birds

Veranda’s First Ever Outdoor Living Award For The Montecito Garden Restoration Project

March 30, 2020 By // by Penelope Bianchi 2 Comments

Exciting news! The new issue of Veranda March-April has the 2020 Outdoor Living awards. The first time ever! And our garden was selected to be one of the eight awardees!!! The talented garden designer who originally designed our landscape came back after it was almost totally destroyed and restored it. I haven’t posted a blog in a long time; and I am going to post one showing the before and after with some description of the experience. I know I showed things on Instagram, but want to describe the experience of a disaster and its aftermath and rebuilding.

Calling it A Wildly Beautiful Revival, the venerable magazine lauded the garden’s wildlife-friendly, naturalistic design.”I always look for a strong design plan, and each of the winning gardens had beautiful architecture to it,” says interior designer Bunny Williams, who, together with Institute of Classical Architecture & Art (ICAA) president Peter Lyden, judged the entries.

Lyden agrees, adding that for him, the projects that embraced and built on the natural characteristics of their environments rose to the top. “I really admire the way these gardens and outdoor living spaces did just that,” he says.

This Montecito Garden’s Wildly Beautiful Spirit Is Awakened After Enduring Destructive Mudflows

Less than a year after disaster struck, a mudflow-ravaged garden reemerges as the thriving wildlife habitat it once was, using the very material that decimated it.

BY ELLEN MCGAULEY

PHOTO CREDIT: HOLLY LEPERE

FEB 20, 2020

Before the catastrophic Montecito mudflows of 2018, everything that grew on this two-acre property in Southern California was “magic,” says landscape designer Margie Grace. Roses would bloom in the shade; hydrangeas relished the blazing sun. A grassy, serene pond drew ducks and quail and owls, all against an extraordinary backdrop of towering palms and live oaks belonging to a neighboring estate, like a regal army watching over it.

Once cloaked in mud, the Boston ivy on the main house and guesthouse (inset) was cleaned up, and “the roots just started sprouting again,” says landscape designer Margie Grace.

Then came the mud. “Everything was wiped out…plants, fences, animals. It was biblical,” recalls Grace. “We learned the absolute power of nature.” In the eight months that followed, another lesson emerged for Grace and the homeowner, designer Penelope Bianchi of McCormick Interiors: The magic hadn’t been swept away with the sludge. If anything, it had strengthened tenfold.

montecito-dining-terrace-outdoor-awards-veranda

Behind the main house, a Coast live oak shades a rustic dining terrace.

As they washed two feet of mud from the guesthouse and garage and cleaned up whatever they could salvage, they faced mountains of leftover sediment. “We had to do something with it, and I thought, There’s no reason the land has to be dead flat,” says Grace. So she began working it into the restoration plan.

At the south side of the house, she repurposed a portion of the muddy sediment into a 28-foot hill planted with sycamores and poppies and another into soil for a 12-foot redbud knoll. Along the property line, a four-foot berm became an organic solution for a washed-away privacy fence.

grace montecito pond outdoor seating ideas

“Everything I put in the ground grew lightning fast,” recalls Grace, who trained in biology and geology. “I thought the new soil would be full of toxins, but the levels didn’t even register. What was left behind was amazing dirt.”

The restored pond borders a 45-acre nature preserve and was critical to the return of wildlife like mallards.

And the wildlife returned in multiples. “In California, we have trees like sycamores and redwoods that grow in the stream beds. Winter will come and water will whoosh down, and the trees may get buried with three feet of dirt and still live. They grow character instead of giving up. This garden has always had good vibes, and that’s part of it. But you just get out of the way and let nature fix it. Nature doesn’t give up.”

Veranda’s First Ever Outdoor Living Award For The Montecito Garden Restoration ProjectRead More

Montecito Gardens: Our house featured in Santa Barbara Seasons magazine!!!

January 24, 2018 By // by Penelope Bianchi 2 Comments

GLORIOUS GARDENS: FRENCH COUNTRY STYLE MEETS CALIFORNIA COOL

When Penny and Adam Bianchi bought a modest slice of undeveloped land off of East Valley Road 20 years ago, they had a golden opportunity to build a custom home in the heart of Montecito. The property sits at the entrance to the pristine 42-acre Ennisbrook Preserve, and Oprah’s vast estate borders the property on two other sides. A single home edges the property in the north. “The terrain and plants reminded me of France,” recalls Penny, “so we went to Provence and took thousands of pictures of roofs and crooked roofs and chimneys and floors and doorknobs.”

The Bianchi’s worked with Grace Design Associates to create their own Shangri-La that sits lightly on the land blends in naturally with the surroundings. Photograph by Amy Barnard.

Once home, they began to build a French country-style home and a guesthouse, surrounded by about 2.5 acres of magical gardens and wildlife habitat. The walls were washed with lime from pigment mined from the ground in Provence—no paint was applied at all. “Lime wash lets the mortar breathe,” explains Penny. “This is how stone and brick houses in Provence are traditionally treated.”

Penny has worked as an interior designer for nearly 50 years and has filled her home with antiques from all over the world. Much of her collection was inherited from her mother and grandmother, and Penny appears to have inherited her family’s amazing knack for finding one-of-a-kind treasures, as well. “I’ve been collecting things my whole life because I don’t like anything new,” she says. “I like everything old, weathered and used. Even my linens and light fixtures are mostly antiques.”

Generous use of color and texture spotlight Penny Bianchi’s great eye for detail. As an interior designer for nearly 50 years, she uses her own home to showcase her designs. Photograph by Amy Barnard.

High ceilings and plentiful windows fill the home with light throughout the day. The main entrance leads into a spacious hall, which leads to the bedroom (there’s only one) and master bath on one side, and kitchen, office and guest bathrooms on the other. Adam Bianchi works in the office—he sold his family’s poultry business 30 years ago and has run Penny’s business operations ever since. Penny changes the furniture slipcovers several times a year so the mood always reflects the season.

As an interior designer for nearly 50 years, Penny Bianchi uses her own home to showcase her eye for detail to charming effect. Photograph by Amy Barnard.

Treasures that appear at every turn include antique lace lampshades and oriental rugs, screens and other works by French artist Marcel Vertes, shower tiles from 17th-century France and an 1860s bathtub from Paris. The guest powder room features bird murals with bird figurines that hover over the walls. The kitchen has furniture pieces rather than built-in cabinets.

Views of the gardens—designed by Grace Design Associates—are always on display from the Bianchi’s breathtaking country kitchen, photograph by Amy Barnard.

The gardens, designed by Grace Design Associates, are a welcome haven for humans and wildlife alike. The National Wildlife Federation has named the Bianchi property as a Certified Backyard Wildlife Habitat, which means it provides the basics needs for wildlife: food, water, a roof over their heads and a place to raise their young. Carefully selected trees and shrubs nourish and protect ducklings and other creatures, and floating houses anchored in the middle of a pond allow nesting ducks and their offspring to escape from predators. Heirloom chickens roam free during the day and put themselves in the coop in the evening for protection.

Heirloom chickens happily roam free during the day, along with multitudes of other wildlife. The Bianchi property is a Certified Wildlife Habitat. Photograph by Amy Barnard.

Views of these glorious gardens (designed by Grace Design Associates) are on gorgeous display from Penny Bianchi’s indoor/outdoor office. Photograph by Amy Barnard.

All in all, the Bianchis have successfully created a haven in which every nook and cranny evokes coziness and a connection with the natural world. In Penny’s words, it’s “a cozy, collected and patina” home where they, their grown children and seven grandchildren thoroughly enjoy daily life in a remarkable Montecito setting.

Montecito Gardens: Our house featured in Santa Barbara Seasons magazine!!!Read More

Backyard Wildlife Habitat (National Wildlife Federation)

September 8, 2014 By // by Penelope Bianchi 76 Comments

I have many new subscribers!! I am going to post a few of my favorite (and others’ favorite posts)

In between new posts, so the new subscribers don’t have to go searching!!

(Be sure to click on the title to see the complete post!)

In 1997; we decided to move to Montecito from Pasadena.

We spent our honeymoon here in 1978; and I had grown up in Pasadena coming up every August!

We sold our house before we put it on the market in Pasadena!

I looked and looked for an older house; and my real estate agent almost gave up!

One day, she announced that she was showing me a “vacant lot”!! Oh no! I don’t want to build!!

She drove up to this!

(When you see where the pond is; this is where it is “before”!!! there was a pond! Nothing!)

(The one house next door is shown above.)

She said, “There is a 45 acre nature preserve on one side; there is the 45 acre property of your Mother’s friend Mrs. Bacon on the other two sides It can’t be subdivided!;

and there are deer in there!”

She has known me since high school; and she knew that would clinch the deal!

The day we bought the property; I looked at this view; and there was a command in my head!

“A pond wants to be there!!”

(and right there is where it is!)

I told my husband that day! He said, “Slow down, honey! We have a house to build; all kinds of more important things!”

“I said, no, you can’t dig a pond with a house in the way!!”

I wouldn’t let go of that! So he let us have the bulldozers dig a pond!

It filled up with water!

My goal from the beginning was to create a “nature preserve” of our own; and a “not too big house”!

I read every book I could find on attracting and keeping birds, butterflies and wildlife of all kinds!

And then I found that the National Wildlife Federation had a “Backyard Habitat Program” to assist homeowners who want to

assist wildlife! It is a fascinating program that anyone can qualify for; even if you only have a balcony!

I used two landscape designers; one in the beginning, and then I switched to my favorite! I

took Margie to the “nature preserve” next door, and said ” I want a landscape a lot like this!!”

Margie listens; and she can do any landscape someone wants! Her range is amazing!

The first thing we found out is that our lot is the “drain” of Montecito! All the flow charts end here!

So there was a massive drainage system that needed to be installed!

The “dry creek” below is connecting one “catch basin” to another! Designed by Margie to be a lovely part of the landscape!

Margie Grace Links to website

I worked with my favorite architect David Serrurier. There was another caveat: The building envelope was 65 feet square; which meant he had to fit a house, a guest house and a garage

in that space! The property is over 2 acres; but it couldn’t have anything built on any other part of it!

The guest house is above.

It feels like a little village! But the landscaping was crucial to the “animal habitat”!!!

look at the size of the tree on the left. That was about eight years ago!

That sycamore tree is 60 feet tall now!

To learn about the “Backyard Habitat Program” click here!

National Wildlife Federation : this links you to the Garden For Wildlife Program/ Backyard Habitat.

Look at all the ducks that come back every year!

I had one duck house in the beginning; and now have two!

Thanks to my friend in Georgia!

Winston Brown, at www.lwbcreations.com !

Three years after we moved into the house a lady who had grown up nearby looked out the window at the pond, and said,

“I think it is lovely dear, that you put the pond back”!

In shock, I said….”Back? What do you mean?” She explained that in the early forties,(before I was born), there had been a pond exactly where we dug it!

Same size, same shape, same. There were stables here for polo ponies; and the pond was filled in to make a riding ring!

I still get chills telling that story. This land spoke to me, that is all I can say!

the duck house in the front was built in England by

http://www.granddadrobdesigns.co.uk/epsom-eight-floating-duck-house-p-40.html

I just found out!!!

I keep the duck treats under this bee skep!

They recognize my voice, and come to me when they hear me! They are wild mallards; and they nest every year, laying their eggs inside

the duck houses! If a stranger comes out; they are “guarded”! And ducks return to

where they are hatched, so lucky us!!

Here are the sycamore trees recently!!!

My poor gardener had to “unlearn most of what he has spent a lifetime learning!

“No blowers, no mowers, no hedge trimmers, and I like the roses climbing the trees! And the vines on the rooftop!!”

We planted a whole bunch of milkweed for the monarch butterflies! He was completely horrified to see this, above!

Those monarch caterpillars eat all the leaves!! Yes! And then they make chrysalises and there are monarchs all over!!

When my granddaughter was in kindergarten; I decided to do the “Backyard Habitat” project with her!

We filled out the following questionnaire, and took pictures!

She had such fun!! “Granny, take a picture of THAT thicket!! It’s like an apartment house for birds!”

She proudly presented this certificate to her class; and said, “Granny and I won first place!!”

Now, (of course, there isn’t a “first place”! But she learned so much!)

Now, after 16 years, we have a covey of California quail, hummingbirds (3 kinds), and every kind of bird!

Not to mention, bobcats, coyotes, raccoon, Great Blue Heron, (I have to chase away when there are baby ducklings!)

The lady , (Joan Lentz) who wrote the book , “Birds of Santa Barbara County” identified 120 species in two hours

by their song!

I was outside playing my “iBird Pro” app on my iPhone and it was making the “Hooded Oriole” song;

and a male oriole landed on my hat!!!

The questionnaire is as follows:

The National Wildlife Federation is a wonderful source of information on what to plant to attract and nourish wildlife! It has been the most gratifying

thing about living here! Hummingbirds make their nests in the tendrils of ivy; and we even saw one baby fly for the first time when we were standing inside the

guest house front door! I said, “WOW! That is a once in a lifetime experience!”

(there were two babies so big they were perched on the top of the nest)

She said, “Granny, was it the boy or the girl?”

You just guess what I said!!

Backyard Wildlife Habitat (National Wildlife Federation)Read More

Grace Design Associates …..our wonderful landscape designers!!!

August 9, 2013 By // by Penelope Bianchi 6 Comments

I was showing a friend the photographs of our garden on our landscape designer’s website; and read the story of our project!

I realized that our project from their standpoint was quite different from ours; and thought a lot of people would enjoy reading

about the challenges and reading the story!

Thriving Wilderness Retreat: The Landscape Design Challenge

It was love at first sight for this Montecito couple. The minute they saw the land, they knew they had found their Shangri-la. Two acres of poison oak, eucalyptus and Coast Live Oak sandwiched between a 45-acre creek side butterfly preserve and 50 heavily-treed acres of the old Bacon estate, the land was beautiful. The only hitch was it was considered unbuildable. The engineering challenges of managing subsurface water, springs and heavy runoff from the surrounding watershed had deterred many would-be builders.

The Solution

The couple, however, would not let such a thing as an ‘unbuildable’ site stop them. They worked with the engineer and the architect to create a beautiful, modest yet sumptuous 3,500 square foot compound that sat lightly on the land and blended in naturally with the surroundings. The main house, guest house and garage are arranged around a courtyard and give the impression of a small village. The three individual buildings present a much smaller profile to the street than one large structure would, greatly lessening the visual impact the structures have on this very natural setting. When the Bianchis hired Grace Design Associates, Inc. to bring together their landscaping, they had completed construction on their home, thinned the eucalyptus trees, built the pond, completed the walks near the house and installed the larger landscape trees. They envisioned their garden would fit seamlessly into the native landscape, a sanctuary for wildlife and a respite from the workaday world. And, although they had an extensive subsurface drainage system and a perimeter flow-diverting wall in case the underground system failed, additional drainage was needed to accommodate increased runoff from the extensive construction being done on the estate to the west.

Special Features:

100% chemical free landscape maintenance.
The whole property is a “no kill zone” – animals and insects usually considered pests are part of the ecosystem, providing prey for raptors and food for beneficial insects; plants are planted in wire baskets to protect them from gophers.
Habitat was created for quail (brush piles, shelter shrubs, water and seed-producing plants for feed).
Nesting boxes attract blue birds and bats.
Snags and dead trees were left intact for perches for birds of prey, habitat for grubs (bird food), and bee hives, all of which are actively used by local wildlife.
Lots of small water pockets and the occasional supply of mealy worms attract a variety of winged creatures.
Penny keeps free-range chickens. A predator-proof chicken coop contains a scavenged monkey house with nesting boxes for sitting hens. Ramps in critical places allow chickens access and egress to and from sheltering niches. A salvaged bus shelter was recently brought in to house free-range turkey hens
Drought-tolerant plants were used on the majority of the property. Higher water use, more “garden-y” plants comprise less than five percent of the landscaping and are used only in the area immediately adjacent to the house.
Heavy native soil supports wild grasses with very little supplemental irrigation water.
Where the soil is heaviest, an unlined pond was built; this allows for groundwater recharge, attracts water birds and supports a healthy aquatic ecosystem.
Live Oaks were carefully tended throughout the construction process and continue to be diligently tended.
The driveway is chip-sealed. This slows the rate of runoff, lessening flooding, sedimentation and bank erosion in the neighboring creek.
Walkways are permeable (gravel, flagstone or mulch over soil). This reduces runoff and allows for infiltration to reduce irrigation needs and help to leach salts from the soil.
Deciduous trees shade the south terrace and loggia, allowing passive heat gain in winter months and providing cooling shade in the same areas in the summer months.
The loggia is built to catch a cross breeze and is deeply shaded by eaves. No cooling of this southern room is required.
Drainage: A drainage system, comprised of three large catch basins, a system of 30″ diameter pipes and a discharge pipe was already present. To assist with the drainage on the extensively developed uphill neighbor’s property, the engineer suggested that an additional section of 30″ diameter pipe be installed to connect two of the catch basins. As originally proposed, laying such a pipe underground would have required the loss of three oaks as well as disturbing the existing landscaping and compacting the very heavy soil with the use of heavy equipment. Our solution was to connect the two catch basins with a “dry creek”, excavating soil and placing boulders by hand. The dry creek was constructed with the same capacity as the proposed 30″ diameter pipe and runs only when/if the upstream catch basin overflows. The dry creek has the additional benefit of intercepting subsurface flow, de-watering the soil, lightening the construction impact on the existing plantings and trees and enhancing the aesthetics of the garden. Soil excavated to form the dry creek was used on-site to create a raised herb garden, eliminating the cost and environmental impact of exporting the excavated soil.

This is the guest house.

The dry creek bed connecting two catch basins. The dry creek bed looking the other way with the herb garden at the end!

the pond. Divine driftwood bench next to the pond.

The loggia.Doors to the terrace

The flagstones in the gravel path.

Grace Design Associates …..our wonderful landscape designers!!!Read More

A lovely post by a friend and blogger!

March 28, 2013 By // by Penelope Bianchi 15 Comments

My friend and fellow blogger Tracey Jackson

came to Santa Barbara to visit her mother; and came over to visit!

(These pictures were taken last Spring! Not by Tracey)

Tracey is a screenwriter, and that is one reason she is such a good blog writer!

She has also published books!

Honestly, in about fifteen minutes, she took some wonderful pictures and posted them!

The title is “Penny Bianchi’s birds in Paradise”!!

Here is the link!

I think you’ll enjoy her blog!

http://www.traceyjacksononline.com/2013/03/penny-bianchis-birds-in-paradise/

I’ve been taking some “beginning of Spring” pictures which I will be posting soon!

Happy Easter!!!

A lovely post by a friend and blogger!Read More

Success story with ducklings!!!

July 2, 2012 By // by Penelope Bianchi 17 Comments

Well! After the trauma of the drowned ducklings (good thing I never had to go to war)

The same Mallard female trusted Winston’s duck house from Georgia…….and laid 6 eggs in the back nest box!

Another mallard mother trusted the newly fortified ” old” duck house and also laid 6 eggs!

First time ever (in 14 years) we have had two female mallards sitting on eggs. Also the first year we and they have had the luxury of two duck houses!

It is quite a story!

A new mallard mommy laid 6 eggs (they lay one egg a day); wait until there are at least 6; they start sitting…….so they all hatch on the same day!

Now; just in case you did not know this……..(wild birds and chickens do the same) You are in the vast majority ! 100 CEO’s of Fortune 500 companies were asked this question!!

2% knew the right answer. (We need to educate people about these things…………That is pathetic!)

So the first mallard laid 6 eggs…….we counted! The first one hatched…….off she went with the first one……..the other five did not hatch! (my theory….first time…..only child is easier?)

My happy tale is that the same mother mallard who lost her first brood..(because of our leaky house……..sob!)….(we can identify by some markings on the back of her head) went to Winston’s new house!

She laid six eggs………and we watched her stay right in there for 2 days after the first one hatched! Until they all did! Bravo! No egg left behind !!!

Winston had that new house here so fast………and I drove a truck! Winston is the hero!

Here are the pictures!!

The back house is Winston’s “new house” from Georgia which arrived in 6 days! This is the female who hatched one chick….left the rest of the eggs in the old house…..and when the new house arrived……well……..here you are! “WOW! This sure a pretty place”!

She laid her eggs and that one hatched in the old place (all fixed up and waterproofed ) in the foreground!

The girl who lost her brood was not trusting that old place……..was so pleased with Winston’s she laid 7 eggs in Winston’s!

I will not bore you with my photos of her every single day for 28 days……..sometimes I could see her beak…..sometimes I could see nothing and despaired!

Then! Tah Dah!! Here she was with 7!!

They are honestly the size of bumblebees!

This is the mother who lost all six one day old ones in our house that leaked.

I am seriously into their survival.

Mother Theresa…….no…..but” mother duck” I have become obsessed……this mother duck I have a debt to. I cannot tell you. I practically slept on the bank.

They hatched!

It is hard to see them!

This is the same mother duck!

This is a happy ending to a very sad story!

And they are still alive; growing up way too fast…….(just like children) !

And I will be starting my before, during and after story of our daughter’s house next!

Penelope

Here is the mother with the “only child”!

(lots of my friends think she is “smart”

easier than 6 or 7 for sure!

I almost forgot the chicks! Yikes!

Here is the first set of our “mille flour” bantam chicks……..7!

The bobcat has been visiting……and decimating our flock…..so inside everyone! for a few months!

Look at the little chick peeking out of the Mommy’s feathers! (I will now get 500 withdrawals ) (I promise there is some serious design work coming)

Here are seven!

And then the other one hatched 9!

Now comes the “before and after” of what I think may be the very best house in all of Montecito!

Honestly. It was built in 1935. The golden era of proper scale; views, proportion…..and “enfilades” !

Designed by a gifted architect…….who did the airport in Santa Barbara; the Arlington Theatre……and a few houses…….and would be much more famous had he not died at 46!

Joseph Plunkett..part of “Edwards and Plunkett”…

The loveliest house! I will begin with the “before”! Where it was when I found it!

Just about the opposite of all “spec” houses and “McMansions” being built today!

Charm, warmth, proportions…….light……exposures……..(does everyone know what that means?); graciousness and cosy!

Next post!!!

Stay tuned!!!

Success story with ducklings!!!Read More