Front yards the subject of Garden Club’s new study
BOOKLET just published.
Front yards are a significant part of the ambiance of the single-family residential neighborhoods in and around Hancock Park. As explained at a mid-November presentation held at The Ebell and led by architect John Kaliski, there is a public realm that exists between the front façades of houses on opposite sides of a street. The realm consists of the two front yards, two sidewalks, two parkways and the street in the middle.
Two-year effort
The importance of this open-space feature of local neighborhoods was emphasized in the panel discussion following Kaliski’s introduction of the 40-page booklet he co-wrote, “Your Next Front Yard,” the product of a two-year effort of the local Hancock Park Garden Club.
On the panel to review the issues highlighted by Kaliski (who also teaches urban design at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs) were: co-author of the booklet and landscape architect and architect Takako Tajima (who teaches at the USC School of Architecture); Kitty Connolly, executive director, Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers and Native Plants; Carol Bornstein, director of the Nature Gardens at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County; and Kimberly Henry, City Planning Associate at the Office of Historic Resources in the Department of City Planning (and Planner for the Hancock Park and Windsor Square Historic Preservation Overlay Zones).
GARDEN CLUB president Jennifer Fain, Windsor Square, introduces the speakers to discuss local neighborhood landscapes.
The booklet suggests guidelines for addressing local neighborhoods’ once-uniform front yards of open vistas and broad lawns that are impacted because of drought, changing tastes and other influences.
Information about the contents of the booklet and how to obtain a printed copy can be found at the website of the Hancock Park Garden Club:
hancockparkgardenclub.com/your-next-front-yard
Category: News
