garden

DAVIS DALBOK is dressed in a pale lime-green
suit, a lemongrass martini in one hand and gesturing with the other
over a corner of this San Rafael, California, garden. "This area is all
about stories in green with riots of color," says Dalbok. He's guiding his
guests for their first look at the garden he recently completed for a dear
friend. Dalbok's description could apply to himself: He's a passionate
plantsman whose worldview embraces the colors of every continent. But
here, the story he's set out to tell is one that is pure California. The setting:
a midcentury Joseph Eichler house with the Lucas Valley foothills
of Marin County in the background.
The client is an easterner who moved west to pursue her ideal of
California living. Her vision wasn't about beaches or endless sunshine,
but rather to own one of the 1,100-plus modernist homes built
by Eichler from 1949 until his death in 1974. "I wanted to live in the
garden at every moment," she says, referring to the architect's signature
seamless indoor-outdoor designs.
Says Dalbok, "My aim was to provide her an infrastructure of hardscaping
and plants that would sustain that look, but also be exciting."
With a limited budget, it took Dalbok and the client two years to go
from clods of dirt to cocktails and dishing with friends. Tonight they
share the garden with friends for the first time.
As guests begin arriving at the home this August evening, the first
thing they notice is the harmony of the lines between the Eichler roofline
and the fence around the front courtyard — all Dalbok — that retains
the modern vernacular of the architecture. "I'm a firm believer in not
losing the front yard — valuable real estate here in California — to the
Left: The Lucas Valley foothills
rise from behind the client's
Joseph Eichler house; Dalbok's
landscape design highlights its
lines. A feathery Chinese windmill
palm behind the courtyard
fence softens linear elements.
Above: Steven Schwager of
Living Green gets acquainted
with Joyce Rietveld. Opposite:
The tabletop is a ceramic mural
by midcentury ceramicist Edith
Heath, whose nearby Sausalito
studio is still in operation. Anchored
in opposite corners are
a bromeliad, Vriesia imperialis,
and a pygmy date palm.