Welcome to the Digital Guide for the 15th Annual Open Garden Day in West Floral Park and Fisher Park.
Welcome to our Gardens!
We invite you to wander through our nine lovely gardens, enjoy the Promenade with vendors, information booths, presentations, live music and more, and explore the beauty of our two neighborhoods.
This year, you'll find the following elements:
If you are as addicted to social media as we are, please consider posting about us during your visit using the hashtag #OpenGardenDay. Don't forget to tag us as @WFPandJFPOpenGardenDay on Facebook or @OpenGardenDay on Instagram! We love having more followers.
EVENT MAP
Parking should be plentiful throughout our neighborhoods.
We encourage attendees to consider walking, as you may find little gems and photo-perfect vignettes between the featured gardens. The distance from Garden #1 to Garden #9 is approximately 1.6 miles long if walking over the footbridge between River Lane and Riviera Drive.
SHUTTLE
For your convenience, we have five shuttle stops strategically placed. A shuttle should be available from any stop within 20 minutes.
Zoom into the map to see more detail.
PROMENADE
SCHEDULE
Starting from 9:00 AM
Starting from 9:00 AM
from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Starting from 10:00 AM
10:30 AM
from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM
11:30 AM
from 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
2:00 PM
from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Starting from 01:00 PM
Starting from 01:30 PM
Through 4:00 PM
Fun Facts about this Garden:
- We have a rescued squirrel that lives in our garden shed who is named Eddie.
- We have 42 Japanese Maples in our yard.
Mi Casa es Su Casa, a ranch style home built in 1962.
Our treasured memories began in June 2011. Our gardens have been transformed over the years. The gorgeous rose garden was lovingly cared for by my husband. He would bring beautiful bouquets to me. Sadly, he passed away in 2021. The garden is dedicated in his memory.
Our pomelo tree has juicy fruit, providing it year-round for our family. Succulents, palm trees, potted plants and beautiful travelers’ palm trees have grown beyond what we imagined! The front courtyard is where we enjoy having breakfast or lounging and enjoying the birds’ sweet serenades and watching the free-spirited butterflies. So peaceful.
Our backyard is predominantly cement, both to conserve water and for the kids to have more play area. Known as the “Party House”, the fun happens here. Our built-in BBQ grill and fire pit areas are welcoming for summer gatherings with family and friends. The gazebo, added during quarantine, is for relaxing and enjoying our yard. We have an abundance of fragrant plants, succulents, opuntia cacti (nopal) and a lemon tree! “The Casita”, was a favorite destination when the kids were small. Losing interest as they grew older, our three 4-legged kids, Zeus, Zoey and Bobby have taken possession of it. Also, we can’t forget Cinnabun, our rabbit, who enjoys the backyard (supervised of course). Year after year, wonderful memories abound.
Our memories began in this 1962 ranch style home in mid-December, 1975. Our gardens have had transformations, the most dramatic one in December, 2015.
Due to the severe water shortage in California, we decided to incorporate a low water usage landscape in our front yard. Our flowering beds remained,
utilizing an irrigation system. This allows for beautiful color plants such as camellias, roses, milkweed (a favorite of the Monarch butterfly), razzleberri fringeflower … just a few of the many plants thriving in the north-facing garden. There is no need for a push lawnmower other than as a garden ornament!
Our backyard provides two spaces for enjoying the outdoors plus a third space for a garden prep area. We have two desert tortoises, Michelangelo and Donatello. Our two resident “tanks” were hatched in September, 1985 and were adopted by our family in June, 1993. Although we have a desert-scape area for them, they call the backyard their space. They have very friendly personalities!
The fountain in the middle garden provides a place for the birds to drink/bathe. Our retreat is a welcoming space to watch the many birds, butterflies, lizards and hummingbirds that come and go. The plants are planned for their use. Our bountiful Fuyu persimmon tree bears fruit in the late fall … just this past season, there were over 300 persimmons harvested and enjoyed by neighbors and friends.
Fun Facts about this Garden:
- Both homeowners were born and raised in Santa Ana. The wife’s family owned and used this iconic Maytag Wringer Washing Machine appliance from the early 1950’s until 1998.
- The two “tanks” that are greeting you and making their way around the yard are Donatello and Michelangelo, two desert tortoises that were hatched by a dear friend/neighbor living on North Flower Street. The boys hatched on September 25, 1985. They are very tame and friendly!
- The Fuyu persimmon tree was a gift from my husband after I tasted this “crispy” version of a persimmon. He gave it as a Valentine’s gift in 2013.
Fun Facts about this Garden:
- Our backyard was completely remodeled in 2019. We hired Ryan Martin as our landscape architect and Land Art as our Landscape Contractor.
- On the northside of our home is our garden where we're planting a variety of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, herbs and Indian vegetables.
- As a corner property, we're showcasing a variety of rose bushes primarily on the Santa Clara side. We work very closely with our gardener Salvador to add color and vibrancy to our surroundings.
Built by the Harold Segerstrom Sr. family on one of the most desirable streets in Fisher Park, this 1948 French Tudor is rich in history and sits on the City of Santa Ana’s register of historic homes, “Landmark" designation. Herold T. Segerstrom Jr. was a developer and arts patron and the managing partner alongside his cousin of their family business, C.J. Segerstrom and Sons which is still in existence. The Segerstrom family were the largest producers of lima beans in the US and would eventually pivot operations to real estate development and the creation of South Coast Plaza, the Orange County Performing Arts Center and the South Coast Repertory Theater.
The home stayed in the Segerstrom family until the early 1990’s with minimal modifications until we purchased the home in 2018. Our focus has been to preserve the historic charm of the home by preserving key elements to period. The landscape design centered around plants and shrubs that were popular in 1948. Many are as old as the home itself. Camelias, Bird of Paradise and Hibiscus add a vibrant splash of color throughout the hillside while lantana lines the planters to add definition and additional color. The backyard is expansive yard with two levels and mature trees. The upper level is where all the entertaining takes place with a newly renovated pool, patio with fireplace and a separate firepit. The lower yard is home to a state-of-the-art home gym and a flagstone patio for additional entertaining.
We purchased our house in September 2019 after falling in love with the extensive lot, neighborhood and potential to make it our dream home. Originally a craftsman style home, we took it almost down to the studs to make it our modern farmhouse retreat.
We did a complete backyard renovation in 2021. We wanted to create an outdoor living space where we can entertain family/friends, relax, and where our kids can have fun all year round. We redesigned the pool to give it a modern clean look. We added a swimming pool water feature, which compliments the fire in our pit late at night. The string lights around our yard add a festive warm feeling, which makes great for a beer or glass of wine.
We also added porcelain pavers around the pool area and incorporated concrete pads with mexican pebble rocks in between for a modern look. We added olive trees, agaves, ficus trees and succulents which add nice greenery. Our extensive patio makes great for dining alfresco with friends and family. We can now finally say we have our dream home.
Fun Facts about this Garden:
- The home was built in 1950. We are only the third owners.
- The Ficus trees have really interesting above ground roots.
- The original owners had a swimming pool. Ron and Lisa, the second owners, took it out. We put one back in.
- The pool has a waterfall that comes out under the lip of the picnic bench pad.
- There is a time capsule tribute to Linda’s parents under the picnic table pad. It contains a letter, toothpicks, and Tic Tac® mints. Ask us why. ☺️
Fun Facts about this Garden:
- Our yard is a Certified Wildlife Habitat.
- There are 22 decorative animals and 4 gnomes that live in our yard. Can you spot them all?
- There are over 30 varieties of edible plants in our garden.
As you step into our backyard, you can’t help but notice how the garden is framed by the tall ash trees and stone wall that are adjacent to the Santiago Creek. A sense of openness as you begin to stroll through the three areas of interest.
First you begin with the old brick patio. The comfortable outdoor furniture and a sailcloth overhead awning, provide cool temps on a hot day. Enjoy yourself as you relax with a good book to the sound of the nearby trickling fountain.
Now you head to the pergola off the side of the garage. This haven of tranquility is where informal gatherings for dinners and lively conversations with friends take place. Sometimes long into the night, where the garden becomes mystical with the enhanced architectural lighting.
Next, you come into the lush lawn and cottage garden where you’ll see a beautiful display of annuals, perennials, and a wisteria arbor. The newly built stone wall has a fountain to the delight of butterflies and hummingbirds.
Our third patio invites you to enjoy the tiered fountain, white ice burg roses and the majestic, sweet smelling Valencia orange tree just off the master bedroom.
The owners of this beautiful home like to think of their landscape as something that you would see back East. Classic elegance, informality, comfort, and private retreat at the end of a long day.
Our desire for a large yard for outdoor living and hosting farm-to-table meals led us to Riviera Drive five years ago–we bought this home just a week after our wedding and have been happy to settle into our life together in this neighborhood. The backyard was especially attractive to us because of its giant valencia orange tree. Adding to the appeal of the property was the open floor plan of the 1955 ranch-style home with its double flagstone fireplaces.
We recently completed a complete renovation of both the back and front yards, including new hardscaping and low-water plantings. The rectangular shapes of the pavers echo the geometric lines of the succulent planting beds. Breeze grass and strawberry trees frame the walkways. We replaced the aging wooden patio cover adjacent to the house with a modern steel pergola and added an additional pergola adjacent to the detached garage, which covers an outdoor kitchen and dining area. At the back of the property is an expansive food garden with 4 citrus trees, 11 raised planting beds, a chicken coop, a fountain, and many other amenities to support the all-season organic garden. We are especially fond of our heirloom tomatoes and pepper plants.
Now that our yard project is complete we look forward to leisurely gourmet meals with home-baked bread, to be shared with neighbors and friends around our dining table.
Fun Facts about this Garden:
- We have three backyard chickens: Clio, Juno and Hyppie. In the summer they each lay 5-6 eggs per week.
- We are raising over 20 types of tomatoes in our garden. We also have peppers, eggplant, beets, chard, fennel, basil, peas, carrots, cabbage, radishes, beans, corn, squash, pumpkins, strawberries, shallots, and many herbs. In the summertime we often eat meals made solely with our garden produce.
- The fountain near the chicken coop was designed to attract pollinators (insects and birds) to fertilize the garden.
- A year ago all of the hardscaping and softscaping in the front and back yards was removed except for the two orange trees in the back. All of the current structure and plantings have been built since then.
- The elephant statue in the herb garden has been in the homeowners' gardens for over 15 years, and has moved all around the OC in that time period. He was named Ned by the children in the Verano Community Garden on the UCIrvine campus.
- The homeowners enjoy DIY projects and built the dining table and outdoor kitchen themselves. They also designed and hung the laser-cut steel patterns on the gates and pergolas themselves.
- The vintage green and blue pendant lights hanging over the back patio are recycled from an old schoolhouse, and were re-wired and installed by the homeowners.
Fun Facts about this Garden:
- Try the reflexology path. Barefoot, of course!
- There are six pedilanthus (Mexican Slipper Plants). Can you spot them?
- Visit Rocky's Garden!
- Roger's Gardens 2016 California Friendly Landscape Garden of the Year.
- La Loma is the newest feature. That's the stone and boulder succulent mound.
- Why the rooster? It's Joe's nickname.
- Chela's hanging rock art is everywhere!
Welcome to Rancho Relaxo, a reflection of our intention to live in a peaceful and creative environment. Everywhere you look, you’ll enjoy a drought tolerant
landscape filled with a variety of succulents, plants and trees. All nourished by a carefully monitored underground watering system.
As you enter, the first thing you see is the “Veranda”, a custom designed outdoor lounge area where we entertain our guests with refreshing drinks and lively conversation. Along the same path, is the fire pit, where on cool evenings you might find us playing music with our friends or just relaxing by the fire with a glass of wine. And to your right is the BBQ area, followed by the potting bench, which is always in use. The flagstone pathway surrounds “La Loma”, the focal point of the yard, featuring an array of succulents, stones, and boulders. Next you will encounter our meditation space, with its reflexology path and shaded sitting area. Wander into the pergola, the perfect spot to dine with guests and maybe play a game of dominoes after.
Take a peek into the guest house garden with its Sky Pencil Japanese Holly trees, jasmine and pink bougainvillea. Beyond is the “boneyard” storage area, featuring an herb filled above-ground planter.
As you leave this area be sure to stop by Rocky’s Garden, a succulent bed that pays tribute to a former puppy resident.
In 2016, Rancho Relaxo was honored with the Roger’s Gardens California Water-wise Garden of the Year award.
Welcome to the Tropics of Westwood!
When we bought this house in 2014 from long-time resident Molly Doughty, we were awed by the towering trio of king palms that she planted adjacent to the pool. Over time, these palms inspired us to create our own tropical oasis. With the creative vision of Drew Kunde and his team at Landcraft Studio, we reimagined our backyard during fall 2021 with the intention of bringing some of the peace and tropical beauty of Hawaii to our own home. Now those palms overlook a yard filled with birds of paradise, red sisters, powder puffs, and New Guinea impatiens.
Our morning coffee on the patio is made all the more serene by the soothing melody of the bubbling waters overflowing along our four-foot tall monolith fountain. Palm Springs-based artist Jacob Hopkins sculpted this red onyx fountain from stone sourced from a quarry near the Grand Canyon.
Drawing us toward the back of the yard is the conical gas fire bowl perched along the edge of our asymmetrical pool. The flames of the bowl rise into the night and bring cozy warmth to those who gather around.
Under the moonlight, we relax in the infinity-style, mosaic-tiled jacuzzi and gaze up toward the fronds of the same trio of tropical trees that welcomed us to this home eight years ago and remain as the centerpiece of the serenity that surrounds us.
Fun Fact about this Garden:
- Shiso is hard to grow.
Fun Facts about this Garden:
- We planted over 300 boxwoods to create the hedges throughout our garden
- Part of our backyard was wiped out in the flood of 1969