Spotlight on Lisa Gimmy

Each month we spotlight a volunteer, staff member, docent, donor, or sponsor of the Virginia Robinson Gardens (VRG) -- those that have made an impact on the organization. We want to let you know about these wonderful people and corporations that give so much to the Virginia Robinson Gardens and to the community, and what they do that is so impactful. This month, we spotlight Lisa Gimmy, a wonderful and dedicated Friends of Robinson Gardens Member. A landscape architect, Lisa did a terrific presentation on her career for VRG members and docents. She has also been a Garden Tour hostess. We asked her these three questions:

California Romance and Beauty: Interior Designer Krista Everage

“Beautiful presentation!” “So glorious!” “I adored looking at everything!” On April 28, 2021, these were some of the enthusiastic comments from the Zoom attendees watching the very informative and lively interview of interior designer Krista Everage by publicist Christine Anderson, President of Communication Arts + Design, Inc. at the Virginia Robinson Gardens. Education co-chair Leslie Kavanaugh introduced Krista, a longtime Friends member, along with her friend and colleague Christine. Christine aptly remarked that the common thread in all of Krista’s work “from interiors to furniture to gardens to jewelry is luxurious romance suited to the indoor/outdoor California style.” Impressively, Krista’s first project published in Architectural Digest was designed around William Janss Jr.’s major art collection. Krista noted that in such instances, it is fun to design elements to complement the important artwork to create a subtle, poetic, and lyrical conversation between the furniture and the art. Also published in Architectural Digest was a rustic farmhouse whose interiors she designed for actor Dennis Quaid. Of her other notable clients, she said they embodied the Californian dream with their optimism and exuberance. Throughout the interview, the guests were able to savor images of the beautiful interiors she designed.

Come Into the Garden

Tomatoes The Basket of Apples is one of Cézanne’s most famous still-life paintings. Today he might have chosen to paint a basket of colorful heirloom tomatoes. History of Tomatoes Tomatoes are native to the Americas and can be traced back to the Aztecs around 700 A.D. Early Aztec writings reveal recipes for a dish that uses tomatoes, peppers, and seasoning. However, it was not until around the 16th century that Europeans were introduced to this fruit. Throughout Southern Europe, the tomato was quickly accepted into the kitchen, but as it moved north, many Europeans feared that the tomato was poisonous, and the tomato’s reputation was ruined. You can’t keep a good plant down, though, and despite its ill-deserved bad reputation, eventually, the taste of the tomato TRIUMPHED and became popular the world over.

Our Garden Tour Star Mia Lehrer

Every month, we are highlighting “Our Garden Tour Stars” -- landscape architects, florists, and interior designers who have participated at our annual Garden Tour and Showcase Estate at the Virginia Robinson Gardens. We want to let you know about these very talented designers, their inspirations, and their creations. This month, we are honored to feature internationally renowned landscape architect Mia Lehrer. In addition to the beautiful gardens she has designed on Garden Tour, she was featured in a fabulous documentary, “Women in the Dirt: Landscape Architects Shaping Our World,” which was screened twice at the Virginia Robinson Gardens for our members. She also took the Friends on a wonderful tour of two of her projects, the Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan and the Beverly Gardens Park on Santa Monica Boulevard in Beverly Hills. We asked her these five questions:

Message from President Betty Goldstein

In each new day, wherever you may be, there is always waiting for you some beautiful discovery. -Partial quote from Katie Daisy’s book, “How to be a wildflower.” Dear Friends, Beauty is always around us. It may be in watching the flight of the bee as it scatters pollen from one pincushion flower to another, water from a stream coating the rocks, causing them to glitter as the sunshine reflects off of them or a leaf floating in the gutter, swirling as it makes its way to the ocean. Every morning, in my backyard, two little sparrows bathe in the birdbath, and the red-throated hummingbird feeds on the nectar of my abutilon tree. And it makes me smile. I especially love the optimism of the white asylum growing through the cracks in the sidewalk, fully blooming, undaunted.

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