A History of the West in an ALtadena Garden

摘要

Our home sits on a south-facing alluvial fan at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains in Altadena, California. The property is long and narrow, with a charming cottage in themiddle and gardens on each end. A beautiful coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia), over one hundred years old, anchors the front garden; little else of the existing garden was worth preserving when we moved in. We are both artists, specializing in site specific installations, both together and individually, that usually explore issues related to California's native plants; Karen is also an educator, and Andreas a landscape designer. Together, we designed and installed a semi-formal landscape in our front garden, with a contemporary "folly" at its center. Edibles and nursery stock fill the smaller garden behind the house along with water infiltration and compost areas. We maintain the entire garden ourselves.