By Barbara McMurray, Special to the Independent
Tucked away at the end of a private road, the Hortense Miller Garden encompasses two and a half steep acres above Boat Canyon. On March 26, the grounds will throw open its gates for a free open house from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Guests are invited to wander the dozens of hillside trails and tour the pristine midcentury modern home designed by architect Knowlton Fernald, Jr., built in 1958. The event will include an art exhibition by Sharon Hardy, whose ceramic pieces and drawings will be on display.
The Hortense Miller Garden is a nonprofit with a board of directors —few are from Laguna Beach—and dozens of volunteers. The property is owned by Laguna Beach. Gardeners and horticulturists from far and wide make the pilgrimage to the gardens because it inspires their own efforts and demonstrates the range of plants that can be grown in Southern California coastal zones. Minimal use of fertilizers and chemical controls encourages a diversity of plant and wildlife species.
“As a long-time resident of Laguna Beach, I find inspiration in the unique beauty of our open spaces,” Hardy said. “I have been lucky enough to have spent time drawing in the garden. Through my ceramics and drawing, I hope to elicit the feeling of spiritual connection many find in the natural world.”
The horticultural wonderland is dotted with towering Canary Island and Torrey pines planted from one-gallon saplings in 1959 and more than 500 plant species, of which about 150 are California natives. The house’s glass walls offer breathtaking ocean and hillside views, in accordance with Miller’s instructions to Fernald to design every room with a view. Miller’s fanciful eye for art and clean design is evident in every room’s original furnishings—murals she painted, some only partway, her tiny soap carvings, collections of objets d’art from her travels, including clean-lined, Danish furniture.
A distinctly original artist and naturalist, Miller began planting and designing her magical midcentury domain at age 50. She and her husband Oscar chose Fernald for his design aesthetic—open, post-and-beam construction with floating walls and unobstructed sightlines from the floor-to-ceiling windows in every direction. Oscar died a year after the home was completed, but Hortense remained in the house until her death in 2008.
She created a hilltop retreat surrounded by plants and trees, some native, many gifts of the visitors from around the world who came to call. Miller wrote extensively, documenting her quotidian life among the hillside’s plants and animals. She doted on Dody, her cockatoo. Dody occupied the aviary in the house and slept in her own stunning piece of art, a Brutalist-style bronze cage that Miller commissioned from her friend, artist Dextra Frankel.
The house and grounds were singed by but survived the 1979 Boat Canyon fire, which Miller experienced with sanguine calm. As the inferno unfolded, Miller told frantic friends who insisted on rescuing her that because the house was part of the land, “if it goes, it goes.”
At the March 26 open house, volunteers will offer free art workshops for children and hourly garden tours. A beekeeper will give a talk at noon. Free shuttle buses will whisk visitors to and from the house and garden from First Church of Christ Scientist at 635 High Dr.
In addition to this annual event, the Garden offers meditation workshops with Lori Kahn from OM Laguna Beach, monthly birdwatching tours, craft workshops, and Laguna Plein Air Painters outings. Register for these at lagunabeachcity.net. Call 949-464-6645 to book a docent-led tour most Saturdays and Thursdays each month. Learn more about the gardens at hortensemillergarden.org or call 949-374-2696.
