Public Projects

On View: Commercial and Pro Bono Design Delights

Below are brief descriptions and photos of various horticultural and landscaping projects, viewable by the general public, that Laura Morton has worked on over the years.

“A Terrace in Tangiers”

Friends of Robinson Gardens Annual Garden Tour & Showcase (2017)
Beverly Hills, California

For this May 2017 event (to raise funds for the legendary Virginia Robinson Gardens showcase estate), landscape designer Laura Morton and interior designer Natasha Jansz teamed up to create a captivating “Terrace in Tangiers.” Learn more about the designers and project here.

“Rainbow Serpent Path”

Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden—Australian Section
Arcadia, California

Working in collaboration with Judy M. Horton Garden Design, Laura developed a new concept for improvements to the Australian Section of the Arboretum which was presented for consideration. The intent was to design the space as an interactive and educational experience that would delight visitors of all ages. At the entrance, colorful life-size kangaroo sculptures in various poses greet and lead one visually into the space. A new pathway inspired by Aboriginal mythology, “The Rainbow Serpent Path,” winds through collections of wattles, eucalypts, and other flora, passing a new amphitheater, educational kiosks, and a water feature representing a billabong, as well as a fire circle for rest and storytelling, and craft stations located in the existing natural clearings. New mass plantings would be installed on swales and depressions, providing a hide-and-seek experience that emphasizes awareness of scale and size.

“Japanese Zen Garden”

The Huntington Library
and Botanical Gardens
San Marino, California

Laura received a 1st-place award in Drafting in 1998 through the Landscape Architecture program at UCLA for her renderings of this distinctive public space at The Huntington.

Huntington Japanese Zen Garden Rendering

“Queen of Hearts Sleeping Porch and Terrace”

Friends of Robinson Gardens Annual Garden Tour & Showcase (2008)
Beverly Hills, California

The theme of the 2008 garden tour was Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Laura’s goal in this garden design was to transform the kitchen terrace into a lushly planted porch with an exotic outdoor bed fit for a queen—of hearts! [more…]

Sleeping Porch: Photo Gallery

Sleeping Porch: Before & After

“Jeweled Reflecting Garden”

Pasadena Showcase
House for the Arts (2001)
Pasadena, California

Founded in 1948, PSHA is a non-profit California corporation that established the Pasadena Showcase House of Design as their annual benefit in 1965.The reflecting pond, with its jeweled dragonflies and specially designed wrought-iron espaliers in the shape of insects, was one of the highlights of the 2001 event, which had more than 50,000 visitors that year. [more…]

Reflecting Garden: Photo Gallery

SEE ALSO: PRESS CLIPPING

“Mediterranean Chicken Grill”

APLD Garden Show (2009)
Los Angeles, California

APLD-CA members created an “art” gallery of repurposed objects following the theme of the 2009 Los Angeles Garden Show, titled Edibles.

Laura Morton (then President of the Greater L.A. District) recycled an old black Weber kettle grill and lid into the perfect container for the ingredients of a citrus-herb chicken marinade. She spray-painted the legs a lime green, flipped the lid onto a black ceramic pot, and used the grill itself as a place to hang the cultivating tools—and even added a rubber chicken for fun!

Mediterranean Chicken Grill at 2009 APLD Garden Show

The amber-orange acrylic balls, recycled from an old bunch of decorative grapes, glow like briquets in the sunlight.

And the piece is functional too—just the right height, and you can move it easily about. Plants include a variegated calamondin, lemon thyme and lemon balm, rosemary, marjoram, parsley, and two varieties of culinary sage. Iris palida continues the variegated theme.