Pebble Beach -- von Hasseln Garden

Located on two acres in Pebble Beach, California the von Hasseln Garden is dedicated to ecological principles in electricity, water and heating and the use of sustainable materials. The absence of a lawn and the black bamboo and tree plantings (which do not require watering after the first year of planting) all contribute to the conservation of water on the property.

Upon entering the cloistered courtyard of this home and garden, there is a harmony enhanced by the warm sunny toned garden walls and broad patio with the house and garden flowing together in a perfect meld to create an effect of spacious, elegant simplicity. The entry garden tastefully combines sculpture, raised beds for rhizomes and vegetables, a greenhouse room, and a quiet pool enclosed by the high wall on three sides. There is a serene sense of oneness seen through the walls of glass to the vast back garden.

In the gardens surrounding the home a visual flow extends through thick Ultraviolet filtered glass to rear and side gardens with small ponds and rills. Beyond the side ponds lay artfully planted beds of black bamboo. Water conservation is present in over three hundred trees such as centuries old Coastal Oaks, redwoods, sycamores and cypress, which depend on rainfall to flourish. These surround the exuberant bed of thousands of S. Africa natives (geophytes that store water) iris and azaleas. For months in the spring it is a moving cloud of soft white blossoms accented by blue Dutch iris and yellow tulips.

Behind all this beauty, the main surprise is to learn of the owner/designer's passion for conservation. The integration of house and garden is a masterful marriage of state of the art conservation features with a keen awareness of classic proportions for beauty and love of horticulture.

Persons associated with the garden include: Lee von Hasseln (architect, 2001); John Brooks (garden designer, 2001); Jim Wood (sculptor, 2002); Amy Blackstone (sculptor, 2007); Walter Guthrie (builder, 2004); and Bernard Trainor (builder, 2006).