A Pool Paradise Made Perfect

A landscape designer overhauls the backyard area of this 1960 home while incorporating distinctive original architectural features.

THERE ARE SOME SPECIAL GARDENS FROM THE 1960S that are still breathtaking and timeless today. Unfortunately, the backyard area of this Pasadena home was not one of them. An overly large pool surrounded almost entirely by hardscape wasn’t creating a welcoming oasis nor was it incorporating surrounding architectural elements. Unique original exterior features on this 1960 Bill Blurock home needed an equally stunning garden and pool area to truly bring out the architectural pedigree of the space. Gabriela Yariv of Gabriela Yariv Landscape Design tackled the project for her very special clients, Professor Amnon Yariv and Frances Yariv, Gabriela’s parents.

“As long as you have different height levels, shapes, forms and colors, you can’t go wrong.”

“It was basically a massive pool. I felt it was oversized for the scale of the yard. There were barely any planting areas,” says Gabriela. However, there were unique architectural features in the space, most notably a rear concrete- lattice fence and a decorative textile- block wall. “I really took pains to keep those original features that were incredible,” she says. The back lattice was crumbling and beginning to fall apart, so an expert was brought in to restore the original feature. The decorative cement wall was in good shape and needed no additional restoration.

MID CENTURY INSPIRATION

For the overall design, Gabriela referenced Mid Century Modern books such as Palm Springs Modern by Adèle Cygelman and Private Landscapes: Modernist Gardens in

Southern California by Pamela Burton and Marie Botnick. “I really tried to study what the original gardens were of that era in Palm Springs and Palm Desert and take the cues, from the details of the coping to the boulders and the palms,” Gabriela says. One of the main inspirations for the pool overhaul was Albert Frey’s Raymond Loewy house, which features a free- form pool inset with boulders in close proximity to the house.

For the updated design, planting pockets were created, and the pool was reshaped. Washingtonia palm trees were craned in, as well as boulders, which were set into the pool coping. The plant palette is extremely drought tolerant, consisting mostly of gravel, succulents and cacti. To perfect the plant varieties, Gabriela worked closely with Molly Thongthiraj of California Cactus Center. “I couldn’t have done this without Molly and her expertise and knowledge,” says Gabriela.

EXPERT ADVICE

To achieve the continuity, visual appeal and overall effectiveness of the plantings, Gabriela notes that she always tries to accentuate and contrast. First she thinks of height, then the composition of the plant. “Let’s say a spikey plant next to a mounding next to a lower plant. As long as the plants contrast, you’ll get a visual ‘ umph,’” she explains. Another tip is to limit your planting varieties and repeat.

“If you look at an entire space, there needs to be some continuity with repeating your themes. Sometimes less is more,” she adds.

When designing a garden scheme, you can also take advantage of the surrounding backdrops, Gabriela explains. There were borrowed landscapes aplenty in this project, with a verdant neighboring home downhill and even a lush street landscape.

PLEASING PALETTE

To bring the space together further, Gabriela carefully considered the overall color palette, creating a cohesive backyard area. The existing celadon paint on the trim and concrete- lattice wall was an inspiration for smaller decorative elements— like the umbrella— as well as larger features, such as the pool tile. McIntyre Tile was used to create a custom design that incorporated the palette of the plants, succulents and the accent trim colors.

A SEPARATE RAISED SEATING AREA TO THE LEFT WAS ALREADY EXISTING AS WELL AS THE SQUARE SUN LIGHTS IN THE OVERHANG. THE PLANTING POCKET INCLUDES PONY TAIL PALMS ( BEUCARNIA RECUVATA), AGAVE, ALOE, BOUGAINVILLEA, AND LEMAIREOCEREUS ( CACTUS).

Photography by JENNIFER CHEUNG

THE DECORATIVE CONCRETE TEXTILE- BLOCK WALL IS ORIGINAL TO THE HOME AND THE MOTIF IS REPEATED ON THE FRONT FAÇADE OF THE HOUSE. AN EXISTING CELADON HUE ON THE TRIM IS ALSO REPEATED ON THE ORIGINAL CONCRETE- LATTICE FENCE ( NOT SEEN IN THIS IMAGE) AND SERVED AS THE COLOR INSPIRATION FOR THE UMBRELLA AND POOL TILE.

AN EXISTING RAISED SEATING AREA WAS ENHANCED BY JANUS ET CIE FURNITURE, WITH POPS OF ORANGE TO ECHO THE BOUGAINVILLEA. LARGE POTTED PLANTS OF HINDU ROPE VINE ( LEFT) AND ZAMIA FURFURACEA ( RIGHT) ADD FURTHER DIMENSION AND DEPTH TO THE SPACE.

( BELOW, LEFT) THE PLANT PALETTE REPEATS THROUGHOUT THE BACKYARD SPACE TO CREATE COHESIVE VISUAL APPEAL. WITH DIFFERING HEIGHTS, HUES AND PLANT COMPOSITION, THE GARDEN HAS DEPTH AND SCALE. HERE WE SEE AGAVE PARRYI VAR. TRUNCATA, LEMAIREOCEREUS ( CACTUS), AND AEONIUM DECORUM ‘ VARIEGATUM.’

( TOP, RIGHT) MEDITERRANEAN FAN PALMS ( CHAMEROPS HUMILIS) POP OUT FROM BEHIND THE DECORATIVE CONCRETE BLOCK WALL. KALENCHOE BEHARENSIS ( KALENCHOE BLANCO), THE TALLER LEAFY PLANT AND ONE OF GABRIELA’S FAVORITES, IS FEATURED IN FRONT OF THE WALL. ( OPPOSITE, ) ARIZONA SANDSTONE PAVERS ARE SCATTERED THROUGH THESE GARDEN BEDS, LEADING TO ANOTHER PART OF THE BACKYARD. DEL RIO PEA GRAVEL AND A CONTINUATION OF THE PLANT PALETTE USED THROUGHOUT CREATE A CLEAN LOOK FOR THE PATHWAY.

TAKING CUES FROM ALBERT FREY’S LOEWY HOUSE POOL DESIGN, LOCAL GRANITE BOULDERS WERE SET INTO THE BOND- BEAM FOUNDATION OF THE POOL. TO THE RIGHT, THE ORIGINAL CONCRETE DECORATIVE LATTICE FENCE CAN BE SEEN.

AEONIUM DECORUM ‘ VARIEGATUM’ ADDS A WHIMSICAL TOUCH AMONG THE MEDITERRANEAN FAN PALMS, SUCCULENTS AND PEA GRAVEL.