How landscape designer John Sharp achieves ethereal outdoor spaces for historic residences

Such historic residential properties include the Ford Estate in Rancho Mirage, which belonged to the 38th US President and First Lady Gerald and Betty Ford–a California ranch-style home from the 1970s .

Surrounding the Welton Becket-designed six-bedroom home that spans 6,316 sq ft, Sharp contrasted the “regal and sophisticated” modernist architecture with “a whimsical and sculptural landscape design,” recalls the designer. 

He adds: “Mostly native desert specimens were brought in as a counterpoint to the existing more Mediterranean palette—olives, palms, citrus, and roses: the structural cacti, yucca rostrata, barrel cactus, Mexican fence post, palos verde trees, brought greater definition and identity to the landscape.”

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Meanwhile, for the Hailey House, designed by Richard Neutra, the quintessential architect of Californian mid-century modernism, Sharp was tasked to “preserve and prioritise the homes’ architectural integrity, while developing a previously nonexistent environmental vision.”

Perched on a steep hillside in the Hollywood Hills neighbourhood of Los Angeles, Sharp wrapped the low-slung, flat-surfaced, pavilion-like structure with layers of botanical statements to “establish a feeling of being transported to another world,” explains Sharp. 

“The front feels more like a tease, whereas the back reveals another world—a very meditative and relaxing jungle-esque environment, with a relatively shaded back slope with an existing mature bamboo hedge,” he continues.

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Sharp’s magnum opus commission thus far would have to be renowned architect John Lautner’s Garcia House–also known as the Rainbow House for its parabolic roof over stained glass windows.

For the private home described as “one of the ten most important residences from the midcentury period in Los Angeles,” Sharp imagined “an immersive art-driven landscape through a retro future sci-fi lens to ground the structure and incorporation of a water conscious planting program which manifested as a subtle desert theme,” he describes.

“Installing the garden was no easy victory, as the historic home is cantilevered off Mulholland Drive, and it took almost three months of methodical plant placements along steep hillsides,” Sharp shares.

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What would you say are the characteristics that make a landscape design distinctive in an “artful living” space?

Landscapes are in constant motion, as they embody and signify change; and living artfully requires a creative responsiveness to that constant, a willingness to embrace the evolving future as it arises. 

It’s unfortunate that casualties of our collective disconnection with nature include a staggering number of beautifully designed homes with little to no attention paid to the surrounding landscape and environmental context. 

Which is why with many residential projects we work on, we aim to establish maximum entry points for deeper connection to the natural world, balancing expressive intervention with hospitable and inviting qualities and ample space for the wild to roam.

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Is that what you mean, when you described your work as “the intersection of landscape design and artful living”?

Absolutely. Our creative practice is a true collaboration with nature, in which we enter projects at all stages with a zoomed out lens, taking into consideration the lifestyle desires and needs of our clients, alongside site specific requirements and material and form compositions.  

Besides an extension and reflection of the gardens we create, we’re also driven by expressive and ecological values at the core of our process, organisation and projects. We work alongside our peers and predecessors on the frontlines of rewilding, restorative, and modern landscaping movements–preserving plants and materials that work, while also eliminating as much concrete, turf, and toxic elements as possible, as we restore and establish habitat for a diverse community of living creatures.

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How do you think your “disruptive yet poetic” design style enhances or builds upon existing landscapes? 

If “disruptive” is pushing the envelopes of possibilities, the “poetry” is inviting you into the edges and fold, wherein lies the dialogue between the whispers and demands of the place, its living inhabitants and our aesthetics, and the functional and material narratives. 

The dance of responding to a whole with our artistic instincts, interpretations and desires, if you may–whether it’s an interactive sound sculpture in an orchard, or an all ages tree house perched at the edge of a lush canyon hillside, or a large circular daybed on a wooden platform underneath an ancient Banyan tree with vintage ceramic light pendants.

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In your experience, what’s a common oversight homeowners might make when planning their landscaping? 

I think the biggest oversight is the relationship between naturescapes, lifestyle programming and decorative layers that are part of creating a holistic, intimate, and dynamic outdoor experience. People often think they’d need huge lawns or decks, but we prefer inviting gathering spaces intermixed with wild plantings and statement ceramics with sculptural specimens to create a more immersive and unfolding effect.

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What unique challenges did you encounter for an example of a particularly memorable project, and how did you address them?

When working on John Lautner’s Garcia House, we encountered funny obstacles along the way. This included the large ficus tree in the 9,600-square-foot compound, planted by Disney composer Russ Garcias’ wife Diana, the first residents at the home in the 1960s. 

The tree had outgrown its placement in the interior of the house and was replanted outdoors under the cantilever structure, and over 50 years, it had grown so massive it was competing with the architecture for space.

We worked to shape and train the tree, so it would continue to grow in the central axis of a spiral indoor-outdoor staircase in the centre of the home’s structure. Then, we planted around the tree staghorn ferns that belonged to the client’s grandfather, and held sentimental value to the client.

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What are some of the emerging landscape design styles or approaches you’re excited to explore in your future projects? 

Natural playscapes and outdoor classrooms are becoming a passion, and with our upcoming expansions into Texas and New Mexico, I’m looking forward to collaborations with local people, organisations and resources who share our passion for old and new ways.

We are really excited to study and practice in these new regions–learn about the land histories, and how, by the traditions and potentialities of nature, take spatial, educational, and ecological forms in outdoor spaces, as well as inside our homes.

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