Garden Gone By
Montecito residents Mr. and Mrs. J. Gordon Douglas pose for Slim Aarons.
Written by Joan Tapper
Photography by Slim Aarons/Stringer
In 1970 society photographer Slim Aarons captured Mr. and Mrs. J. Gordon Douglas at the steps of their hillside Montecito estate. The grounds of Il Brolino—Italian for “the little garden”—had been designed in 1922 for lumber heiress Mary Stewart by landscape architect Florence Yoch and Lucille Council to complement the Mediterranean villa–style house by architect George Washington Smith. The plan for the property included iconic formal features like parterres, a woodland, a rose garden, paved terraces, a cutting garden, a lemon house, a pergola, and topiaries. The symmetry and precision of the plantings are striking. Known for his access to the rich and celebrated, Aarons traveled from Hollywood to the famous playgrounds of Europe capturing the jet-set lifestyle for numerous magazines, and he was quoted as saying he focused on “attractive people doing attractive things in attractive places.” Il Brolino and its owners certainly fit the bill.
