Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Photograph by George Sakkestad

Terri Wenzel enjoys her front yard, which was designed to provide a soft contrast to her starkly modern home.

Flower Power

Garden tour focuses on four local horticultural treasures

For its first annual Los Gatos Spring Garden Tour, St. Luke's Episcopal Church is showcasing four of the town's unique private gardens. The event, which begins at 1 p.m. on May 17, is a fundraiser to benefit local and countywide organizations for the homeless, unemployed and elderly, as well as those in need of medical attention. A portion of the proceeds will also help finance maintenance and upgrades of the church grounds and buildings.

The idea came to tour-committee co-chairs Steve and Julie Conway after they thought about the successful garden tours they used to attend in Chico and realized nothing like this was done locally. They broached the idea to St. Luke's' rector, the Rev. David Brewer, who liked the idea, as did many parishioners.

"Because the homes have different yards and landscapes, they support different plantings and offer many ideas," Steve says. "Everyone has a little space for a garden. People aspire to do better at gardening, so they can use this as an inspiration."

"I think anybody who gardens is very proud of their own garden but also curious about what other people do with theirs," Julie adds. "Gardening is also very therapeutic. With a garden, you can create something and see the end results. It's a wonderful thing to come home to and relax."

Teri Hope and Jan Hutchins Garden

Bella Vista--the name of the street on which they live--means "beautiful view," and it's an apt description of the property of Teri Hope and Jan Hutchins.

A century ago, this was part of an orchard and home to the Bartlett family. Not much remains save for a few trees, including a spreading magnolia taller than the tallest ones Teri saw on a recent trip to Louisiana. Local legend has it that neighbors used to pick its flowers and send them to San Francisco on the old railroad line that ran through town.

Fronting the house is a "semiformal" walkway, lined with flowers in Teri's favorite color--purple. Among these are catmint, violas, pansies and lavender. Offering other color spots are alyssum, marguerite daisies and English daisies.

In the right corner of the front yard is another color swarm predominated by purple plants. The left border is home to wild impatiens flourishing beneath an old spruce. Nearby are rhododendrons, geraniums and a trellis that someday will be covered with climbing vines: Teri and Jan are training wisteria, roses and climatis along the slats.

The back yard is home to differently themed areas of flora. Orange trees, a loquat and an apple tree share an orchard of sorts, while in the back corner are a hot tub and gazebo surrounded by flowering plants and vines.

Twining along the back fence are ivy, blackberry vines and roses. Also here is Teri's cut-flower garden with its foxgloves, cosmos, African daisies, columbines, ranunculus, delphiniums, snapdragons, peonies, marigolds, carnations, fuchsias, day lilies and butterfly bushes, to name a few.

"I could garden all day and be perfectly content. We do all our own gardening. It's one way Jan and I can collaborate on something," Teri says. She and Jan often rise early and garden as the sun comes up, giving them quality time before they rush off to work.

"Some people's regular work tends to not have anything to show for it. With this, you can see what you've done, and it actually responds to your efforts," Jan says.

Joining a lemon tree and quince bush in the center of the yard are salad-bowl fixings such as lettuce, tomatoes, bell peppers, hot peppers, garbanzos, parsley, cucumbers and sweetpeas, along with nasturtiums and marigolds, both of which have edible flowers. Rows of strawberry plants garnish one side. Closer to the back porch is a small garden filled with herbs for use in cooking or tea.

Surrounding a guava bush on the side of the garage are two kiwi vines--a tall, leafy female and a shorter male. These must be planted near each other for pollination or there will be no fruit.

One of Teri's favorite places is the rose garden, which boasts 30 or so varieties.

"Many of these roses were originally gifts from Jan. When he was courting me, he'd bring me lots of roses. I told him to bring me rose plants instead of cut flowers, so I could plant them," Teri recalls.

Jan likes a shady area he calls "the fern grotto." Frilly ferns extend their fronds over petite bleeding hearts, mini calla lillies and jasmine. It's an attractive, peaceful place to meditate, he says.

"Gardening teaches the universal lessons," Jan says, while on the topic of meditation, to which Teri adds that "gardening is a metaphor for life. You have to plan it, dedicate time to it, and learn to be patient, diligent and nurturing."

Marty and Penny McFarland Garden

With 11 old oak trees towering over the property like wise grandfathers, Marty and Penny McFarland's "Merry Oaks" is a testament to what a little TLC can do in bringing out the natural beauty of a landscape.

"When we bought it, it was overgrown with weeds. There were also some dead trees," Penny recalls. She, Marty and their daughters moved in about 512 years ago.

"Every piece of plant material here, we've put in. And we do all the gardening and planting ourselves. We've gotten to the point now that it's just maintenance," she says.

Among other things, the McFarlands had dead trees removed, trimmed the branches of remaining trees and cleared a lot of underbrush. In the process, they discovered a flight of stone steps unused for many years. The McFarlands also added their own brick stairs, gravel walkways and stone containing walls.

A degree in horticulture and experience working for a landscape company brought Penny up to the task of tackling the yard, not to mention the fact that she and Marty did a similar revamping of their previous home's back yard in San Jose.

The McFarlands' historic home, located across from Oak Meadow Park, was built in 1889 by the Forrest family, for whom a nearby street is named. The Forrests' daughter was one of the first nurserywomen in Santa Clara County, so it is fitting that the land she once planted is still being recognized for its aesthetics.

In some parts of the yard, the McFarlands planted the types of flora one might see on an older property--especially in England--as Penny is a fan of English-style gardens.

Among the traditional and more "modern" trees and plants gracing the yard are colorful roses, trailing rosemary, flowering plums and dogwoods, Mexican redbuds, baby oaks, geraniums, lantana, rhododendrons, camellias, butterfly bushes and ivy groundcover. All flourish in the dappled sun and shade beneath the old oaken canopy, which consists mostly of live oaks with a few white oaks mixed in.

For Penny, one of the greatest rewards of her garden is "taking a property like this that was neglected, starting from scratch and knowing you're going to be here to watch the plants and trees mature."

"I think it just gives you a sense of accomplishment. You can look at it in a week, a month or a year and see the changes," she says.

Larry Arzie and David Stonesifer Garden

The two acres of lush landscape surrounding "La Estancia"--the Mission Revival-style retreat of Larry Arzie and David Stonesifer--looks more like a park than the gardens of a private home.

And that's just the way it's supposed to look.

"When we moved in 17 years ago, there was nothing here. It was scheduled to be demolished; everything was dead," Arzie recalls of the lands surrounding the house, which was built in the 1880s and housed the owners of a 40-acre prune ranch.

About the only current "residents" on the property that recall what it originally looked like are two California redwoods near the front terrace, an imported cedar of Lebanon and a towering cypress. Arzie estimates each of these magnificent trees is more than 100 years old. The rest of the landscape took shape through patience, determination and vision.

"Everything grows into each other. It was done with a very parklike approach. I like the ruralness of what we've accomplished here," Arzie says, explaining how he prefers the natural look rather than the presence of curbs, sharp corners, paved walkways or overly distinct borders.

Shunning power gardening tools, Arzie prefers to prune, cut and shape everything by hand to keep the trees and plants from being damaged or made ragged. Arzie says this is similar to the technique used in many Japanese-style gardens.

Although much of the vegetation in Arzie and Stonesifer's gardens looks as if it's growing wild and free, that is an illusion.

"It's a sort of restrained effort at making it look unfinished. You really have to work at it to give it that nonchalant look," he says. This is also the reason that flowering plants are kept few and far between: "Whenever we use color, it's only for an accent to the green."

It would be easy--and tempting--to get lost amid the rambling verdancy. In one area, an orchard of fruit trees is bordered by a juniper hedge. Tuft grasses surround a peaceful koi pond and fountain. Near the back of the house is a well-stocked kitchen garden of lettuce and culinary herbs and spices; more veggies will be planted later.

Near the guest cottage and swimming pool is a grove of citrus trees and an arbor covered with bougainvillea and trumpet vines. Here is also a cozy outdoor dining area with an adjacent kitchen alcove; because this ivy-covered nook faces west, it retains the warmth of the setting sun.

"The rewards of a garden are its fruitfulness. It's not only pretty, but it provides sustenance; it feeds you spiritually, mentally and physically," Arzie says with a smile.

"A garden is a repetition of life, an example of seasons that we don't always see that much in California. A garden tells you that it's spring or fall. It's exciting to see the rejuvenation."

John and Terri Wenzel Garden

From nearly every one of the 100 windows in their airy 3-year-old house, John and Terri Wenzel can view some part of their front, side or rear gardens--most of which are also three years old.

While architects and contractors designed and built their new two-story home, the Wenzels consulted with a landscape architect about how to make their gardens distinctive. Until then, the Wenzels lived in a small house toward the front of the property, where a rolling lawn bordered by purple and white flowers now stands.

Part of the landscaping plan called for 45 trees--the Wenzels have since added more--including cedars, live oaks, willows, flowering plums and pears, Japanese maples and great myrtles.

A few stalwart old trees were already there, such as the wispy American elm and stately California redwood guarding different sides of the curving front driveway. An aging apricot tree that still bears enough fruit to fill a handful of pies and jam jars stands in the back yard, the last testament to an apricot-drying facility the Murphy family once owned on this land.

"The landscape, to us, is really a part of the whole home. We went to great pains to have the landscaping, hardscaping, trees and [plant] color complement the home," John explains.

"The house is a stark, modern house--what could we do to tone it down? We added greenery and color. We have it so that in any season, there's something in bloom," he says. The ability to flourish without large amounts of water was also a factor in the vegetation they chose, John adds.

"It was great to be able to pick out all the plants and flowers we wanted," Terri agrees. "It was important to develop it with a lot of love and meaning, having lived on [this land] for so long. We like the country feeling of a lot of trees and flowers."

Many of those flowers are found in the front yard and alongside the driveway, such as camellias, delicate purple campanulas, pansies, Johnny-jump-ups and tall agapanthus.

More variety blooms in the back yard around the grassy lawn, including geraniums, rock roses, tulip trees, cacti, lavender, azaleas, ferns, wild California poppies that "blew in," and potato bushes, which resemble tiny trees with showy purple blossoms.

Adding to the rustic feel is a brook that runs along the south side of the yard, babbling gently in summer and rushing determinedly during wet winters. Wild blackberry vines grow at water's edge, as do wild radishes with their distinctive propeller-shaped flowers.

"We love to sit out here in the summer; it's like being out in the country. You can hear all the birds and frogs and crickets," John says.

"I have a real love of this land. I love being able to nurture things and see them grow," Terri adds. "It's also a great stress-reliever. Sometimes I just like to walk around and enjoy it."

The Spring Garden tour begins at 1 p.m. on May 17, with staggered starting points. Tickets are $12 in advance or $15 on the tour day. Refreshments will be served all afternoon in St. Luke's' gardens, located at 20 University Ave. For more information, call 248-8715 or the church at 354-2195.

[ Back to Contents Page | Los Gatos Weekly-Times Home Page | Archives ]