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Desert Museum Palo Verde
Bonsai Blue Jacaranda
Little Gem Magnolia
canopy was our respite from the summer heat. Each August, it blooms hotpink owers, just before our daughter’s birthday. The color is so vibrant, we still remain in awe of its beauty when it’s in bloom. In the fall, the leaves quickly drop and require little effort to clean up. It’s the perfect tree for all seasons. > DETAILS: Up to 30 feet in height; single and multi-trunk; white, pink, lavender, or red blooms; full sun; drought tolerant; deciduous.
LITTLE GEM MAGNOLIA (Magnolia grandi ora “Little Gem”)
This dwarf southern magnolia has a gorgeous, sweet aroma and lotus-like blooms in late spring through summer that do well as cut owers. The smaller, two-tone, dark-green and brown foliage can be shaped for privacy and is truly captivating when trained as espalier against a wall or fence. > DETAILS: Slow growing, reaching 20–25 feet; full sun; moderate watering; evergreen.
Bonsai Blue is an ideal specimen tree for smaller gardens and equally useful as a large border accent, while the dwarf variety is perfect for decorative pots on a terrace or patio. The large, deep-purple, tubular owers with bright-green, fernlike foliage take well to pruning. > DETAILS: Quickly reaches up to 12 feet tall and up to 8 feet wide in ground; dwarf species grows to 30 inches; full sun; low water needs; semi-evergreen.
DESERT MUSEUM PALO VERDE (Cercidium x “Desert Museum”)
This gorgeous, thornless California native hybrid makes a ne, upright lightshade tree. Showy large yellow blossoms give a dazzling display of color in the spring. After the foliage falls, the trunk and stems remain chartreuse green, providing year-round interest. > DETAILS: Fast growing; up to 30 feet tall and 25 feet wide; full sun; drought tolerant; deciduous.
INTERPRETING TREE DESCRIPTIONS
● Descriptions should be used as general guidelines. The specific planting location will determine the performance. ● USDA assigns a plant hardiness zone based on zip code. Pasadena is 9b and 10a (Mediterranean, hardy). ● Many trees requiring full sun (minimum six hours) can take light/partial shade (minimum four hours of sun), but produce fewer flowers and less density with taller branches. Full shade (minimum two hours of sun) requires wetter soil. ● Consult your local nursery.
TREE CARE
● Water newly planted trees once every five to seven days. ● Trees drink water at the feeder roots located at the drip line, which is the edge of the tree’s canopy (leaves), not at the trunk, and can extend two to three times the width of the canopy. ● Mulch 1–2 inches away from the trunk.
● Avoid digging under the canopy, which can kill small roots.
● Remove rocks and vegetation within 3–5 feet of the trunk.
RESOURCES
● See tips on tree care, Pasadena tree ordinances, and the city’s Master Street Tree Plan at cityofpasadena.net/public-works/ urban-forestry —L.B.
RANCH REDONE
A remodel and redesign breathes new life into this Pasadena ranch-style home originally built in 1968 for a family of six, now reimagined with contemporary comforts.
WORDS BY RAMONA SAVISS PHOTOGRAPHY BY PETER CHRISTIANSEN VALLI
hen a family of six wanted to move into this Pasadena home, they enlisted the help of interior designer Rozalynn Woods. The home was built in 1968 by architect Petrie Wilson, who raised her four sons there. “It was notable because she built it with two-layer clay bricks for the walls, which gave insulation and structure,” says Woods. When her clients purchased the home, they decided to add a bedroom and bathroom, which led to a complete remodel by a team including Susan Masterman Architects, and Bo Zarnick from Manchester Construction. Woods describes her clients as people who are involved with their community and enjoy hosting school functions, charity events, and other gatherings. Keeping brick was intrinsic to the personality of the six-bedroom, ve-bathroom house. “When you’re standing inside, you see the brick walls on the interior and then you look out into the backyard and then see the same brick on the exterior,” says Woods. “So you have this experience of an indoor-outdoor relationship, which is carried throughout the home.”
PREVIOUS SPREAD “I have this philosophy that it takes three,” Woods says of her personal design aesthetic. “If we use wood and we use steel, what is that other interesting component going to be?” To the outdoor space of the Santa Barbara–style ranch home, Woods added colorful Paola Lenti swings hanging from the oversized oak tree for a fresh take. The outdoor space is also outfitted with a B&B Italia sofa and Dedon chairs. As for the home itself, she says, “The lines are straight and clean and it’s not overly done—it’s very simple and functional, but stylishly comfortable.” Since the original pool had to be rebuilt, the owners chose to outfit it with handmade Heath tiles for their variations in color. Wood’s goal for the outdoor spaces was for them to be usable, which is why she opted for teak chairs by Holly Hunt. “The whole approach for me in so many instances was how do you connect the inside and the outside?” says Woods. Her solution was keeping the same outdoor tone throughout every space to relate to the oak trees—in the use of teak furniture, a Little Sky Bang chandelier by Stickbulb, which looks like a pair of twigs, and a Jakarta root sculpture from Design Around Objects in the great room.
THIS SPREAD
FAR LEFT: “The family wanted to enjoy their backyard, especially the oak trees, from their kitchen, dining room and family room, so they raised the headers on those two walls to nine feet and raised the ceiling to 14 feet Then, they installed new Fleetwood sliding doors that slide o to each side, opening up the entire space to the outdoors,” Woods says of the great room. She used a hand-knotted Abaca rug, kept the clay brick walls, and added a Flexform sofa from Italy. “What we love about it is that it’s the one big sofa in the house and everybody hangs out on it— that’s where they live,” she says. The great room opens to the dining room with its Gregorius Pineo table with metal legs and a scraped-wood top. The chairs, however, are custom designed by Woods herself.
TOP: The game room includes a handmade oak pool table, McGuire chairs upholstered in Perennials fabrics, a bar and a customdesigned fireplace that includes Samsung’s The Frame TV, which doubles as art.
LEFT: In the kitchen, the cabinets are ebony stained rift sawn oak with blackened steel upper cabinets. Across from the Wolf range sits an oversized, handmade German silver sink from George’s Plumbing. “My clients fell in love with it and so did I,” says Woods. “I thought, this is just perfect because it would be the jewel in the room.”
LEFT: “Every room has its moments of color,” Woods says of the use of a pink pillow on the primary bed. The nightstands are antique Japanese tansus stained ebony. “Japanese pieces tend to have a design neutrality to them that allows them to seamlessly blend in with other elements in a home, regardless of the style of the rest of the house,” says Woods.
BELOW LEFT: Woods decorated the downstairs hallway, which leads to the four children’s bedrooms, with Hans Wegner benches and art by John Lincoln, plus an antique Japanese tansu chest. Local artist Danny Shain helped the designer lay out and hang the family photographs.
BELOW: The light-filled primary bathroom is Woods’ favorite space in the house—part of the room additions by Masterman Architects. She notes of the design: “The wood on the ceiling balances the wood on the floors, and the color of the walls matches the creamy white limestone.” She also had two custom vanities and a mirror made for the space. “We didn’t want to get too goopy with it; we wanted it to be a simple space, to function, and to have all of the materials relate to one another.”
INTERIOR DESIGN: Rozalynn Woods Interior Design, rozalynnwoods.com
ARCHITECTURE: Susan Masterman Architects, susanmasterman.com
CONTRACTOR: Bo Zarnick, Manchester Construction & Development manchestercandd.com
