As you enter the spacious grounds belonging to an exceptionally committed plant collector, notice the small grouping of shade plants to the right. A large clump of clivia multiplies in one corner near a towering asparagus 'Sprengeri' with its five-foot drooping stems. Growing around the base of a deodar with hanging moss are clumps of bleeding heart. The most unusual of the plants in this first garden area is a Stenocarpus sinuatus, the firewheel tree from Australia. Purchased at a Huntington Library plant sale, it was 30 years before the tree finally bloomed for the first time.

On the walk around the house, there are roses, camellias, grevilleas, iris, orange trees, lilacs, lavender, viburnum, and hydrangea. A large Solandra maxima (Cup of Gold Vine) outlines a picture window of the house. As you reach the edge overlooking the Arroyo, be sure to notice an enchanting Japanese Maple forest. Fifteen different grafted cultivars of this small, handsome tree decorate the area.

Along the back path, you'll notice begonias, hanging baskets of ferns, heucera (coral bells), wisteria, and cymbidiums. A section of hostas grow in the coolest, shady area under a canopy of old oaks.

Recently a grove of crepe myrtles in several colors was added to one corner of the orchard. In another corner, an large echium sprawls near lemon and orange trees. Near the arroyo overlook, a tidy wigwam of berry plants climb toward the sun.

Everywhere in this garden you will see roses tucked in between other plants. A tidy grouping of hybrid tea roses grows near the house, climbing roses scramble up the walls of the house, and others use the chain link fencing of an old tennis court to find the sun.