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The personal plots featured in Gestalten’s recent release, Cottagecore Gardens: A New Take on Living Landscapes, span continents and range in scale. You’ll tour an English garden in Australia, a hilly spread in Corfu, Greece, as well as this divine leafy oasis tucked behind a house in Atwater Village, Los Angeles, shared exclusively with Domino readers to celebrate the book’s release. One thing that’s true of every featured project, Victorine Lamothe states in the introduction, is not stylistic homogeneity but a “conscious turning toward ecological partnership, seasonal awareness, and the radical notion that gardens might sustain us in multiple, intertwined ways.”
In Atwater Village, behind a 1920s Spanish-style home, owners Stephanie Wong and Daniel Watson have cultivated a garden that feels both rooted and evolving, shaped as much by patience as by bold vision. When they first arrived in 2021, the property was more concrete than earth. “Part of the joy of living in L.A. is getting to spend so much time outdoors,” Wong reflects. Their first instinct was to reclaim the garden as an outdoor living space. Working with landscape designer Nola Eaglin Talmage of Field Sound, they began to chip away at the harder surfaces, laying flagstone and gravel among sculptural boulders, and planting a palette inspired by Mexico and the Mediterranean.
With the driveway removed, the garden quickly adapted to its new look. “The most rewarding part was seeing so much life in our garden after we removed the concrete and dying grass,” Wong says. “I started seeing butterflies, bees, and birds creating a mini ecosystem in our backyard.” Native California species anchor the planting, interwoven with drought-tolerant imports from Australia and the wider Mediterranean basin. Buckwheat hums with pollinators in spring, while grasses shift in late summer, offering texture and movement against the sunbaked walls of the house.
“In spring, the plot is alive with birds and bees. Summer’s heat is relieved by the outdoor shower, and fall invites pruning and planting. The rhythms may be subtle, but they are nonetheless felt and cherished.”
As the garden grew, so did Wong and Watson’s role in shaping it. In the second phase, they turned to materials from ORCA, a landscape design and outdoor products company where Wong works as a brand manager, redoing the front porch in handmade tiles and laying pavers for a new landing. An outdoor shower appeared alongside a meadow of native sod, where the couple’s dog could roam.
The garden’s design supports the rituals that give meaning to the place. In spring, Stephanie delights in buckwheat in bloom, and the plot is alive with birds and bees. Summer’s heat is relieved by the outdoor shower, fall invites pruning and planting, and in winter, even from indoors, the sound of raindrops deepens the connection to place. The rhythms may be subtle—Los Angeles is not exactly known for its dramatic seasons—but they are nonetheless felt and cherished.
Finca Glenfeliz is also a place for guests to experience. The couple has opened the garden through Peerspace for photoshoots, and in doing so has welcomed new perspectives into their sanctuary. “It’s so rewarding seeing other people create and just enjoy being in the garden,” Wong notes. More than a mere backdrop, Finca Glenfeliz has become a place for community, creativity, and care. What began as a concrete lot is now a confluence of shade, texture, and song—a Spanish garden reimagined for Los Angeles, where heritage and modern life find their meeting point in the soil.
“In spring, the plot is alive with birds and bees. Summer’s heat is relieved by the outdoor shower, and fall invites pruning and planting. The rhythms may be subtle, but they are nonetheless felt and cherished.”
