RESTORING, REFRESHING, REVEALING
We recently had the pleasure of restoring a beautiful garden originally designed by Cleo Baldon in the 1980s. For those of you who don’t know Cleo, she is a multi-faceted designer and co-owner of Galper Baldon, a landscape design firm that created landscapes throughout Southern California. Cleo recently organized a tour of three of her gardens in Brentwood, and our assignment was to ready one of the gardens for the tour in early June.
The author of “Stairs and Steps” and “Reflections on the Pool”, Cleo’s work spans a range of design vocabularies. Common to all her projects are a gracious sense of scale and a clear concept of procession.
Cleo’s design was restored and refreshed with strategic additions and subtractions that clarified the structure and heightened the drama of the garden. We selectively removed trees and shrubs that muddied the clarity of the original design and blocked views of the mature Silk Floss grove surrounding the house.
In the pool area, we added giant bromeliads and textural philodendrons to anchor the pool. Richly textured planters and pots were also added to enhance the resort like character of the pool and adjacent terrace.
Linda White's selection of the brilliant green upholstered furniture echos the new planting surrounding the seating area.
We were ready for the tour. Linda White and Jayne Mair set the table for the guests.
Welcome to Cleo’s restored landscape!
Landscape Contractor: A New Leaf Landscape Renovation
Fabrics and Furniture: Linda White, White Design