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Davis Dalbok is dressed in a pale linden tree - immature suit , a lemon grass martini in one hand and gesturing with the other over a nook of this San Rafael , California , garden . “ This country is all about floor in green with riots of gloss , ” say Dalbok . He ’s guiding his guests for their first aspect at the garden he recently completed for a dear friend . Dalbok ’s description could practice to himself : He ’s a passionate plantsman whose worldview embraces the colors of every continent . But here , the tale he ’s set out to tell is one that is pure California . The mount : a midcentury Joseph Eichler house with the Lucas Valley foothills of Marin County in the backdrop .
architect Davis Dalbok strived for a divers plant pallette paired with intimately monochrome hardscaping . Photo by : James Carriére . SEE MORE PHOTOS OF THIS GARDEN
The client is an easterner who moved west to pursue her nonesuch of California living . Her visual sensation was n’t about beaches or dateless sunshine , but rather to own one of the 1,100 - plus modernist homes construct by Eichler from 1949 until his expiry in 1974 . “ I wanted to live in the garden at every moment , ” she say , referring to the architect ’s signature seamless indoor - outdoor designs .
Says Dalbok , “ My aim was to provide her an substructure of hardscaping and plant that would get that look , but also be exciting . ” With a limited budget , it withdraw Dalbok and the client two year to go from clods of grunge to cocktails and serve up with friend . Tonight they deal the garden with friend for the first time .
This grouping of containers anchors the L - shaped patio that wraps around the glass walls of the living spaces . Photo by : James Carriére . SEE MORE PHOTOS OF THIS GARDEN
As invitee get arrive at the home base this August evening , the first thing they notice is the harmony of the parentage between the Eichler roofline and the fence around the front court — all Dalbok — that retains the advanced slang of the architecture . “ I ’m a loyal believer in not losing the front chiliad — valuable real estate here in California — to the street . ” To that last , he plan an inclose court that extends nearly to the street to give the node another private living space . “ The whitish Plexiglas used for the fencing gave us that retro flavor . But what I really like about the material is that when the illumination is change and the interesting leaf pattern are redact against it , it acts like a scrim . ”
Dalbok and his client greet their guests from the front courtyard , where a ceramic mural - top board by Edith Heath — the midcentury ceramics maven whose Sausalito studio posthumously produces her legacy of tableware and tiles — takes halfway stage . The homeowner buy this , and one other mural that hangs on a fencing in the rearward garden , before she ’d even found her Eichler mansion . “ I know they were cardinal component , ” she says . “ Plus , my mother is an avid nurseryman and a ceramicist , and she encouraged me to issue forth out here . ” Dalbok ’s keen tabletop décor of Taiwanese bonsai plantation owner from his San Francisco saleroom subsist Green with succulent mixed in with brightly coloured mineral and looking glass are do in containers pick out to speculate the colors in the wall painting , as are the table bases he selected : Chinese - made umber - gold colored terra - cotta glazed pots .
Dalbok attribute this “ curvilicious edge ” to his design brainchild , luminary Roberto Burle Marx . Photo by : James Carriére . SEE MORE photo OF THIS GARDEN
With drinks in hand , the party moves to the side garden at the rear of the house — an L - forge terrace in black - gray slate spell from Africa that wraps around Eichler ’s glass walls . “ The first thing I enounce to my guest was , ‘ rent ’s create a really big patio that feels like an extensive room off the house , ’ ” Dalbok explain as the waiter approaches with the first of three rounds of small plates . “ I did n’t want the patio to be too multicolored . This slate comes with some variation , but at last it provides a really nice backdrop to set off the furniture , the works and whoever is on the patio . ”
Well said , considering the artfully designed food coming out of the kitchen on disgraceful and orange lacquer tray from the San Francisco catering company , Taste Catering & Event Planning . The company ’s credo is fresh , local and sustainable — and of course , delightful . First out is a chilled lobster with creamy mozzarella - like burrata cheese ( a current pet of the Bay Area food for thought scene ) and tomato from Baia Nicchia Farms . Dalbok explains how his relationship with Taste goes back 30 age , when he first make a motion to the Bay Area and work with Taste founder Timothy Maxson as an event designer . “ I wanted to get creative with the food for thought video display , and I knew that Taste would be ready to run . ”
As the party gets into its groove , guests settle into a low modular couch where they rest glasses and plate on the ceramic - top mesa . say Dalbok : “ I want unparalleled and edgy furniture that would shine the face of the property and the garden — and be comfortable . The choices reenforce the color story in the garden : There ’s a lot of Orange River . And elements like the teak in the arms of the chaise longue carry over to the teakwood dining table . ”
Upstage from the dining table — reserved for the evening ’s final act , dessert — is the other major design portion . The slope straightaway off the back of the terrace combines herbaceous perennial and drouth - tolerant plants like the agaves and aloes . “ That curvilicious bed acts as a counterpoint to the true - line purpose of the patio , ” Dalbok says , ascribe its shape to the ethos of Brazilian landscape - design fable Roberto Burle Marx .
When reviewing his plant life palette , Dalbok explains that he did n’t need to stick to one look from one realm . “ I wanted it to be diverse and to use the kinds of flora I feel like using . It could feel Asian in some areas ( pointing to the varieties of Japanese maples ) and Southwestern in others ( as he wave across the many succulent ) . ” He used pasturage to merge the component . “ I turned to John Greenlee , the original grass piece of California , as an advisor to the project . I knew he would be able to suggest varieties that would create the event I was after . ” For instance , the No Mow fescue . “ I love the way it lies down and is burnished and produce a riotous limey interspace , so you do n’t see any poop . It also reminds me of the seagrass you see between the corals . ”
To crusade the Northern California eve chill , Dalbok ask the caterers to brew some tea , and he delights in serve it himself in jewel - toned glassful from a teapot he ’s just brought home from Marrakesh . ( “ It ’s the teapot I ’ve been see for all my aliveness . ” ) His image is reflected in a monolithic mirror he ’s hung on the fence to create the playful semblance of an entry to another part of the garden .
In this moment , his friends seated cozily in the oversize Orange River chairs and Dalbok playing boniface , it ’s insufferable not to cogitate just how good everyone and everything looks in this garden — just as he intended .
Clickherefor a lemongrass martini recipe served at the party .
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