Laguna Nursery

Laguna Nursery

If you thought about popping into Laguna Nursery for a few annuals to plant this weekend, you’re in for a pleasant surprise. Clear your schedule, because more than a couple of minutes are needed to explore their maze of elegantly and artfully displayed antiques, artifacts and garden wares. Salvaged architectural pieces, unique pots and interesting plant compositions make this garden emporium a wealth of inspiration for your indoor and outdoor spaces.

Ruben Flores purchased Laguna Nursery three short years ago, but his architectural background is evident everywhere you look. When Ruben heard the site was slated to become a storage facility for a local hotel, he “couldn’t let it go.” His business has since flourished into a local destination for landscape architects, designers and homeowners alike. Flores considers himself and his crew—most of whom have been with him throughout his illustrious career—“artistic directors of the garden.”

A series of coincidences early in his career brought Flores to Laguna Beach. While a student at Cal Poly Pomona, he toured Coastal California on speaking engagements, educating audiences about California native plantings. It was at one of these lectures that Flores was “discovered” by a well-known landscape architect in Laguna Beach. That project—the Villa Elena Mansion—propelled him into the world of high-end landscaping. Flores went on to design the rolling gardens of the Gucci Mansion, whose owner sent him to Europe to study the “visionscapes” of France, Italy and England. Flores describes this immersion into historically significant art and sophisticated European lifestyles as an “intensely creative” time.

Today, Flores incorporates his exposure to art and architecture into all his projects. He prefers residential to commercial work because he values the collaborative relationships that develop with homeowners. He designs landscapes

around his clients’ lifestyles and especially loves creating intimate spaces for entertaining. Flores emphasizes that a garden can be visually interesting no matter what the size or budget and that even a tiny patio has great potential. His mantra is, “Keep it spinning and don’t get bored,” and also believes that, “A garden can’t just be given to someone; it has to be nurtured and appreciated.”