There are 57 steps to climb to get to the upper lanai, which offers the best view from award-winning landscape designer Stephen Haus’ historic house in upper Makiki. But first you must walk past a giant, 100-plus-year-old monkeypod tree and through a carport to get to the steps.

While most people would have considered the steep terrain a challenge, Haus saw it as an opportunity.

When he first discovered the home 20 years ago, Haus was charmed by its design and rain forest setting. The two-story house, built in 1937 by the architectural firm Dahl & Conrad, is listed as a historic residential property by the Historic Hawai‘i Foundation, which cites the home as an excellent example of modern style for the era.

Haus loved the blue trim set against white, a torii gate entry and flowing interior spaces and windows. His real estate agent introduced the property to him as "The Bird House," fitting since the songs of many birds can be heard there.

"This is an oasis — a sanctuary," said Haus, who nicknamed it "The Tree House," given that all the rooms look upon greenery.

An avid hiker, the steps pose no barrier for him.

Haus, 58, is also an artist and author of the newly revised "Gardens of Hawaii" (self-published, $45), which he is turning into a public television show. He’s designed residential and resort landscapes throughout Hawaii, the Caribbean and Southeast Asia.

Having spent a year studying in Kyoto, Japan, Haus says Japanese gardens are a major aesthetic influence in his work, but he defines his landscapes as tropical.

The late May Moir, a renowned plant collector and floral designer, was his mentor.

For his garden, he admits to a laissez-faire approach, letting a giant pothos vine wrap itself around tree trunks and a fleece vine cover his corrugated-aluminum carport.

A kukui nut tree — there when he bought the property — dropped a seed that grew rapidly into a small tree in front of the deck. Haus refers to them as mother and keiki.

He also cultivated his garden, beginning with a terrace on the hillside where he planted hearty foliage such as angel’s trumpet, song of India, monstera and lauae ferns.

Haus chose plants with varying textures and shades of greens accented by bursts of color from firecracker and Pachystachys lutea (lollipop) plants, blue ginger and golden dewdrops.

"I like the contrast between the cultivated and the wild," Haus said. "The wilderness is all about texture and weaving. There’s no single mass planting."

A series of art pieces and sculptures have been integrated into the garden, many celebrating the female form as a creation of nature. At the bottom of the stairs, there’s a stone, bas-relief sculpture of "Pele and Kamapua‘a" based on a woodblock print by Dietrich Varez.

Haus says the "vignettes of art," mostly treasures he found on travels to Southeast Asia, are intended to draw people up the steps.

At the top of the steps, a cat holding a bowl of succulents greets visitors along with a stone guardian lion and a Varez-based teak carving of "The Maile Pickers." Nearby is a Balinese sculpture of two komodo dragons locked in an embrace.

He built the garden deck that looks over the hillside, placing tall bamboo alongside it to create a screen and feeling of tranquility, along with a pergola supported by tall columns.

His living room opens to the upper lanai atop the 57 steps, where the view is over the tops of a rainbow plumeria tree and purple bougainvillea. It makes the perfect backdrop for his art studio, where he dabbles in painting, sculpture and textiles.

Most of the landscape is low maintenance, said Haus, who sweeps the steps daily but leaves the rest to nature. He prunes about once a month and hires professionals only to care for his coconut trees.

Haus uses his garden as an "experiment station" to try out new plants and express his creativity. His latest discovery is dwarf ice plants with jewel-toned blooms, which border his whirlpool spa.

"Gardens, to me, are an art form and the most enjoyable expression of my art," Haus said.

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On the Net:

» www.stephenhaus.com.

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