February, 1915 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
101 I 
A familiar sight at Redlands, an estate from a distance resembling some old mission, the towers especially being like those at Santa Barbara. Surrounded by an orange 
grove that reaches out in every direction, this house has a striking setting. Its view is no less lovely, the splendid peaks of the Sierra Madre being always in sight 
the ground, forming a complete canopy about itself. On the 
streets it is rarely allowed to do so, hence is shorn of its greatest 
beauty. Marengo avenue, Pasadena, is famed the country over, 
as here the peppers meet and form an elm-like arch the entire 
length of the avenue. In winter the trees are filled with brilliant 
berries, which form a pleasing contrast in the sunlight, against 
the vivid green; the green we often see in the genre pictures of 
the French artists. Besides the pepper, we see the black wattle 
of Australia — a tall, shapely tree; the common live oak of the 
country is very decorative. The Monterey, sugar and other pines 
are common, and, with various firs growing side by side with the 
umbrella tree, the cork, bread fruit, or alligator pear, or big 
Abyssinian banana. The famous century plant is sometimes used 
as a hedge plant, and blooms here every seventeen years, throw¬ 
ing up a remarkable stalk which is very ornamental. 
Cacti of various kinds are also used, and about the old Mission 
grounds of San Gabriel was formerly a cactus fence over a mile 
in extent. It was ten feet high, and in the old days was intended 
as a protection from Indians, as well as other invaders, such as 
coyotes, mountain lions and various other animals which preyed 
upon live-stock. 
Such gardens and their possibilities of outdoor life have 
stamped a peculiar individuality upon the country. They have at¬ 
tracted an entirely different class from that which generally 
flocks to a new country. 
Thirty years ago the entire region was a series of great prin¬ 
cipalities or ranches. It was the day of an old and charming 
regime. To-day the country is on the crest of a tidal wave of ad¬ 
vancement. There are some who regret the old days, who miss 
the primitive and unconventional life, but most of the Califor¬ 
nians accept the evolution of the region with confidence arid take 
pride in the remarkable city of Los Angejes and, its\suburban 
towns from Pasadena to the sea, thirty miles away, a region that 
for beauty and climate doubtless has no peer in any land. 
Nature being generous, the entrance to a California garden is generally guarded 
by palms that form a natural gateway where walls and iron structure seem out 
of place 
If the gardens are enclosed, the wall is usually low—a democratic characteristic 
of the Californians—and those that are without can always see the loveliness 
within 
