Westlake Village Real Estate Blog

If green is the new black, then wild is the “au courant” look in gardens. So goes the ecological wisdom.

In fact, the concept of “wild gardens” is not new, dating back to the 1860′s when it was pioneered in England by William Robinson. It has evolved to what we commonly call today the English Cottage Garden. Robinson, taking his cue from the Arts and Crafts movement, strove for the practical, more natural, less formal garden that harmonized with the surrounding landscape. Wild gardens were to contain a large variety of plants, including edibles and natives all mixed together in a free design.

In eco-conscious Southern California, wild gardens showcase those plants that thrive in our dry environment. Some wild gardens also seek to attract wildlife. In the wild garden in the photo, surrounding a home in Wood Ranch, owner Agnes Faughnan says, “We focused on the abundance of birds in the area, putting in not only plants but also a water feature that would attract them. Definitely, this has been a success story.”

To maintain the pastoral environment, Faughnan’s garden uses natural stone for the patio, walkways and small retaining walls. The resulting setting, says Faughnan, is eco-friendly, with low-water-using plants irrigated by micro irrigation sprinklers. It offers variety, with an abundance of native plants, perennials, annuals, shrubs and trees, including lemon, lime, tangerines, blood orange, pear, Asian pears, persimmons, pomegranate, fig and black walnut, as well as many herbs and, of course, lavender.

“Our wild garden is also practical,” says Faughnan, “because of its low requirements for both water and maintenance. Like nature,” she says, “our garden is a work in progress.”

For more images of this tranquil paradise, see Starbright Gardens.

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I always tell my buyer clients that if an ad sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t good or true. An ad for a house with wonderful upgrades, a large yard and recent remodeling, for example, at a price well below anything else in the neighborhood may be on a busy street, or it may have a lot of freeway noise, for example.

Today I learned of a new twist to this rule. I received a phone call about a listing I had placed on Craigs List – 684 Starbright Ct. Craigs List had flagged and removed my ad twice for a mysterious violation; I couldn’t figure out why. As it turns out, the call today and the penalty flag were related.

The caller said she had answered an ad on Craigs List for a lease on the Starbright Ct. home for $1,000 a month, and that the owner, a “Sally Smith,” shall we say, had sent her a lease agreement for signature. Ms. Smith had explained to the caller that she, the owner, was going to Nigeria for a year and need a small income on the home. The caller, astounded at her good fortune, checked back with Craigs List today but could find only my ad, and she was savvy enough to contact me. Can this be true, she asked, a house advertised for sale at $859,000 is only $1,000 as a lease? “Sally Smith,” my client, had even given her an e-mail address, she said: SallySmith @ ….com.

I asked the called to e-mail me the lease agreement. The writing was broken enough to be a tip-off, and the request to have funds sent by Western Union set off alarms.

As I always, say, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t good or true.