Impressionist Art Planting Design Concept

The landscape design goal and vision for the Annenberg Center at Sunnylands is to provide a carefully orchestrated garden experience rooted in the concepts of impressionist art.    The garden is defined by the repetition and massing of plant material that is responsive to the regional climate and ecology of the Sonoran Desert.   The execution of the impressionist planting design concept relied on the singular beauty and dramatic forms of a wide array of desert plants.   To ensure the clarity of the concept, the Office of James Burnett produced detailed plans locating each plant on the 15-acre site.   The strong collaboration between the design team, contractors, and client will produce a unique and extraordinary garden at the Annenberg Center at Sunnylands.

Dillon Diers, Associate ASLA
Senior Associate, the Office of James Burnett

Plant Acquisition from the Contractor's Perspective

Acquiring the more than 50,000 plant specimens needed to complete the landscaping at the Center has been accomplished not only by scouring the Coachella Valley for every appropriate tree, shrub and succulent but by extending that search well beyond the valley.  In fact, the process of locating these plants involved five reconnaissance trips to half a dozen or more nurseries throughout southern California and western Arizona. The initial trips allowed a comprehensive photo journal to be developed that serves as a guide for plant appearance, size and health.  Subsequent trips have served to verify that materials initially selected were still thriving and up to the standards established for project plant materials.  The validation that this process has been effective is evidenced by the quality of the plant materials that began arriving at the site early this year.

Josh Anderson
Matt Construction

Procuring the Plants for an Innovative Design 

The quality of the plants in any garden, but especially one with as innovative a design as the Annenberg Center at Sunnylands, are a crucial component of its success.  Recognizing this, the design team began by touring nurseries in southern California and Arizona to find both the species required and to assess each nursery's ability and willingness to provide the quality necessary for this project.  All of the nurseries which were selected became partners in the process of procurement with members of the design, installation and construction team visiting often and consulting closely about growing, pruning, and potting schedules.  A number of site visits during the process helped to maintain strong communication ties among all the partners.  This effort and the responsiveness of the growers to the design vision for the project assured the design team that every plant meets the exacting quality standards required for the project.  This close collaboration among all members of the team and the growers is displayed in both the superb quality of the plants and how well each one fits into the vision and design of the garden.

Mary Irish
Horticulture Consultant, the Office of James Burnett

Irrigation System

The irrigation system for the Desert Garden is now being installed prior to the planting scheduled to begin in January 2010. An underground drip system using eight miles of irrigation pipes and a state-of-the-art control system are part of the infrastructure for the garden. Using only 20% of the allowable water based on the Coachella Valley Water District’s regulations is part of the design for the Center.