TL;DR
Get pool and patio gear delivered free with Prime
- Fast, free delivery on millions of items
- Prime Video, Amazon Music and more included
- Member-only deals all year
Landscape designer John Sharp and his studio created a family-focused garden around a Pasadena Arts and Crafts home built between 1909 and 1911. The design combines a terracotta-striped pool, a rock labyrinth, edible planting and separate outdoor spaces, aiming to feel connected to the historic property while serving everyday family life.
Landscape designer John Sharp has created a family garden around a historic Arts and Crafts home in Pasadena, combining a striped pool, a children’s rock labyrinth and edible, drought-tolerant planting. The design, described in a Homes and Gardens report, was shaped by the owners’ wish for a landscape that could evoke childhood wonder while remaining practical for family life and respectful of the house’s early-20th-century character.
The garden occupies most of the property’s 11,700-square-foot site and wraps around a house designed by architect Louis du Puget Millar between 1909 and 1911. The home sits on an oak-lined street, and mature trees provide shade and a sense of enclosure. Sharp organized the landscape into outdoor areas intended for different uses, from active family time to quieter retreat.
A central feature is a pool with terracotta stripes, developed with the family to echo the home’s interior design. The front garden serves as a natural playscape for the owners’ two young daughters, with a rock labyrinth threaded through herbs and edible plants. Fruiting trees, including mature citrus and persimmon, sit alongside drought-tolerant species.
Materials include organic flagstone and decomposed granite, selected for warmth, permeability and the way they can age in place, Sharp told Homes and Gardens. The report also describes a custom fire pit, boulders used as informal seating, ceramic pendant lights and bells from the Arcosanti foundry. Together, these features are intended to support both daily use and evening gatherings.
A Garden Designed for Daily Family Life
The project offers a specific example of how a landscape can address competing needs around a historic home: preserving a sense of continuity with the architecture while adding contemporary amenities and space for children. Its design separates the property into distinct outdoor rooms, rather than treating the garden as a single decorative setting. That approach gives the family places for play, cooking, swimming and quieter use.
The edible planting also makes the landscape functional beyond appearance. Herbs and fruit trees are part of the garden’s structure, supporting everyday cooking and giving the children opportunities to engage with the plants. In a region where the source describes warm autumn temperatures and drought-tolerant planting, the choices also reflect a California landscape rather than a conventional fall garden dominated by burnt foliage and leaf displays.
The design is not a report on a new building policy or a broader change in gardening practice. Its relevance is as a documented residential project showing how the owners’ priorities, the house’s architectural history and the site’s existing oak canopy informed one coordinated plan.
Products Worth Considering
Philips Hue Bridge Pro Smart Lighting Hub
Philips Hue Festavia 65-Foot Smart LED String Lights, 250 Color-Changing Mini LEDs
Dyson V8 Cyclone Cordless Vacuum
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
Historic House, Contemporary Landscape
The Pasadena house was designed during 1909–1911 by Louis du Puget Millar and reflects the Arts and Crafts movement. The garden’s challenge, as Sharp described it, was to make the new landscape feel connected to that residence rather than like a separate contemporary installation. The property’s mature oaks were already a defining feature, providing shade and shaping the atmosphere of the site.
Sharp said the team worked with the owners on a material palette intended to feel grounded and timeless while allowing the garden to have its own character. The terracotta pool detailing links the exterior to the home’s interior language; natural stone, granite and planting provide a softer counterpoint. The project was designed by Studio John Sharp and photographed by Joyce Kim, according to the Homes and Gardens report.
“The garden is organized as a series of distinct outdoor enclaves and wellness areas, designed to function as a collection of open-air rooms.”
— John Sharp, landscape designer
Project Timing and Performance Details
The Homes and Gardens report does not provide the garden’s completion date, construction cost or maintenance requirements. It also does not identify the specific drought-tolerant species beyond the examples of citrus and persimmon trees, herbs and edible plants, or provide data on water use. Sharp’s descriptions of the garden’s atmosphere and design aims are attributed statements, not independent measurements of how the landscape performs over time.
The source does not say how the family uses each area in practice beyond mentioning cookouts and evenings around the fire pit. It also does not describe any safety provisions for the pool or labyrinth. Those details should not be inferred from the design description.
No Further Project Milestones Listed
The source presents the garden as a completed design but does not announce a future opening, construction phase or follow-up milestone. It is not clear whether Studio John Sharp or the homeowners plan to publish additional information about planting, maintenance or the pool. For now, the available account is the Homes and Gardens report and the project details attributed to Sharp.
Key Questions
Where is the garden?
It surrounds an Arts and Crafts home in Pasadena, California, on an oak-lined street.
Who designed the landscape?
John Sharp and Studio John Sharp designed the garden, according to the Homes and Gardens report.
What are the garden’s main features?
Reported features include a terracotta-striped pool, a rock labyrinth, edible planting, mature citrus and persimmon trees, a fire pit and several outdoor areas for different uses.
How does the garden connect to the house?
Sharp said the design aimed to make the landscape feel like a natural extension of the historic residence. The pool’s terracotta detailing echoes the interior, while earthy materials and planting support the connection.
Are costs or water-use figures available?
No. The report gives no project cost, water-use data or detailed maintenance plan.
Source: homesandgardens.com
