My garden nestles on a hillside above the sea and is designed in the Mediterranean style for entertaining, outdoor living, and plein air painting. Old trees and shrubs, fountains, pathways, trellises, and arbors give the garden character and romance. Climbers, roses, and wildflowers make it brilliantly colorful in spring. Two patios are separated by an earth berm carpeted with drought-resistant plants and accented by urns from the isle of Crete. A flight of steps, much loved by children, creates an alternative route from the upper patio to the lower one, over the earth berm, and offers a “white water” view. The steps look ancient but I made them only recently by throwing down sacks of concrete, getting them wet, and waiting for them to harden before tearing off the paper.

Pergolas drip with Chinese wisteria in spring. Recently I added a new 20-by 12-foot pergola to shade the lower patio. I’ve planted three more wisterias to cover it, but this time I chose a famous Japanese variety, called ‘Macrobotrys’, reputed to have the longest clusters of flowers of any selection. These will take a few years to get going, and I can’t wait to see the results. Beneath the pergola we built a 12-foot trestle table and surrounded it with 14 comfortable Italian café chairs, enough to seat my whole family for al fresco meals.

Since my lot slopes, I had dry-stone walls built long ago to support terraces for vegetables and flowers. A small grove of Australian tea trees under-planted with ferns, clivias, and hanging baskets shelters the house. In 1956 my husband, Judge Louis M. Welsh, and I built this house which was designed by my late husband’s stepfather, John Lloyd Wright, son of Frank Lloyd Wright. The brick and stone “rugs”, large triangular brick planters, and a mixed-media mosaic representing the ocean, the California sun, and the art of gardening are recent additions, but harmonious with the design of the house. They look as if they’ve always been there.

Since my lot slopes, I had dry-stone walls built long ago to support terraces for vegetables and flowers. A small grove of Australian tea trees under-planted with ferns, clivias, and hanging baskets shelters the house. In 1956 my husband, Judge Louis M. Welsh, and I built this house which was designed by my late husband’s stepfather, John Lloyd Wright, son of Frank Lloyd Wright. The brick and stone “rugs”, large triangular brick planters, and a mixed-media mosaic representing the ocean, the California sun, and the art of gardening are recent additions, but harmonious with the design of the house. They look as if they’ve always been there.