Chapala Garden Club members and guests will tour Casa Philea, the imposing Mediterranean-style villa in Jocotepec owned by expats Shan and John Coulton, on Wednesday, September 19.
With over a half-dozen Cypress trees, immaculate lawns and a unique six-arched Ficus hedge inspired by the Alhambra in Spain, Casa Philea is named romantically after an Egyptian temple.
The house and gardens are an accolade to the loving care the Coultons have devoted to this hidden gem for almost a quarter century.
Shan was one of California’s most successful interior designers and quickly saw the potential for this luxurious lakeside location.
The structure of the house and garden began to take shape after 12 months of hard work by Shan and her team of 20, including a teenage gardener named Ariel who has remained with the couple ever since.
The visitor will be mesmerized by the pristine garden. A fountain from the lips of Greek god Zeus gushes into a massive crystal clear swimming pool. Subtle statues lurk among the lush planting. A lion’s head at eye level and a pure white-domed casita effortlessly fuse with the designer themes.
The 10-room villa, an eclectic, sophisticated harmony of all things European, is set like a jewel amid the global garden design influences. Like a massive mural, a long established creeping fig adorns the exterior walls and ceilings throughout both wings of the spacious house.
Shan eschews any mention of dancing to the drum of the Golden Section, the iconic Greek ratio of beauty, to create this alluring effect. Yet this formula of 1.618, now many thousands of years old, is called “Phi,” named numerically after the Greek sculptor Phidias. Serendipitously, “Phi’’ is the first three letters of the villa’s name.
This is a special opportunity to visit Casa Philea, since it is currently up for sale.
The tour begins at 10:45 a.m. Lunch will be taken at noon at “La Carreta” in central Jocotepec (Hidalgo 71), when members and guests will be able to hear Shan talk more about how she and her husband created Casa Philea.
To attend the tour, you must become a member of the Chapala Garden Club. See www.lakechapalagardenclub.org.