the earth. “Henry,” he said, “that is the Royal Palm of the Andes, the
first time it has ever been grown from seed north of the Equator.”
In a 1922 edition of
The Garden Magazine
, Gillespie wrote an
article lauding and promoting palm trees for the California landscape.
“My love for palms,” he wrote, “dates from my Sunday-school days
when I always saw Palms as the principal ornament in illustrations of
the Garden of Eden.”
He also specialized in conifers, planting dozens of varieties
including native Californian trees such as Monterey cypress and Torrey
pines and exotics like Italian cypress. Not only did Gillespie import
garden. The focal point of the estate was the terraced Persian water
garden, terminated at its upper end by a pooled court and the house
and its lower end by a small Ionic pavilion. A cypress allée sweeping
down the hillside was reflected in descending pools.”
In addition to the Persian water garden and terraced allée, the
33 acres of
El Fureidîs
, Gebhard says, had scattered throughout the
surrounding woods “numerous axial water channels, connecting pools,
fountains, and secluded seating areas.” Along the trails, wanderers
found shrines and statuary. Tea houses were tucked away in several
corners of the estate and around each turn of the trail was another
horticultural or artistic surprise.
A STATELY PLEASURE PALACE
B
eing an architectural feature in Gillespie’s water garden,
the house was situated and framed artistically. Una Nixson
Hopkins, writing in
Craftsman Magazine
circa 1915, said, “It is built
on the crest of the hill with a deep blue sky above it and behind,
MOGULS
&
MANSIONS
his flora, he also imported Scotsman Thomas Compton, a graduate of
London’s Kew Gardens, to take charge of the landscaping and be the
superintendent of the estate.
The late David Gebhard, noted Santa Barbara architectural
historian, said, “The house was but one of many elements set in a
(above)
The enclosed courtyard featured a small portico whose walls were painted
blue and stenciled with cypress trees, to provide a suitable setting for a statue of
Antinous, the Greek youth who was the lover of Roman Emperor Hadrian
(Courtesy Library of Congress – LOC)
(right)
Resembling a Turkish bath house, Gillespie’s “conversation room” included a
small fountain whose Romanesque column was surmounted by a bronze replica of the
Victory of Pompeii. At its base, two Roman lions’ heads excavated in Syria spewed
water. The Mudejar designs on the walls were worked in bronze, blue, and gold.
(Estate photo)
summer
|
fall
53
