Up for sale is 2848 Union Street. Priced at $5M, it includes a so-called Zen garden by well-known artist and landscape designer Topher Delaney. Take a look at the photos, and tell us...
Up for sale is 2848 Union Street. Priced at $5M, it includes a so-called Zen garden by well-known artist and landscape designer Topher Delaney. Take a look at the photos, and tell us...

...Are we the only one who think it wouldn't be very zen-like and calm-inducing to be sidestepping rows of fire?


Via: SocketSite
no, you arent. i think the 5m spent isnt very zen like either.
view andrasklang's profile
Is there a house that goes with the garden?
view kimg924's profile
Aside from the tree in the middle and some ivy growing on the walls, where is the sense of garden or zen? It's not calm, tranquil, or very attractive for that matter. I don't hate the fire but I wish it were more functional rather than just for show.
view Miss Pea's profile
I find the neon more distressing than the fire.
view Jaze's profile
Neon lights and fire are not at all Zen. Repeat: NOT!
view siongchinchan's profile
what i don't get is that someone had the taste to create that beautiful garden with that amazing tree... THEN added cheesy flames and neon.
it's like someone bought it and pimped that garden.
view jeffnyc's profile
A tad creepy.
view Teaberry's profile
The fire doesn't bother me but the neon is pretty ugly.
view eskay's profile
No thanks! Even IF I had the money.
view danze's profile
The thing I find most odd, is how this part really doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the house.
Also what are you supposed to do in that "garden"? Sit and stare at the fire?
view jennifer in sf's profile
I think "Pimp My Garden" could be a real hit on HGTV.
view CJL's profile
The only thing missing are spinning rims.
view btoddster's profile
this garden looks like a holding pen for "twin peaks" extras...
view saya*'s profile
There's just something rather morbid about it...a complete contrast to how a garden to should make one feel.
view Art2Zen's profile
i think topher delaney is sooo overrated. i have seen some of her other installations in the bay area and her plant choices always seem inappropriate for the climate (but are cool looking so I assume that is why she chose them) and they end up suffering. That misuse of plant material makes me see red. And waste of burning hydrocarbons to generate needless extra greenhouse gases for someone's viewing pleasure seems downright criminal. although it is done all the time by everyone, we are all guilty of that one.
view mimits's profile
like the sitting ledge and the stepped surface, the tree, the turkey gravel and the reflective wall. the flames and neon are distracting, even jarring. some editing and then a few boulders, a found object, or sculpture would really help this space.
where was the money spent here? what was the budget?
view healthyhome's profile
Look how fabulous that is!! She's just so f^%*ing brilliant. I met her once at a dinner party and was gobsmacked.
view anne's profile
It's interesting to say the least. I think it hasn't quite got it right however. The garden either needs to be even more simple; or more naturalistic. What they have now isn't quite in balance.
The neon simply doesn't belong; it feels sad, dated, and wrong.
view mchrisman's profile
Topher should call it what it is....minimalist.
view chartreuse's profile