Hollywood Landscapes
1915, californiahistoricalsociety.org; How Green Was My Valley, 1941, film still, britannica.com; /Artwork:
designslinger]
When Florence Yoch graduated from the University of Illinois in 1915 with a degree in
landscape architecture, she never could have imagined that her talents would lead to a job in the movie business. But, because we can never really know what the future holds, anything is possible.
Yoch was a native of Santa Ana, CA., a suburb of Los Angeles, and a fan of English
Country gardens. In her work, she combined the formality of the English garden with the temperate climate and casual lifestyle of southern California. Whether she was designing for an 8-acre estate or a typical backyard, Yoch was interested in creating a series of environments in her landscaping, in an attempt to create a variety of experiences in a single garden.
While blazing a path through a very male dominated profession, Yoch also took a
personal risk in partnering both professionally and personally in life, with Lucile Council. It wasn't an "out" lesbian relationship as we know them today, but given the times they were living in, it is a testament to both women that their business and personal relationship, which started in the 1920s and lasted until Council's death in 1960, flourished, and resulted in over 250 designs and gardens.
They had a clientèle that extended from stuffy Pasadena to the wilds of Hollywood.
With clients like directors George Cukor and Dorothy Arzner, and producers like David Selznick and studio boss Jack Warner, it's no wonder that Yoch and Council were asked to lend their expertise to the films these people made. It was through her relationships with Cukor and Selznick that Yoch came to design the gardens for Gone With the Wind. Instead of the expected sculpted garden look for Tara, Yoch wanted something that appeared more natural, as though the plantings around the plantation house had been there for generations. When asked to do the landscape for The Good Earth, Yoch transformed a piece of property in the San Fernando Valley into the rice paddies of a Chinese village. For How Green Was My Valley, they planted 10,000 blooming daffodils among the grass and gnarled trees.
Yoch settled in the Monterey Peninsula in 1960 and continued to practice until 1971,
one year before her death at age 82. While many of the gardens Yoch created have disappeared entirely, or have been reworked beyond recognition, a few remain. The Doud House in Monterey, Il Brolino in Montecito, the gardens of the Athenaeum at Cal Tech, Rancho Los Alamitos in Long Beach, all still bear the hallmarks of Yoch's designs. However, one bit of landscaping will remain unchanged forever, Katie Scarlett O'Hara's, Tara.
Fred R. Dapprich, californiahistoricalsociety.org; Selznick Residence, 1939, photo: George D. Haight, lapl.org;
Artwork: designslinger]
Posted by designslinger at 3/18/2009 5:00 AM 
Categories: Gardens, Architects, History
Tags: Gone With the Wind Florence Yoch David Selznick landscape architects Lucile Council George Cukor
Categories: Gardens, Architects, History
Tags: Gone With the Wind Florence Yoch David Selznick landscape architects Lucile Council George Cukor
What a great post! I once worked on a film magazine, but have never heard of her. To be honest, I never paid much attention to landscape designers on the set. Thanks so much for the great - and obscure - information!
There is a great book on the work of Yoch and Council: "Landscaping the American Dream, the Gardens and Film sets of Florence Yoch" by her cousin James Yoch, printed in 1989. Your post adds to its info. Appreciate the 'lesbian credit' of their partnership. - thank you
You're welcome! I know about the book, but haven't been able to get my hands on a copy yet for a looksee. And - thanks for visiting.