Smoke Tree was also forward-thinking in terms of wise water use in the desert, banning front lawns in the 1920s. The centerpiece is the specimen garden: Sonoran and Colorado Desert plants arranged shortest to tallest, creating a jaw-dropping festival of spines with the San Jacinto Mountains as backdrop. Visit today and you’ll understand why Walt, or anyone, might fall for this rustic resort. When his Anaheim, California, amusement park became successful, Disney returned to build an even larger house at Smoke Tree Ranch. The animation king bought a house here in 1948-then had to sell it to raise money to build Disneyland. This private resort community was Walt Disney’s own desert Magic Kingdom. Kameon has planted intensely aromatic plants almost everywhere, so that you can be guided by the scents of sage, citrus blossoms, and sweet jasmine. And if you can’t decide which direction to turn next, just follow your nose. Her palette is entirely Mediterranean palms, olives, and limes are among her staples. Taking her cues from as far away as Spain’s Alhambra and as nearby as Montecito’s Lotusland, Kameon crafted a series of hidden gathering spaces, connected by walkways, enclosed with plants. Don’t expect one breathtaking view-Kameon designed her landscapes to be explored nook by nook, courtyard by courtyard. But you’re here for the Judy Kameon–designed grounds, viewable by hotel guests and by diners at Norma’s, one of the Parker’s restaurants. That’s one reason it draws celebrity guests like Brad and Angelina and Robert Downey Jr. With its iconic 23-foot bris de soleil-that’s French for a shade-producing decorative wall-rising at the entrance, the Parker Palm Springs hotel is high style right from the start. Time your visit for late winter, when canary yellow flowers from palo verde trees fall on spiny barrel cactuses like yellow snowflakes. And luckily there’s barely a step you can take without being protected by the shaded canopy of a desert tree. You’ll want to take your time exploring-each step reveals a slightly different, hypnotizing vantage point. Cactus, for example, that are usually shown off alone are massed together, creating lushness not common in the desert. Instead, landscape architect James Burnett drew inspiration from the Annenbergs’ large collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings (Cézannes and van Goghs among them) to create a 9-acre canvas where plants are used almost as paint. When the center expanded nearly a decade ago, drought-mandated water restrictions prevented a continuation of the green, lawn-heavy landscape beloved by Leonore Annenberg. (President Obama visited five times.) But its gardens transcend politics to become a shining example of sustainable landscape design. If this data is unavailable or inaccurate and you own or represent this business, click here for more information on how you may be able to correct it.Almost every American president since Eisenhower has visited Sunnylands, the estate and retreat center built by media tycoon Walter Annenberg and his wife, Leonore. VIEW ADDITIONAL DATA Select from over 115 networks below to view available data about this business.
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