What is the world does that mean- almost? Well…It seems that someone put skylights in the roof of this 1925 M.J. Murphy Tudor revival style residence!
I often walk by this home also called “The Enchanted Cottage”. It is sweet but unremarkable. It’s usually hard to see behind the thick screen of shrubbery.
When I find it listed with the Historic Context Statement under the theme of development and culture, I am curious and return to try again.
When I first snap a shot of the cottage without shrubbery, it is January 2010 and major remodeling is taking place.
Yes there are those offending skylights on either side of the “stucco-clad… Facade with its patchwork of Carmel stone pieces along its edges” that Kent Seavey describes. Mercy.
What is with the bright orange trim and the decidedly unusual plant material. I will keep an eye on this development.
I am not sure what Ann Winslow would think of this.
“Ann lived in this house from 1925 until the death of her husband, Douglas, when she moved to San Francisco. While in Carmel, Mrs Winslow shared her considerable wealth with the Carmel Fire Department and Harrison Memorial library. She funded the surgical department of the Monterey Peninsula Hospital , helped by an ambulance for the city and donated considerable funds for the Carmel Red Cross building.”- Kent Seavey
She might have been an important woman, but she did not impress Una Jeffers who wrote
“Dear Miss Winslow:
My husband (Robinson Jeffers) is sorry that he cannot help you out with the judging in the poetry awards. He has just judged the mss.for the two Phelan awards in San Francisco…He cannot spare the time and attention needed ,at this time, for you poems Another year if you still wish to ask him I think it will be possible for him to consent. He is in the throes of finishing a long poem-alway a tiring business!
Very sincerely,
Una Jeffers.
We dined with Marie Welch West..three nights ago-do you know her-otherwise than as a donor.? She is expecting a child very soon and is very well and extremely happy.”
Perhaps Ann would have been dismayed or she might have loved the additional light pouring into her cottage on those foggy days.
I am back a mere 2 years later and once again the Winslow house is screened by dense shrubbery. I am poking my camera through the branches when I hear a voice. The gardener is here and when I remark on the unusual combinations of plant material, he decides to show me around and tell me a story.
We enter from the drive.
And face a tree-fern that cleverly hides the door from the street view.
The garden is terraced.
Bird of Paradise
Co-exists with foxglove and rhododendron.
The entry is as Seavey describes, “ a small, square stucco enclosure w/arched openings covered by a flared extension of the main roof”.
I take the path around the house.
I love the bay window,
Outdoor shower,
New deck,
And fire pit.
Oh,oh! More skylights.
When I tell him I feel like I am in a tropical paradise, he explains that the home has been purchased and remodeled by a couple from South America and they requested a tropical garden. He has done his job well.
Ferns cozy up to banana trees.
Palms and fern are lovely together.
He then sweeps aside a huge banana leaf and reveals the hidden entrance to a secret garden that runs along the south side of the property.
Sound is muffled except for the birdsong. Ferns sway in the breeze. There is even a stand of bamboo.
Lights hang from the trees.
And yet, if I push my camera through the leaves, civilization reemerges .
I come into the clearing with a bench that overlooks
The grassy center of the lot.
I am just stepping out onto the lawn to photograph this bench
When the sprinkler system comes on. I “hot-foot it” off the grass while the gardner laughs.
This is a rather damp ending to another Tale From Carmel.
Once upon a time..Tales from Carmel by the Sea 
Amazing landscaping and cute cottage. I’m not a red/orange person, so the trim color wouldn’t be my choice, though I suppose it gives it some tropical vibrancy. And I’m not fond of the juxtaposition of pink foxgloves against red rhododendron and window trim. (That’s the reddest rhododendron I have ever seen!) The glimpse through the bay window (which I love) is intriguing: I can see a vaulted ceiling of stained wood (with a skylight), a fireplace, and framed art on the walls. Would love to see views of the interior. But that yard is incredible. Love those huge ferns and all the stonework.
Another great post Linda –
hi linda,
do you take these photos yourself? they are really beautiful. do you mind if i put them on my facebook and use your website on them, saying they are for sale? just that i have a garden facebook.
thanks, jessica
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p.s. and i only mean a few of the photos
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ROFL! I am fanatically in favor of anything that provides more light….but ….well, maybe the sun will bleach out that red trim. 🙂
Fantastic garden!
Oh my gosh, Linda, Good friends of ours from Cincinnati lived there until 8 or 9 years ago. Connie and Pope Coleman. Pope was on the Carmel Planning Commission and Connie is a well known painter. She paints people’s animals including Oprah’s dogs and President W. Bush’s dogs. She is still a member of the Carmel Art Association. She painted in the garage before the house was renovated.
Will certainly send her these photos tomorrow.
Love the blog hope you are planning a book as your photos are much better than many of the Carmel house book photos as are your writings.
Hope to meet you this winter when we’re all back.
Just when are you there and how is Kansas City this summer?
Marcia Shortt (Cypress House)
Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2013 16:50:15 +0000 To: marciashortt@hotmail.com
Ann Winslow was a close friend of my grandmother’s. When Doug Winslow died Ann tried to rent an apartment in San Francisco. The apartment manager refused to rent to her because she was Jewish. The great story is that after she was refused she came back and bought the whole apartment building. She moved in and lived there happily for many years. She and Doug also lived in the Bellevue apartments overlooking Lake Merritt in Oakland at one time. They donated a pair of white swans to the bird refuge and enjoyed watching them from their apartment. I always heard that this house in Carmel was called “Lanai Kai” after their home in Hawaii. I remember visiting there as a small child.