La Cuesta Encantada: the formal gardens of the Hearst Castle

Flower & Garden Magazine, Feb-March, 1996 by Ellen Henke

If Gardens Could Talk, La Cuesta Encantada would have stories to tell of presidents, financiers, diplomats, Hollywood stars and tycoons from all around the world. The multilevel formal gardens of Hearst Castle, once the home of publisher William Randolph Hearst, are secreted 1,600 feet above the Pacific Ocean in California, about halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Hearst's opulent creation, constructed in collaboration with his architect, Julia Morgan, required tons of materials to be hauled up the steep, rugged terrain to the hilltop known afterward as "La Cuesta Encantada" (The Enchanted Hill). The spectacular 165-room estate, known more familiarly as Hearst Castle, is built in the Mediterranean Revival style. The surrounding landscape, with its many levels of terraces, has been called one of the finest examples of Italian and Spanish gardens on American soil.

Hearst, who was very exacting about the work that went into his 250,000-acre project, intermittently lived here from the 1920s until health problems forced him to leave in 1947. He was a dedicated gardener who let little interfere with the time he spent tending his roses. Even a call from the president of the United States couldn't budge Hearst from the garden, according to a story I heard from the late Norman Rotanzi, who gardened at Hearst Castle for 58 years. Hearst walked the grounds twice weekly, examining every plant detail. Gardeners who worked for "The Chief," as they called Hearst, needed his permission to so much as cut a branch from an oak.

Visiting the gardens at Hearst Castle makes you realize the importance of plant selection in achieving this distinctively Italian garden. Many of the plants are trimmed into formal hedges in ways that reinforce, yet soften, the architecture. A multitude of monochromatic greens dominate, creating a sense of dignity and strength. The lush emerald hues provide a striking contrast to the gleaming white surfaces of statuary.

Slender and upright, the massive, sinewy Italian cypress is the hallmark of this garden style. It reaches skyward to punctuate the landscape, reinforcing the vertical lines of the columns and other architectural elements in the garden. Hearst also used cypresses to frame views both near and far, adding touches reminiscent of Italy throughout the landscape.

La Cuesta Encantada was planned for beauty in all seasons. Handsome specimens of Canary Island date palms are silhouetted against the sky while leviathan California oaks position the garden in time and place.

The Esplanade walkway at Hearst Castle winds around the grounds, offering delightful distant views of the surrounding countryside. The grand displays of colorful specimen plants along the walk include rhododendrons, oleanders, camellias, azaleas, eucalyptus, blue lily-of-the-Nile (Agapanthus), glossy green citrus trees with fruits sparkling in the sun and brilliant purple lantanas. Statues, balustrades and terraces are as important in Hearst's garden as trees and flowers. Hardscape features dominate. Textured walkways and broad sweeping terraces, often inlaid with decorative tiles, display the sparkling fountains and statuary Hearst collected from around the world.

As you explore Hearst's garden notice how the individual terraces are connected by a series of grand sweeping staircases. Each of these terraces becomes an open-air room, usually with a unique focal point or surprise: a particular statue, a grouping of roses, a fountain or a view. In drought-plagued central California it is most appropriate that plants drape the walls in lieu of the water that normally would cascade through an Italian garden. Lavender, multicolored fuchsias, vibrant bougainvillea, wisteria and fragrant star jasmines all combine to decorate the low walls and ornament the exterior of the estate.

The azalea walk along the Esplanade offers fine panoramic views. At the main terrace in front of La Casa Grande, the design becomes more formal. Mexican fan palms are placed at regular intervals, establishing a framework for roses and pristine white marble statuary, imposing columns and sarcophagi carved from solid blocks of Italian marble. Roses of all types, including climbers clinging to the tall palms for support, steal the scene. The floral display reaches a grand crescendo where the Esplanade reaches La Casa del Sol, one of three guest houses. Here roses bloom in combination with fuchsia, lantana, hydrangea, bougainvillea, magnolia, English holly and a few native oaks. This was one of Hearst's favorite spots and he spent many hours sitting here contemplating his garden. From La Casa del Sol the Esplanade curves sharply to give a view of La Casa Grande through oaks, magnolias, palms and other exotic plantings.

Hearst's garden is one of the most elaborate interpretations of an Italian-style garden in the United States. It excites the imagination to consider what life was like for the rich and famous in the golden era of the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s while Hearst lived and entertained here.