Sculpture and a Poet's Garden

The garden at Casa La Reina

Roy Anthony Shabla is a poet and artist. His southern California garden is a gathering space for writers and artists and friends. There are tables and chairs throughout for conversation and parties.

Even alone in the garden, you are aware of other people. The empty chairs and tables, an audience for your thoughts, are an invitation for reflection and writing.

rain poem - how sweet to kiss as if a child the drowsy earth by Roy Shabla

Roy's poetry is an essential element of this garden. His poems, intimate short poems on a slip of paper pinned to a door frame and wall sized poems the size of sculpture are focal points that anchor different spaces. That the paper wrinkles and weathers simply adds another layer of meaning to the poetry.

The garden's rosemary hedges and fruit trees, fig, persimmon, apple give a feeling of abundance. Exotic cycads, orchids, bouganvilla, and orchid cactus bring year round color and texture.

Roy Anthony Shabla's website.