KEN SMITH WORKSHOP
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE URBANISM ART
 Laguna Beach Residence  Laguna Beach, CA Start Date: 2010 Completion Date: 2011 Grant Mudford, photography The garden is a low-cost temporary landscape for a private residence on a hilltop site in Laguna Beach overlooking the Pacific Ocean. This garden is a witty commentary on common landscape practices. Five off-the-shelf artificial boulders were purchased from an online retailer, painted reflective gold and strategically placed in the residential landscape to solve a variety of problems such as hiding utilities, modifying a view or marking the front door. Three associated garden areas are planted with drought tolerant xeric vegetation selected to provide distinctive and contrasting ornamental character. With its appropriation of rockery, and borrowed view; emphasis on practicality and problem solving; and overt pretense and theatricality it’s a mash-up of stereotypical Japanese rock gardens and a Wall Mart abundance of standardized consumer products, all with a fool’s gold sense of the Golden State.

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