Gunther Schwartz Garden

[Kim]

May 19, 2007 the Palm Society of Southern California met at the Gunther Schwartz garden in the hills and canyons behind Mission Santa Barbara.  The late Gunther Schwartz spent 25 years collecting and cultivating this personal garden on three acres.  His widow, Jennifer, thought Gunther would have  been pleased by this return visit from the Palm Society.

Visitors are greeted by a neat blue-grey agave at the entrance to the drive:

(possibly agave perryi?)

Of course, succulents are at their most striking when massed together:

The entire length of the drive is bordered by this astonishing array of succulents with a few drought tolerant palms intermixed for height:

[JakeK]

Looks like a fantastic mediterranean garden. That mass planting of the agaves is very cool.

[Kim]

The border is a wonderful crazy-quilt of color, pattern, and texture:

The property is graced with a number of enormous coastal live oaks.  These have been used to shelter a collection of bromeliads, tillandsias, and philodendrons, which thrive in the shade.  Large rocks and boulders are another distinctive feature of the sloping hillside, and many were collected and used to form stair steps and borders around the property, in this case, an arching path beneath one of the large oaks:

Some of the tillandsias are quite large:

[Kim]

Verdigris colors on bench, rock, and plants:

At the end of the path, suddenly a view opens to the misty oak studded hills beyond:

Palms, you ask?  Oh, yes, definitely!

Ravenea rivularis

Rhopalostylus... bauerii?

[Kim]

Chambeyronia macrocarpa and native stone path:

Tiki keeping cool under fan palm frond:

Brahea armatas flank footbridge:

Closeup of bamboo in background:

[Kim]

Koi pond constructed from boulders;  trunk of Phoenix canariensis to the right;  Howea forsterianas in background:

Spiraling inflorescence on a grass in the Australia garden:

Rock collection displayed on a table-sized boulder:

Uhhh, Livistona chinensis? Most palms are not labeled, help me out...

[Kim]

Uh, left to right, possible Dypsis decipiens, Caryota, perhaps urens, Chambeyronia macrocarpa, and in background, um, Sabal?

Very tall, mature Dypsis lutescens between pool and house, unusual size for this area:

Arenga engleri, hard to get it all in the frame:

[Kim]

A look around the stone-lined lawn;  Pandanus, Caryota urens with cascading inflorescence, and a very attractive pinnate palm with distinctly recurved fronds, that I cannot identify with certainty;  Chica standing in for scale:

Closer look at said unidentified palm-- this will be easy for most of you, no?

Fabulous proportions on a Jubaea chilensis, trunk of Roystonea regia to the right, the feathery plant between them some sort of bamboo:

Cycads and multi-level deck behind house where the pot-luck lunch was served:

[Kim]

Variegated Rhapis in garden between house and pool;  if I recall correctly, the thin trunk to the left is Euterpe edulis:

Cycads and palms line a shady walkway around the house:

Epiphyte-decorated oak:

Cactus and large-scale palms in front of home, Chica for scale:

[Kim]

Must be very dry out here in the summer:

A pair of tall Phoenix roebelenii flank the entry to the home:

Unfortunately, this is where my batteries went dead, but I hope I've given you a sense of the extensive and varied collection.

[Jeff Searle]

Kim,

   What an extreamly beautiful garden. Many areas looked well laid out. Your pics. were great as well! Thanks, I appreciate the tour.

Jeff

007

[Shon]

Great tour Kim! I was going to go even got the time off work and  my brother lives in Ventura but got really sick on Thurs and had to cancel. I'm so glad you took photos.Looks like I missed an incredible garden. I think that is a teddy bear in post 7 and post 8 is belmoreana.

[bgl]

Kim,

Thanks for posting all the great photos. Really brought back memories. I always enjoyed talking with Gunther on numerous PSSC meetings back in the early 1990s, and I remember he mentioned that he and Jennifer lived in Honolulu before moving to SoCal. I also recall that he and I would many times be bidding on the same palms at the PSSC auctions...  Last time I visited their property was at a PSSC meeting around 1994, give or take a year.

Bo-Göran

[JEFF from Trabuco Canyon CA]

Hi Kim, Nice Photos!  The palm you are trying to identify is Howea belmoreana.

Jeff

[Kris]

Dear Kim  

thanks a lot for those fentastic visual of that superb garden,

your photography skills seems to be very good.

and who ever has planned that lovely garden has great taste

and landscape designing skills_Hats off !

every plant & palm,cycas or desert varities were place so meticulious,showing the person has visualised the effect long back

in his mind itself_Great work.

the walkway is all white pebble covered and the cactus theme in those brick red colour simply adds beauty beyond

ones imagination..

in my opnion that will be the most relaxing place in the earth for spending weekends_WoW !

thanks & Love,

Kris  

[SubTropicRay]

Great photo tour Kim.  I loved the rock enclosed landscape beds.  Thanks for posting.

[Peter]

Hi Kim,

great photos!  I missed you and Steve in Socal as I arrived late.  Hope to catch you next meeting.

[MattyB]

Great Travel Log Kim!  What a beautiful garden.  thanks

[ellidro]

Nice pics and great garden. I think the palm in post 5 is burretiokentia Hapala.

[amazon exotics]

Nice garden. I think Chica would make a great ranchhand. I could  always use hand here in Fla.  

[BigFrond]

Very nice pictures Kim.  I was not into agaves and yuccas until I saw many of the pictures on this site.  

[MattyB]

(ellidro @ Jun. 04 2007,14:52)

QUOTE

Nice pics and great garden. I think the palm in post 5 is burretiokentia Hapala.

Oh yeah, good one.  I think it is B. hapala.  There's a Chambey hookeri off to the left lookin' all limey, ya bra?

[palmazon]

(amazon exotics @ Jun. 05 2007,03:51)

QUOTE

Nice garden. I think Chica would make a great ranchhand. I could  always use hand here in Fla.  

Have you initiated your daughter into Palmworld yet? She's welcome to join my Hands-On Weed-Pulling seminar at the Palm Patch/Junkyard.

[amazon exotics]

Palmazon, Nope, Don't have a daughter but teaching the boy to admire ranchhands.

[palmazon]

I was referring to Kim's daughter...

[sick1166]

love this place

[BS Man about Palms]

Not sure where I was that I missed this the first time, but thanks for the bump sick.

[Gbarce]

Excellent coverage!

That's a great looking garden.

[The Germinator]

I wish I had a Chica for scale. Do you have any extras? Is that a Chica foxiana.

....just kidding

Awsome Pictures!

[sick1166]

very nice

[Al in Kona]

Kim, thanks for sharing some beautiful scenes from one great Southern California garden. I enjoy seeing gardens from different geogrphical areas of the world. They are all unique in their own way!

[paulgila]

that palm trunk in post #9 looks like a chameadorea.

unbelievably cool garden & thats a long word to spell.

[MattyB]

Oh yeah man. I'm glad this got bumped. I've gotta steal that succulent garden idea.