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In Memoriam
Greg Hebert (1959-2022)
By Christine Cunning
May/June 2022
 Greg Hebert. Courtesy Valerie Hebert |
SOHO and San Diego’s historic spaces lost a great friend on January 21, 2022 when landscape architect and SOHO member Greg Hebert died of a brain tumor at age 62. The Coronado resident specialized in historic landscapes and received numerous awards for his designs. He was honored with two Rancho Santa Fe Association Lily Awards for landscape remodels, and San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles’ Garden of the Year accolades in 2005, 2008, and 2015, among other recognition.
“Sometimes landscape professionals do not get as much notice as architects and other team members, but they should, as they're integral to successful projects,” SOHO’s Dean Glass noted. The landscape design, after all, frames historic structures, and sets the tone for the space around them.
My husband Jim and I are honored to live in San Diego’s historic Alice Lee house, 3574 Seventh Avenue, which I inherited from my aunt in 2008. By then vines, trees, and plants had overtaken the expansive yard, so the house couldn’t be seen from the street. A City of San Diego planner characterized it as “a jungle!” To change that image, we hired Greg in July 2014.
I struggled to envision how the front yard, pergolas, and pool area could be transformed, but I trusted him. Greg loved our immense dragon tree and the 1905 pergola’s Cape grape vine, which the late historian Sarai Johnson suspected Kate Sessions had planted when the house was new. He incorporated Sessions’ favorite plants, located brick for the terrace to blend with original bricks, and assisted in matching original stucco texture and colors. The front yard’s 1950s Atlas cedars and two original palm trees were dying; Greg replaced the palms with cork oak and ginkgo trees. He addressed soil, grading, drainage, and irrigation issues.
 Street view of the overgrown Alice Lee House, 3574 Seventh Avenue, before July 2014. |
 The restored 1905 Alice Lee/Irving J. Gill/Hazel Wood Waterman House with restored fountain. |
 Near the pool, a new water feature made with Laird Plumleigh wall tiles and shell-shaped bowl by ceramic artist Andy Halbert. |
 Wisteria once again thrives and decorates the house’s terrace, also enhanced with a new water feature and seating and dining areas. All house and garden photos courtesy Christine and Jim Cunning |
Greg also introduced us to Gatling Design, Inc. in San Diego and together we selected exterior lighting, designed a new water feature and upgraded the pool with handmade tiles by Encinitas’ Laird Plumleigh, resulting in a lovely entertaining area. Passers-by constantly admire Greg’s work at our front gate. We often chat with them about the restoration process and the landscape transformation. I mentally thank Greg whenever I'm in the yard or looking out from the upstairs sleeping porch. The view overlooking the yard and into Balboa Park is extraordinary and always makes me grateful for his talents. It was a true pleasure to work with such an intelligent, good-humored, and charming man.
Greg’s survivors include wife Valerie, sons Andrew and Kyle, his former design associates Gail Zerbe and Mark Fuerte, and many grateful clients.
Editor’s note: Christine and Jim Cunning received a 2018 SOHO People In Preservation Award for Residential Restoration of the 1905 Alice Lee/Irving J. Gill/Hazel Wood Waterman House. See it HERE.
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