Perhaps even more significant than its Spanish Colonial Revival house designed by Bertram Goodhue, are Val Verde's powerful and poetic gardens, transformed in the 1930s from formal academic expressions into a simple evocation of an Italian villa garden. This masterwork, by pioneering California landscape architect Lockwood de Forest, is a rare surviving example of his unique approach: a dramatic setting for sculpture, simple details, and theatrical effects achieved almost entirely with plants. Presently, its Foundation is working carry out the late owner's wishes to protect this California Landmark. They would like to open the site to limited tours, but neighbors object. A lawsuit is pending.