Green at the Garden—Nathan’s Notice

Written by: Staff on 13th March 2012

Green at the Garden—Nathan’s Notice |

By: Nathan M. Cuny

The BNP Paribas Open harbors a little secret many friends of tennis slip past after entering the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. I encourage you to stop for a minute and look to your left when entering from the West Gate. You’ll notice a yellow band of flowers wrapping around a large and round deep green mound. Atop the mound and growing slightly raised out of it are two curving, symmetrical lines of tiny white flowers. Short grass clippings stick to Fernando Fregoso’s sheers as he clips gently near one of the lines of miniature white flowers. He stands proudly next to his creation, which has been at the West Gate’s entrance for several years. It has gone through minor changes over the years, like the addition of the little flowers that rise out of the mound giving it the distinct appearance of a living tennis ball. Fregoso’s creation is one of many garden features that add to the beautiful atmosphere of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

Fernando Fregoso is a superintendent for Vintage Landscape, a professional landscape company based in Bermuda Dunes, California. Mr. Fregoso oversees the beautiful grounds of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, making the BNP Paribas Open one of the most beautiful tournaments of the year, with its sunny days against the mountain backdrop. You can see Fregoso’s 15 of years landscaping experience in the simple beauty of his creation—the pure artistic product of skill and inspiration. I hope many of the tennis fans, players, coaches, media, and more are inspired by his work of art as I am daily. So don’t forget to look to your left after entering through the West Gate, or to the right if you’re leaving from a night session like the night of Monday the 12^th that didn’t end until 1:45 AM. The match between Caroline Wozniacki and Sofia Arvidsson started one hour and a half late, at 8:30 PM, pushing the men’s match between Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Ryan Harrison to almost midnight. If you want some peace of mind when leaving after midnight, look to your right.

Topics: BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells