by Kirk Walden
photos by Lori Daul
Due to the coronavirus threat, the Inside Austin Gardens Tour, originally scheduled for May 16, has been postponed until fall 2020. In the meantime, enjoy this preview of the last private garden on the tour, and support all our tour sponsors, including eXp Realty spotlighted in this issue. A fall date will be announced in the near future.
In 2011, Joe Gieselman and Jane Sam began to remodel the home and surrounding property into a contemplative living space, art gallery, and sculpture garden. The theme of the interior and exterior design, “La Casa Sosegada” (Spanish for “my house in sleep and silence stilled”), connotes not only the sense of place but also the journey that one must take to get there. The theme comes from The Dark Night, a poem written in the mid 1500’s by mystic Juan de Yepes y Alvarez, the future Saint John of the Cross. A Buddhist might describe this as a journey to enlightenment through mindful living, a concept incorporated into the design of “La Casa Sosegada.” Like the journey, the garden is a life-long endeavor.
The remodeling began with the front yard and entryway and continues in phases. They replaced six Live and Red Oak trees destroyed by oak wilt with Cedar Elm and Monterrey Oak. In 2016, Joe hired Lauren Renz of Verdi landscape company, to help develop a landscape plan guided by Joe’s experience in urban planning and Jane’s long history of gardening. A professional stone mason constructed the walkway, and Joe installed the irrigation system, gardens, plants, and sculptural elements. In 2019, they extended the walkway around the side and back yards to circumscribe the entire house, giving access to gardens and sculptural installations in the side and back yards and lower terraces overlooking Barton Creek. Joe and Jane excavated, designed, and installed the garden rings as well as planted the trees, bushes, and perennials.
Circular patterns are prevalent in the overall design, in part to hint of water, flow, and femininity but also to complement the otherwise square and masculine lines of the house itself. The landscape plan replaced most of the existing plants with drought-resistant, native species such as Guara, Datura, Euphorbia and Penstemon. There are plants and bushes with multi-colored flowers blooming throughout the year, attracting bees and butterflies alike.
The sidewalk-front door-foyer is the gateway to “La Casa.” Its first impression gives the visitor a sense of place and a preview of things to come; it’s welcoming, visually appealing, and interesting (especially to children). The “Medicant” mailbox has become a neighborhood landmark. The berm frames the front yard and its wind sculptures fascinate children as they walk down the sidewalk. The word “Home” is etched in natural stone at the entrance to the lighted walkway from the street to the front door which includes a ramp to accommodate the elderly and wheel chairs. Guarding the front door, “Budong,” a terracotta sculpture of a Chinese warrior, sits on a monumental rock etched with the word “Safe.” A subsequent installation will include a sculpture that hints of water, reflecting the location of a home adjacent to Barton Creek. Joe is an aspiring sculptor, adept at integrating sculpture and art with landscaping.
The walkway leads to the side yard through the “Water Gate” and to three irrigated garden rings where the owners grow vegetables and flowers. Jane grows herbs on the upper deck next to the kitchen where they are used for cooking.
The back yard opens to the Barton Creek Greenbelt. It is here that you experience the serenity and natural beauty of “La Casa.” The lower terrace houses five bee hives. Joe’s adult daughter is a bee keeper and artist who maintains the hives and incorporates the bee designs into her “Bee Amour” line of jewelry. There are compost bins and a materials storage site tucked in the wooded buffer on the back of the property line.
It is truly “La Casa Sosegada,” and the journey through it is a delightful one.
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