TL;DR
Landscape designer John Sharp and his Studio John Sharp team created a family-oriented garden around an Arts and Crafts home in Pasadena. The design combines a striped terracotta-tile pool, a rock labyrinth and edible, drought-tolerant planting, aiming to feel connected to the historic house while providing distinct areas for play and gathering.
Landscape designer John Sharp has created a family garden around a historic Arts and Crafts home in Pasadena, combining a terracotta-tiled pool, a children’s rock labyrinth and edible, drought-tolerant planting. The design, reported by Homes and Gardens, seeks to connect the landscape to the early 20th-century house while making the grounds work for everyday family use and outdoor gatherings.
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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. Mature oaks shade the property. Sharp organized the grounds into separate outdoor areas, including spaces for family activities and quieter places to retreat.
The pool was a long-held wish of the owner, according to the report. Working with the family, Sharp’s team designed it with striped terracotta tiles intended to carry the home’s interior character into the garden. Elsewhere, a custom fire pit is surrounded by boulders used as informal seats; ceramic pendant lights and bells from the Arcosanti foundry add light and sound.
The front yard serves as a natural play area for the owners’ two young daughters. Its rock labyrinth is woven with herbs and edible plants. The planting also includes fruiting trees, mature citrus and persimmon, alongside drought-tolerant species. Organic flagstone, decomposed granite and terracotta tones provide a warm, permeable material palette, Sharp said.
A Garden Designed for Family Life
The project shows how a landscape can serve several purposes without relying on a single formal lawn or play area. Its distinct outdoor rooms combine children’s play, food-growing, swimming and evening gatherings, while the planting and mature trees help preserve a sense of privacy on the shaded property.
For readers interested in historic homes and landscape design, the central challenge is the relationship between new work and an older building. Sharp said the team wanted the garden to feel connected to the house rather than like a later addition. That aim shaped choices including the pool tile and the use of natural, earthy materials, as well as the balance between defined structures and looser planting.
The edible planting also gives the garden a practical role in family life. Herbs and fruit trees are not only decorative features; the report says they were included to support everyday cooking and a more hands-on relationship with the landscape. The design’s drought-tolerant plants are suited to the California setting, though the source does not provide information about water use or maintenance requirements.
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The Home and Its Setting
The house was designed between 1909 and 1911 by Louis du Puget Millar, whose work reflects the Arts and Crafts movement. It stands on an oak-lined Pasadena street, where established tree cover contributes to the site’s shade. The garden fills most of the lot while retaining areas of enclosure beneath the mature canopy.
Sharp described the brief as an emotional goal as well as a design plan: the owners wanted a sense of childhood wonder in a garden that remained usable and intentional. The resulting approach pairs prominent features, such as the pool and fire pit, with naturalistic planting that can change and grow over time. The source credits the landscape design to Studio John Sharp and photography to Joyce Kim.
“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 Details Still Unreported
The Homes and Gardens report does not state when the garden was completed, what it cost or how long construction took. It also gives no measurements for the pool or individual garden areas, and does not quantify water use, planting quantities or maintenance needs.
The descriptions of the garden’s atmosphere and its success in connecting the house and landscape are attributed to Sharp or presented by the publication as design observations. The source does not include independent assessments from the homeowners or technical performance data. It is also unclear whether the garden is open to visitors; the report presents it as a private family property.
How the Garden Will Mature
No future project milestones or public events are identified in the source. Sharp said the organic planting approach is intended to let the garden evolve over time, while the selected materials are meant to age naturally. The report does not offer a schedule for future work or details on how the owners will manage the planting as it matures.
For now, the documented development is the completed design: a set of outdoor rooms that combines the family’s pool, play area, edible planting and gathering spaces around the historic Pasadena home.
Key Questions
Who designed the Pasadena garden?
John Sharp and his Studio John Sharp team designed the garden, according to the Homes and Gardens report.
What are the garden’s main features?
Features include a striped terracotta-tile pool, a custom fire pit, a front-yard rock labyrinth, herbs, fruiting trees and drought-tolerant planting.
What kind of home does the garden surround?
The garden wraps around a Pasadena house designed by Louis du Puget Millar between 1909 and 1911. The home reflects the Arts and Crafts movement.
Was the garden designed for children?
Yes. The owners wanted a sense of childhood wonder, and the front yard was designed as a natural play area for their two young daughters. The wider garden also includes places for adult gatherings and quieter retreat.
Is the garden open to the public?
The report describes it as a private garden for the owners’ family and does not say that it is open to visitors.
Source: homesandgardens.com
