Wander Through the Looking Glass to This Vibrant Storybook Garden

Date: Sunday, April 28th

Location: Studio City

Registration: Available Now!    

It’s easy to believe in storybook creatures in this Universal Studios adjacent neighborhood! Homes designed for studio employees evoke wonder. While most wear ho-hum lawns, the Sustainable Storybook Garden offers ample play space for elves, gnomes and other pollinators.  

Watch for those with wings dancing through this Certified Wildlife Habitat. In spring, they alight upon bright blue Foothill Penstemon and candy pink Western Redbud blooms, only to be distracted by wands of White Sage and wildflowers. Travel an original brick and stone walk or gravel paths to meet dragons (aka Western Fence Lizards), who rustle the Deer Grass cloaking the magic of two bioswales that draw and sink stormwater.  

Notice the trickle of water and the delightful crunch of gravel on the way to the back garden. There, bold and dynamic container gardens punctuate and define a space that is both drive and extended patio. Valley-indigenous foliage including forage-worthy Coffeeberry, Toyon, and Catalina Cherry wrap and shade a cozy conversation circle of adirondack chairs. Engaging Dustin Gimbel sculptures draw eyes up, while rare native Irises offer ankle-height hiding space for Mr. Toad and other creatures… who may just turn to stone if you catch them eavesdropping!    

Learn How to Create Storybook Vibes

We asked homeowner Michael Solberg about the whimsical artwork he commissioned for the garden as well as the other-worldly succulent container gardens he created for the space. Read Interview    

See a Sneak Peek

See this garden in LA Times | Plants: How to Get a Look Inside Gorgeous Gardens in and Around LA. See more photos and videos in our Tour Story Highlights.    

Plant Palette: Sustainable Storybook Garden

See more of the retreat in Pinterest.

   

Booming Now: April

Here are more blooms you are likely to see on spring tours: Follow FormLA Landscaping’s board Blooming Now: April in LA on Pinterest.

       

Experience Harmony in Bloom: Roses, Cacti, Edible and Native Plants

Date: Sunday, April 21st
Time: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Location: Pasadena

The fragrance of roses, California native sages and citrus float along the shaded curves of of the sidewalk approaching the the Shumacher Garden Retreat. As you enter the garden, you’ll meet birds, butterflies and native bees delighting in this Certified Wildlife Habitat.  

Bea Schumacher’s award-winning cacti are on display in container gardens accenting the four living spaces and two chef workspaces. The serene sounds of water fill the space, as does dappled light that makes glittering through the tree canopy. Beneath all the lush, leafy, low-water beauty, water conservation systems capture and sink stormwater from the roof and permeable hardscapes.

As you reemerge into the front of the home, you’ll find a delightfully peaceful patio adjacent to the front steps. Hidden behind the riot of front yard foliage, this serene space includes built-in seating with a view of yet another fountain and the riot of front yard foliage. Exit wandering through the artfully integrated collection of roses, spring-blooming native buckwheats, salvias, mallows, and wildflowers.    

Taste Life in the Garden

Bea and Tom Schumacher spoke to Annie Thorton about life in the garden when the space was featured as a Houzz Garden of the Week in 2021.    

See Before + After

To see the Retreat’s vibrant living and entertaining spaces, as well as the space before its renovation, see Houzz: Schumacher Garden Retreat Profile

Plant Palette: Schumacher Garden Retreat

See more of the retreat in Pinterest.

Here are blooms you are likely to see on the Native Plant Garden Tour:    

Booming Now: April

Follow FormLA Landscaping’s board Blooming Now: April in LA on Pinterest.