Natural Beauty
Carved out of rocky terrain, a hillside garden blends into the surrounding desert
By: Anne O’Brien
Photography by: Louis Cantillo
Phoenix Home & Garden
April 2004
Pp: 114-212
After years of living in climates where cold or humidity dictated the lay of the land, Dennis and Romaine Markel fell in love with the Sonoran Desert. “We find the desert intriguing,” Dennis acknowledges. “It offers so much you just don’t expect.”
An appreciation of the unexpected also was the inspiration for landscape architect Donna Winters of Enchanted Garden, who worked on the couple’s north Scottsdale property. From the entrance drive to the main patio, Winters planned each twist and turn to open up onto an unanticipated vista. She and her design team enhanced the natural elements with water features, flagstone that blends with desert soil, and an enormous variety of plantings.
Openings in the extruded stone and flat granite that dominate the site formed irregular buildable spaces. Winters approached the challenge enthusiastically. “The site was heavily bouldered, and we wanted to be entirely respectful of integrating with it,” she says.
The Markels, too, were firm in their resolve that work be done within the context of existing landforms. So they gathered their design team on the site before construction began. In the shadow of enormous rock formations, Winters, architect James Hann, AIA, and Steve Oliver of Creative Water Concepts, who designed the extensive water features, collaborated on how best to fit changes in the landscape. Their efforts resulted in a seamless blend of natural and man-made features.
The Tuscan-style home, which won a Gold Nugget award at the 2000 Pacific Coast Builders Conference, is hidden from guests as they round the initial curve of a drive because of two enormous boulders. Then, from behind the second megalith, the house appears, dwarfed by the enormous rock formation, which resembles a stack of colossal sand castles.
In places where cuts in the rock were necessary, boulders that mimicked the scale, pattern and density of native stone were brought in to camouflage blemishes. Boundary walls are absent from the design. For fencing, rusted rebar, which resembles woody ocotillo branches, is utilized. Plantings, mostly native and original to the site, are tucked into spaces among the rocks and alongside the drive and residence.
A few non-natives, such as jasmine, bougainvillea and fig vine, drape gracefully from the roofline, giving the house a sense of permanence. On the perimeter of the property, cacti, bursage, brittlebush, jojoba and agave prevail.
“One thing we always try to achieve in a desert setting is to have no place where nature obviously stops,” explains Winters. So even the weathered pots and their colorful contents have been selected to make a smooth transition with the surrounding terrain. A rich mix of pinks, reds and purples, including chuparosa, salvia, verbena, wallflowers and petunias, was selected for its natural beauty.
The most dramatic blending of nature and building comes into view from the main patio at the back of the house. A sparkling stream flowing from an unseen source drops through a small lagoon into a negative-edge pool, whose surface mirrors nearby Pinnacle Peak. At that point, the water disappears. A level below, it reappears as a waterfall, creating a secret alcove seen only from the guest quarters.
From the patio and directly across the water, the Markels are able to catch a glimpse of a nearby golf course that separates their home from Pinnacle Peak. It’s the only grass in sight. In the evening, the lights of the city glitter in the distance. Pinon and juniper trees scent the air, and fire crackles in a fireplace that looks as though it’s 100 years old.
These curves and terraces demanded meticulously engineered lighting. Safe passage on stairs and near the water is assured by path lighting, and plant specimens and architecture are carefully lit. Level, intensity and location are all programmable, offering the possibility of endless changes of scene and mood.
The Markels are happy with their landscape, and more plans are in store. “In Arizona, the outdoors is as important as indoors,” Dennis observes. “And we appreciate it all.”