Exceptional Gardens

Photo, 2005 by Leslie Pielack

Fleming was trained as a building architect also and used doorway arches and outdoor windows and rooms to good effect in his formal designs.

Photo, 2007 by Leslie Pielack

Among the many complex designs featured on the grounds.

Landscape Architect, Bryant Fleming
As the house was under way in 1926, Scripps sought a landscape architect for the estate’s gardens, and settled on renowned American estate designer Bryant Fleming.  Now considered a pioneer American landscape architect, Fleming was in great demand in the 1920s to create country estate landscapes across the U.S. He designed more than 75 acres for the Scripps estate, and combined formal and informal elements throughout, with walls and other highly ornamental features located nearer the house.

The William E. Scripps Estate was one of Fleming’s favorite residential designs.  It incorporates stunning examples of the elements Fleming was famous for; formal walls, walks, and fountains, and sculpture-lined allées as well as informal pastures, parks, rock terraces, and numerous water features.  Almost 60 acres of the original landscape survives.  The design landscape is historically and architecturally significant in itself, apart from the house.  The original landscape is still recognizable and quite beautiful.  Original plants have matured, been replaced, or disappeared, but the garden’s architectural features remain intact.  The changing seasons, however, are hard on stone walls, paths, and gates.  The study and full restoration of the Scripps gardens will be a major undertaking.