Rancho Mirage
The landscape for the 1983 Ted Grenzbach-designed Klein residence responds to the unique scale of the setting and the austere geometry of the house. Home to a longtime client who is an architect and art collector, the landscape takes its inspiration from the rugged palm canyons of the Coachella Valley.
The new garden replaces turf with plants that will be resilient to increasing temperatures, including California fan palms, date palms, Dasylirion, Hesperaloes, and Texas sage.
Massive granite boulders were carefully placed to create a meditative walk connecting the public entry with the rear of the house.
Olive trees and a geometric planting of San Pedro cacti provide privacy from the street.
The basalt-clad infinity edge spa is sited within an intimately scaled terrace. When not in use, the spa acts as a sculptural mirror capturing reflections of the surrounding planting and sky.
ASLA Southern California recognized LGLA with a Residential Merit Award for transforming the landscape of a 1983 Ted Grenzbach-designed residence into a sustainable garden with native and desert-adapted plants. The new garden provides universal access, a private spa area, and areas of use for charity benefits while strengthening the relationship of the brutalist geometry of the architecture and the nearby mountains and canyons.
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