HANCOCK PARK CASTLE

This neighborhood gem - a castle on a hill - was designed in a storybook style, but with owners who like somewhat more order. The finished result is a garden is both cottage and French-formal. Some areas have clipped Myrtle hedging, but only to keep abundant, mixed plantings in bounds. Other areas have naturalistic poured-in-place concrete pavers (appropriate to the vintage of the house), juxtaposed against a long, formal, rectangular pool. There is a raised potager for all of the herbs the owners could desire, as well as a pétanque court. We created functional, beautiful garden rooms (each with its own purpose), but in an aesthetic that felt even more vintage and appropriate than when we had initiated the project. This is a lawn-free yard and relies on the textures, colors, scents, and variation that only mixed plantings can provide.