Rick Button is a thoughtful man; a thoughtful landscape architect. It’s almost possible to see the wheels turning inside that head. He carefully considers color, elevations, planting palette and planters for each project. The Bennett residence presented a number of challenges for Rick’s grand intelligence.

• The two story residence features interior shifts in elevation and because of the shifts,  each porch and terrace varies in elevation. To address this, Rick established a series of spaces at the same elevation to flow into one another.
• The original grading and drainage was designed for all rainwater and irrigation runoff to travel under the house, through the basement. Now, one circulation system surrounds the entire structure and all water is sheet drained away from the structure.
• The back of the property was too shallow and steep for needed construction. A retaining wall was built, expanding usable space 20’, three staircases were designed to connect the house to the lower garden featuring a new pool house designed by Ron Ettinger, fireplace, kitchenette, bar, two bathrooms, a 60; pool, a cook center/flower arranging area, a large terrace for sunning and dining as well as a  small lawn providing just enough space for croquet or badminton.
• Wrought iron gates and fencing, decorative tile, terra cotta pots and one special Gladding McBean fountain conversion from Eye of the Day, along with a distinctively Mediterranean featuring agaves, bougainvillea, roses, geraniums and date palms all contribute to the overall desired look.

Rick has spent almost thirty years as a landscape architect working in residential garden design from his office in Pasadena. The photos of the Bennett residence illustrate his thoughtful design acumen and constructive use of space even more completely that any description can offer.

“Integrity of space, integrity of architecture, integrity of materials”.  ~Rick Button

Arriving late in Milan after a full day of flying and being able to walk from the baggage claim through two doors and arrive at your hotel is a real luxury. No, I’m not in the Centro, nowhere near the action and have to travel each day by train a half hour plus to and fro but my room is clean and modern and after a long day of meeting people and walking the exhibitions it’s nice to have solitude. I’m an SPG man staying at the Sheraton. Whether in Rome, Paris, San Francisco or Milan there is a hotel if not in the airport, nearby.

I move heavy and large pots and other weighty things everyday, I don’t want to lug a giant suitcase all over Europe, too. I don’t need to travel fashionably; I’ve learned to launder in my room. Another advantage of staying at the airport is the other travelers are not there for a convention and all of the ancillary activities that many go for but working stiffs just like me.

Sitting in the bar with a dozen or so guys, watching Barcelona play Madrid, drinking beer and eating pizza and pasta doesn’t get much better. Everyone is here for work. A virtual global dining experience: beer, football, BO and camaraderie. An oil and gas guy from Norway, a

Frenchman from Nice here buying vales for pipeline work. A couple of Spaniards, another American; we’re all here to work.

Speaking of work, that’s me with Brent with Marcello from Terrecotte San Rocco. The buzz around San Rocco is exciting and there is a new color too: Ash. A light off-white, with a more grayish finish that the designers should really go for. More big pots. I love their scale. Come see them in person at our exhibit with Terrecotte San Rocco at Milan Design Week.

When a multi-pallet shipment arrives at Eye of the Day, it is “all hands on deck” to painstakingly inspect, unload, unpack and check in every item. The shipments are made up of custom orders and beautiful catalog items to stock our large showroom, and we spend a full day or more moving everything from the truck to places in the showroom where our clients can easily access them.

It is our mission here at Eye of the Day Garden Design Center to provide you with only the best quality, authentic European- and American-made pottery, statuary and fountains. That is why we always look forward to a shipment from our old friends at Campania International located in Pennsburg, PA. Campania was founded in 1983 and quickly became one of the nation’s premier designers, manufacturers and distributors of fine garden accents. They are continually setting trends and industry standards, which is why they are one of our handpicked producers of American-made concrete and stone décor. They offer a wide range of products in a variety of materials and styles from classic to contemporary.

We select items that will work for small spaces and estates alike. Our customers have a wide range of needs and styles and Campania has a great sense of the classic but also an eye for linear contemporary design. Come to our showroom to see the latest arrivals!

Wrought iron has a long history dating to Roman times. Tunis, the northernmost point of Africa, is known for its decorative wrought iron window grates, fences and doors.  The designs are Moorish or Andalusian, with extensive scroll-work and decorative motifs.  The blue color of many of these forged metal grills immediately catches the eye and in traditional Tunis, is thought to be protection from evil spirits.  Made to fit windows, serve as garden gates or doors, iron window grills have traditionally provided air vents for kitchens and bathrooms. Their interlacing metal designs contrast starkly with the whitewashed façades of many private houses. They are designed for practical purposes and to preserve the intimacy of the people, yet their artistry embellishes homes with their unusual beauty. These re-purposed pieces from Tunisia can be beautifully incorporated in many garden designs as trellises, garden borders and even as garden sculptures.

French wrought iron rails, metal and wood doors and fencing also become useful, artful additions in a garden setting.  What could be more beautiful and inviting than an old French wooden door with wrought iron embellishment used as a unique garden gate to welcome visitors into a secret garden?

At Eye of the Day, our many wrought iron gates, painted iron window grates and fences play hide and seek throughout the garden center, awaiting imagination to place them in your inimitable garden.

Antiques and old garden accessories such as wrought iron windows, gates and fences, old stone troughs, antique pottery, oil jars and old wagons, add richness and personality to the garden. Objects that were once common and inexpensive are now becoming more and more difficult to find, but Eye of the Day has been continually adding old and antique items to the inventory.  A few well chosen antique pieces can set the tone for a garden.  The patina of a weathered wrought iron gate looks perfect surrounded by period architecture, but the contrast of something old in a very modern setting is equally compelling.

Throughout our travels we often come across objects that just jump out at us.  On one trip to a remote part of China, Brent was visiting an ancient pottery factory, and while walking through the weeds he tripped over a large piece of rock.  It turned out to be a granite millstone, used to crush stone and earth to make clay for the pots.  It had been abandoned where it fell about ninety years before.  The old cupped and worn millstones make wonderful garden sculptures and fountains.  Funny enough, Brent found more old stones in Greece last year and we are in the process of making one into a garden table.

Sometimes it just takes looking at your own garden with new eyes; if you trip over or fall in love with an old or antique item, there is probably a place in your garden landscape that will be enhanced by introducing an old piece into a new setting.

In the basement of a farmhouse  in the south of France were locked away a number of hand carved wooden papier mache molds that had been there since the mid-1900s.  On an early trip searching for unique garden ornaments for Eye of the Day we received word that there was a cache of these just waiting for the perfect moment to be discovered.  Brent and Daisy took a little side trip to see what they might see and when they entered the musty basement of the old farmhouse, the golden light of day revealed not only papier mache molds, but Christmas.  There were large, carved ornaments, a small santa sitting on a star, decorated balls, and off to the side, a 7 foot Pere Noel.  When you enter the double glass doors to Eye of the Day Carpinteria, he will greet you, hands on belly, seemingly ready for a welcoming Ho Ho Ho.  This sturdy Santa statue has become one of our oldest and most beloved treasures.  Though we know that its possible we are not his final home, Santa will always have a special place in our hearts and at Eye of the Day.