Don and Marilyn Conlan’s garden in South Pasadena is a hybrid: an English garden adapted to the southern Californian climate. Don Conlan designed a series of garden rooms that artfully divide and create useful spaces for outdoor entertainment, recreation and TO express his love of horticultural wonders. Over his residency of MORE THAN 40 years, the garden HAS GROWN and evolved. As in any garden, the life cycle is one of growth, peak and withdrawal.  Don has used this process as a framework for renewal. The dying trees become receptacles of new plantings. Two unique features are his love OF unusual plants, and unusual combinations that in turn compete and thrive together. He's created a framework to experiment with playful combinations, and specific species that he collects.  

The garden responds very thoughtfully to the California climate. In his front yard the grass has been removed and replaced with lower water lawn substitutes but not cactus and gravel. The back yard is where the visitor is taken through a series of progressively controlled and thoughtfully sequenced spatial rooms. At the back of his lot, he has a seasonal vegetable garden in raised beds.  He has a collection of fruit trees and an innovative woven support system for growing his heirloom tomatoes. He starts his tomatoes in his greenhouse at the back of his property to plant later in the spring. 

The garden has been recently toured by the Garden Writer’s Association and the Garden Conservancy. The Don and Marilyn Conlan garden is a botanical cornucopia and reflects the owners delight, creativity and resourcefulness.  This special garden is not to be missed.

In addition to the tour, Debby Figoni will be giving a brief talk at 2:00. We hope you can join us.