Garten Praxis,   September 2002

When Victor Vasques  resolved to remodel the front yard of his Mediterranean-style home in the  historic Willow District of old Phoenix, he  already had an  “ace in the hole”.   Victor’s  next door neighbor was  landscape designer  Carrie Nimmer.  Vic had traveled to  Spain several times and  become enamored of the architecture there.   Carrie, influenced  by  her lifelong  interest in the colorful  architecture of Luis Barragan and  bold plantings of Brazilian landscape legend Roberto Burly Marx,  easily persuaded   him  into  a conspiracy to make a  strong  design statement. .

They agreed that the front yard though small, could still be  dazzling and their ambitions included a desire to crate a more usable  and people-friendly   space than the typical American front lawn.  The   design  would inherently be water conservative by using   drought tolerant  native  plant species and Latin-flavored  elements of  stone, water and color.

Ultimately the solution to the  goal of enclosing the space without closing it off from the neighborhood  came in the form of an eye catching bright red wall.

Low and massive,  the wall  at once  segregates the  inner courtyard area from the street. The wall provides a colorful foil for the  plantings and a sense of intimacy without blocking the panorama of the  overall design..  Turreted columns act as friendly gendarmes  at the entrance without being too imposing.  A dynamic sense of  movement is achieved by directing the  entry  path  at a  diagonal  across  the inner walled space.   Made of  native  sandstone, this  main pathway is intersected at an angle by a second traverse paved with gravel  leading  into the low Spanish inflected banco seating ledges built into the inner wall.   A small stone  paved patio  invites visitors  to linger with a view of the overall  design scheme.  Containers of  exotic plants  such as Crown of Thorns ( Euphorbia milii) and,  Agave victoria-reginae  serve to enhance  the  Mexico-meets-Mediterranean  flavor.

The simple epiphany which elevates the garden beyond the ordinary is the brick red color scheme.  Echoing  the  terra cotta tile roof and  accents of the house, the wall provides an intense dialog with the  bright reds, yellows and greens of  the plantings.  Desert Marigold ( Baileya miltiradiata),  masses of  pink  Parry’s Penstemon ( Penstemon parryi),  and  tall, red flowered   Penstemon  superbus, echo  together with the  vivid green trunks of  Palo Verde trees and the spiky architecture of Agave parryi.  All  combine create an impressionist’s  sense   form and color play.  Seasonal  eruptions of Alyssum, Verbena and other annuals  enhance  the  drama, as does the  intense yellow  bloom of the Palo Verde trees in April.

To further infuse the  enclosure with an oasis quality, Nimmer added a small water feature which provides not  only a visual focal point, but the welcome sound of  live water.  The fountain  also adds  an additional focus  for the “sight line”   as viewed from the sitting area opposite.

As the Sonoran desert bloom subsides in summer and autumn, the  red wall continues to provide a visual and geometric livelihood to  the  yard.  Agaves, tree trunks and other  more structural pieces continue   interact throughout the year.

The garden, though small, especially illustrates the transformational effect of a single, powerful  design  element to establish  a visual axis  around which the  entire garden  moves .  The red wall organizes the yard into a  satisfying composition which will  accommodate and enhance  many different of planting schemes.  

The Red Wall  Garden also  reminds us of the  critical role of the backdrop and  for establishing the  “bones” of the garden.  Color  relationships are also seen  as more than simply a by-product of  planting  choices. The plants  need to dialog with one another but  also with the  setting and environmental structure.   Like paintings, small gardens  can be highly inspirational and  need not be  monumental in scale to create interest,  grandeur  and aesthetic power.

Charles Mann.