SETTING BOUNDARIES
The perimeter was tropical and completely different from other areas of the garden . Fernando says , “ The perimeter was done previously with palms , so it looked super-tropical and not at all manicured .”
But its tropical look was more out of necessity . When John Volk built the estate there was no irrigation , and the idea of having incredible formal gardens was something people simply thought could not be attained .
Using Italian Renaissance principles — meaning that everything closer to the house is more formal — and then guiding the eye as you get further from the house and everything becomes less formal , Fernando “ created the illusion of more space and more property . This required designing with trees from the surrounding properties in mind , so that visually , they read as if they are part of the estate .”