Stage Set: Wheelchair-Accessible Desert Garden with Movie-Star Drama

Marlene Dietrich would feel at home in this desert garden: dramatic lines, an elegant pool, and exquisite stone paving create a setting fit for a star. Yet it's also fully wheelchair accessible.

Sliding glass doors open onto a level, covered patio-pavilion — "an extension of the interior." Wide paths circulate through the garden. Landscape architect Gregory Trutza designed it to complement the contemporary adobe house. A graduated rear wall frames the pool and mountain view while blocking nearby development.

Night lighting is key for entertaining: tree, wall, and pavilion lighting set the garden aglow. A large angular pool and detached spa offer year-round dipping. Pietra travertine patio pavers, a gas firepit in black Mexican beach pebbles, and dramatic night lighting complete the scene.

Designer: Gregory Trutza, New Directions in Landscape Architecture, Phoenix (602/998-4399)