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At first meeting , garden intriguer Brandon Tyson and homeowner Amy Harmon knew they had found kindred spirit in one another — mellow - energy , über - creative and passionate about their interests . By happy coincidence , both are also utter and unabashed flora Nut . It was kismat .
A span of Himalayan fishtail palms ( Caryota gigas , grow by a friend from ejaculate ) tug over the garden ’s water feature . or else of a typical allée of cypress tree leading to the fountain , Tyson gave things a bend by choosing Dr. Seuss - like Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree aloes ( Aloe barberae , syn . A. bainesii ) , underplanting them with a glittering miscellany of succulents . The effect is of a Iranian nirvana garden . Photo by : Marion Brenner . SEE MORE PHOTOS OF THIS GARDEN
Even before Harmon and her family moved into their 1930s Mediterranean - fashion house in the Berkeley Hills , she already had her sights lay on creating a garden with enough panache to equal the well-nigh untouched interior , with its original D&M roofing tile work and shaped - Fe brightness fix . In Tyson she set up a designer who was a bull’s - eye fit . As Tyson say : “ I ’m drama driven . I require multitude to be drawn to a garden and surprised by it . I ’m the Cecil B. DeMille of the plant world . ” Witness the “ undersea garden ” at the Harmons ’ whereStrelitzia junceaandAeoniumtake the spot of red coral and anemone .
That ’s not to say Tyson is over the top . He lie with precisely how far to push the edge , which is what gives his gardens their active stress and sense of play . At the Harmon project , he explored what he hollo “ deconstructed formalism , ” where conventional element are challenged by the pick of fabric . For example , he prefer for way-out , mop - top Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree aloes as an allée run to the fount rather than the expected cypress tree , and for a hedge to screen the dimension from the street he usedAzara dentata , an evergreen bush with yellowed flowers that sense delectably like chocolate .
As far as sheer theatrics , Tyson promptly intromit he ’s fond of immediate gratification and employ a Grus to work in plant textile the way other garden designer might expend a hand truck . And he will search high and down for just the right specimen : like the Himalayan fishtail palms a friend had originate from seed that Tyson had been eyeing for 20 age , hop someday to find a garden as suitable as the Harmons ’ to give them a domicile . Or the rare Chilean wine palm ( Jubaea chilensis ) Amy Harmon was intent on having that Tyson as luck would have it constitute for sales agreement when the president of the Northern California Chapter of the International Palm Society was dismantling her assembling .
Though the garden is diminished , Harmon wanted pathway and places to sit to appreciate the plantings . Here an antique work bench ( a gift to Harmon from her married man ) see over architecturalKalanchoe thysifloraand a yellow - flower groundcover of organisation button ( Cotula lineariloba ) . picture by : Marion Brenner . SEE MORE PHOTOS OF THIS GARDEN
Despite the primo selection , for Tyson the garden is more than an gathering of flora : “ It ’s a string of memories ; each plant has a story . ” It ’s also by all odds not a collector ’s garden . “ There are very few ‘ ones ’ in the garden , ” says Tyson , who is impassioned about weaving together colors and textures — Abutilon , Freesia , Clivia , Sparaxia , Cuphea . For Tyson , it ’s like working with fabric . And no wonder , since prior to entering the world of garden aim , Tyson studied textile innovation . He still falls into using textile footing when he talks about gardens , saying something look like silk or hemp—“It ’s just the elbow room I see thing . ” The layering of this “ fabric , ” from the trees down to the groundcovers , creates what Tyson call a “ house of cards . ” “ When you add up into one of my garden , you ’re in another place and sentence . Once you ’re entrance in the bubble , it ’s about the garden and not about you . ”
Michael Gerald Tyson could have notice no more appreciative hearing or simpatico confederate than Amy Harmon , who has been a guest unlike any other . From Tyson ’s point of view , “ Amy is extremely knowledgeable — she really keeps me on my toes . ” The two of them routinely get together on all aspects of the garden . Says Harmon , “ I would get aroused about sure plants , like coinage tulips , and really research them . ” Then she and Tyson would go on the hunt . And Harmon feels the process of building and maintaining the garden has been her education as a gardener . At the beginning she had one vision in mind for sure — no rose or lawn . Now she ’s pruning her own topiaries among the citrus assembling in the backyard ( with a fiddling motive from South Carolina topiary artist Pearl Fryar , another self - taught nurseryman ) .
In her extensive travel , Harmon has visited a wealth of gardens , but it was at the outré Lotusland in Santa Barbara that she incur fussy inspiration for her own . And she became scheme with the notion of a paradise garden , an oasis from the engaged outside world ( an idea in keeping with Tyson ’s bubble construct ) with a winding pathway that prompt you to focus on each private flora . She and Tyson correspond that the ordered centerpiece should be a natural spring , an all important element in Iranian andMediterranean garden . Tyson had a sure look in mind and asked Amy and her hubby Cyrus to find their pet fountain in the world for the project . They track down one they had seen in a Koran , located in the court of the Andalusia Courtyard Apartments in Los Angeles , designed by Arthur and Nina Zwebell in 1926 . work only from pic , their contractor , Ken Cottrell , manage to duplicate it almost exactly .
For the fount ’s surface , Harmon was resolved to apply tiles in the custom of the 1920s and ’ 30s , the “ golden full stop ” of California roofing tile companies . She was in luck to find Diana Watson of Native Tile & Ceramics , who makes breeding of D&M Tile — the same as those found inside the Harmon house . The result water feature is the focal point of the garden : an exotic , paradisiacal link .
Stalklike ceramic sculptures by Berkeley creative person Marcia Donahue appear alive , issue from a tapis of black - foliagedAeonium‘Zwartkop ’ andBanksia spinulosa‘Schnapper Point ’ , and intentionally mimick the forest bamboo in the background . Photo by : Marion Brenner . SEE MORE photograph OF THIS GARDEN
To liven up the garden further , Tyson and Harmon introduced sculpturesque piece of music by Berkeley creative person Marcia Donahue : a custom polo-neck spitter for the fountain , ceramic fish , jumbo pearl string on the tree bitter aloes , and upright stalking that appear to be a cross between the nearbyArisaemaand giant timber bamboo . The merriment of the garden is not lost on the Harmon minor , Olivia and Mark . ( Olivia , by the fashion , is convinced there are fairies exist there . )
Indeed it ’s been a magic experience for Tyson , who has worked mostly in Marin County and was thirsty for a Berkeley project . Much to his surprisal ( having designed gardens preponderantly for very individual property ) , the rest of Berkeley seemed almost as fascinate by the construction of the garden as he and Harmon . Neighborly Berkeleyites ofttimes stopped by to turn back on its progress and readily declare oneself notion , especially when Tyson was putting in the minute seam up by the road . “ I was astounded by people ’s response , ” pronounce Tyson . “ The garden caused quite a fuss . ”
For his next labor , Tyson is going back to his roots in Georgia , having buy a 2d family 60 miles from Savannah . Originally from the small town of Albany , he can describe his gardening instinct to both grandmothers , one in North Georgia who favored peonies , and one further south who surpass in raise subtropical plants . The conflict in the two intrigue him from an early age , and he feel the South force at his heartstrings . He ’s primed to go “ hammer and pair of tongs ” into build a novel garden , and make household bases east and west seems to him like the best of both universe : “ exit back and forward will be like traveling to a foreign country . ” The yin and yang of bicoastal living should provide grist for much drama to get .
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