas of "The Little Grey House" Garden~
* Field Notes * Spirng 2008 * Summer 2007 * The Front Garden Before and in Progress *
The Back Garden Before and in Progress *

 

Field Notes:
Welcome to the "Little Grey House" owned by our friend and client, Linda Lee Worlow. The garden began in October, 2002. Linda is a professional event planner, organizer and former volunteer coordinator for the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden (in Claremont). Our charge was to inspire and plan a garden on a modest, but reasonable budget, using plants that are either California native or water wise. In addition, the garden must blend well within Claremont's Historic tree-lined Village district. The village is a late 19th century college area, which was developed by settlers from the upper east coast of the US; thus it is typically planted with plants indigenous to that area (i.e. turf, camelias, azaleas). Our climate in Los Angeles is suitable for growing plants from all over the world with imported water. Linda is sensitive to the growing demand of this precious commodity. In fact, we are not installing an irrigation system for this garden---how's that for a commitment! To achieve this, proper planning is essential.
 While planning this and each of our gardens, we advocate planting during the fall or winter. Taking advantage of the cooler temperature and natural rain, allows the plants to develop their root systems without the stress of hot, dry extreme conditions. When the summer does arrive, the plants are established and may require supplemental water the first year or so, but no where near the amount used to water grass. This elementary advice assures the most gentle way of beginning a garden. Another vital planning issue is selecting the proper plants. By taking inventory of the existing trees, solar orientation, winter winds, summer breezes... proper plant selection is limited to plants that naturally thrive in these areas of the garden. Selecting the proper plant is fundamental. Many times I have seen gardens planted, and three years later it's a huge over grown mess. In three years, Linda will be sitting on her porch welcoming her guests, instead of correcting past mistakes.
  NEW PHOTOS! For those of you who have followed the progress at the Little Grey House, here are some new photos! We are currently working on a dinning room, under the Oak. The table top is going have a beautiful marble mosaic top, courtesy of Michael.
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~ Spring 2008 ~

 



 


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~ Summer 2007 ~

An Aloe from the Twinkle Garden
 

Meditation Garden

Graceful sunshine
 
Accessories in the garden!
 
Chandelier for evenings in the garden
 
 
The twinkle garden
 
Current Project: Dinning Room
 
 
Michael works on the Mosaic top for table
 
Another shot of Michael's talents
 
New Raised vegetable garden
 
Hang a shelf on that fence!
 
Sunny Vegetable garden
 
We will miss our Frannie
 
Lindy Lee in the garden
 
ZooZoo is always in the garden!
Front Garden, the lavenders are filling in! 
Front Garden, the Lavender is filling in nicely!
Motor Court, the Jades are filling in quite nicely, too! 
Front Garden motor court, the potted Jade plants are doing well, too!
Front Garden, Lavenders in full bloom!
Front Garden, Lavender in full bloom!
 

Dusk at the Little Grey House 

How's this for a virtually no water garden! 

Linda's Lovely Lavender! Year 3! 

The Little Grey House's charming entry court 

Morning Sun 

Time for luncheon--alfresco at the Little Grey House! 
     
     
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The Front Garden...
Before and in Progress
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

  The little grey house is charming in her simplicity. The two mature Italian cypress are well established, suggesting a Mediterranean plant palette. Their size is overwhelming to the scale of the house, but since they are so well established and thankfully not causing damage to the foundation, we shall keep them. After taking inventory of the garden, our next step in the garden design process was to sketch some ideas of circulation, and what style of garden would welcome Linda and her guests "home". Our design intent is to redistribute the proportions of the Italian cypress by using a mass planting of rosemary prostrata (ground cover rosemary). After we agreed on the schematic plan, we then divided the project into logical phases. The first phase was to break up the existing sidewalk to create some pattern leading to the front door. This was no easy task, Michael and I utilized a jack hammer and literally sculpted the walkway from the existing 6-8" layer of concrete sidewalk---well worth the effort! Next we configured the new perennial garden / foundation planting bed line; extending and re-shaping it, to better ground the enormous cypress, proportionally. We selected native rocks found in this foothill community ("Claremont potatoes") to define the planting beds . Michael meticulously hand placed each rock with artful success. Next, we refined the path system, and determined how a guest would approach the front door. We selected decomposed granite as our walkway material, because it is easily compacted, affordable, and easy on the feet. Color selection of the granite was crucial! Given the name of the property "the little gray house", beige or warm colors would be inappropriate. We 'special ordered' a graphite colored granite (cool gray toned), which was more expensive, but highly worth the investment. (Sometimes there are no substitutes.) Our last major phase of the front garden will be to eliminate the water thirsty and invasive Bermuda grass over the spring/summer; then, plant the rosemary in the Fall of 2003, plus lining the decomposed granite ("DG") walkway with a curved line of lavender. During the excavation of the grass for the walkway, we used the excess materials to form a berm (where the ground-cover Rosemary will be) for a subtle movement within the mass Rosemary planting. These two future additions will dramatically change the appearance of the Little Grey House by creating a sense of balance, proportion, and tasteful eye movement to the front door.

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The Front Garden...
Before and in Progress....continued
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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The Back Garden...
Before and in Progress
  From this "room" Linda's guests are invited to utilize other "rooms" (which are in development as you view this page). At this point we are planning an outdoor dining room which will feature a marvelous early 20th century Italian plaster coated Iron base table, which was purchased for the first Bank of America in Sacramento, California (formerly known as the Bank of Italy). This is a gift from Linda's Mother, Mrs. Alice Worlow of Sacramento. Photos coming as this room grows.

The photos below illustrate our first room--the "twinkle garden". The name comes from the little bumble bee (Christmas tree) lights used within the planting areas to create a magical feeling at night. We extended the existing walkway...(again Michael artfully placed brick and native rocks)... As Linda is a brilliant garage sale huntress, we reorganized her whimsical collection to suit this new theme. Additionally, we hung a stylish hand wrought iron chandelier (purchased from Indah Bulan) on a branch of her one hundred year old oak tree, adjacent to the little gray house. Mixed with the bumble bee lights, this candle powered chandelier creates a warm, stylish atmosphere for alfresco entertaining. Linda is quite busy professionally and wanted plants that would require little maintenance and even less water. We choose a handsome collection of succulents for the twinkle garden, which thrive on neglect, but are lovely specimens. Another small project was to paint the existing tool shed in the color scheme of the little gray house for architectural consistency. We are adding finials and other garden art to the tool shed, to adorn the simple 50's style of the building.

Linda's property is surrounded by a fence which will eventually be a wooden canvas for mural-like paintings. Each room that has the fence as part of its' delineation will have a painting. This design element will incorporate Linda's taste for art, as well as her skill as an artist herself (note her painted Oak tree trunk at the back of her property). The climate in Claremont is perfect for entertaining, especially in the evenings. Her garden of rooms will be brilliant; by design and it's collection of art filled garden rooms. More to come... for sure!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 ART FOR THE LITTLE GREY HOUSE ....more on the project of filling the garden with art. Linda is an artist, as well as her daughter Katie "KT" Whitaker. There is a fence surrounding her property in the back. One way we are introducing art into the garden is the use of a two hundred year old Oak Tree that grows in and from her neighbor's garden. The canopy reaches almost halfway into her garden and is priceless. Cleverly, Linda is painting a "faux" base of the tree onto the fence, to give the impression that it is a part of her garden. Along with the painting of the base, other plants will be painted on the fence as a back drop for living plants (plants which typically grown under California native Oaks). The mix of painting and plants will be a fantastic mix. Enjoy! More forthcoming--as oak tree base painting and other paintings are completed!
 
 
 
 
 







 
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