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The Landscaping Artistry of Lockwood de Forest Maria Churchill Illustrations: Carol Geyer (continued) The Ludington Estate In the late 1920s Wright S. Ludington, de Forest's Thacher schoolmate and friend, inherited a large Montecito estate. Named Dias Felices (Happy Days) and built for the Dater family by architect Bertram Goodhue, the estate was renamed Val Verde (Green Valley) by Ludington, who was determined to transform the place with the help of de Forest. Both men were artistic, innovative, and quick- creative equals who worked perfectly together. They agreed that the existing traditional gardens seemed at odds with the natural setting. Together, they began to work out new designs that would integrate all elements of the residence, grounds and location. Val Verde was to remain a continuing preoccupation for the rest of de Forest's professional life, and- even as he worked on other commissions- he never stopped experimenting, fine-tuning and inspecting Ludington's Val Verde. For de Forest, the estate's challenges included an exceptionally vast acreage, existing pools and reservoirs to be used or removed, and Wright Ludington's desire to incorporate parts of his sculpture collection on the landscaping. The landscape plan was complex, aimed at providing a number of separate garden areas that were interconnected with each other, as well as with the pools and the house. Additions to the house gave de Forest places in which to put new terraces and fountains. Stairs were built to bring together terraces on different levels, meandering walls and paths replaced the straight ones, and the native live oaks were emphasized by architecture and complementary plantings. A swimming pool and art gallery replaced an old wooden tank and cement reservoir on a hill some distance from the house. Later in the same area a charming atrium was built to display some of Ludington's Greek and Roman sculptures. Both de Forest and Ludington loved to invent little visual surprises and mysteries. Among these was a strange series of square columns built without tops to suggest brooding, classical ruins.
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