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Davis Dalbok is preen in a pale lime - green case , a lemongrass martini in one mitt and gesturing with the other over a corner of this San Rafael , California , garden . “ This sphere is all about fib in unripe with riots of color , ” say Dalbok . He ’s guiding his guests for their first look at the garden he recently completed for a earnest supporter . Dalbok ’s verbal description could apply to himself : He ’s a passionate horticulturist whose worldview adopt the colors of every continent . But here , the report he ’s set out to severalise is one that is pure California . The setting : a midcentury Joseph Eichler house with the Lucas Valley foothill of Marin County in the background .
Designer Davis Dalbok strived for a diverse plant palette twin with intimately monochromatic hardscaping . Photo by : James Carriére . SEE MORE PHOTOS OF THIS GARDEN
The client is an easterner who moved west to quest after her nonpareil of California live . Her vision was n’t about beaches or endless sunshine , but rather to own one of the 1,100 - plus modernist place build by Eichler from 1949 until his expiry in 1974 . “ I wanted to live in the garden at every moment , ” she order , advert to the designer ’s signature seamless indoor - outdoor designs .
Says Dalbok , “ My target was to allow her an infrastructure of hardscaping and plants that would get that feel , but also be exciting . ” With a special budget , it adopt Dalbok and the client two twelvemonth to go from clods of soil to cocktail and dishing with friend . Tonight they share the garden with friends for the first metre .
This group of containers anchor the L - form terrace that wraps around the glass wall of the living spaces . pic by : James Carriére . SEE MORE PHOTOS OF THIS GARDEN
As Edgar Albert Guest begin arriving at the home plate this August evening , the first affair they remark is the harmony of the occupation between the Eichler roofline and the fence around the front courtyard — all Dalbok — that retains the modern vernacular of the architecture . “ I ’m a steady worshiper in not lose the front yard — worthful real the three estates here in California — to the street . ” To that ending , he planned an enclosed courtyard that exsert most to the street to give the client another private living quad . “ The milky Plexiglas used for the fencing gave us that retro face . But what I really like about the stuff is that when the visible radiation is changing and the interesting leafage patterns are upchuck against it , it acts like a scrim . ”
Dalbok and his client recognise their guest from the front court , where a ceramic mural - top table by Edith Heath — the midcentury ceramics maven whose Sausalito studio apartment posthumously produces her legacy of tableware and tiles — takes middle stage . The homeowner buy this , and one other mural that hang on a fence in the rear garden , before she ’d even found her Eichler firm . “ I have it off they were primal elements , ” she says . “ Plus , my mother is an avid gardener and a thrower , and she encouraged me to total out here . ” Dalbok ’s dainty tabletop décor of Taiwanese bonsai plantation owner from his San Francisco showroom Living Green with succulents integrate in with brightly colored minerals and glass are dress in containers prefer to reflect the colours in the mural , as are the tabular array bag he selected : Chinese - made chocolate - gold colored terra - cotta glazed pots .
Dalbok attribute this “ curvilicious border ” to his plan inspiration , luminary Roberto Burle Marx . Photo by : James Carriére . SEE MORE PHOTOS OF THIS GARDEN
With drink in paw , the company moves to the side garden at the rear of the menage — an L - shaped bench in black - grey ticket imported from Africa that wrap around Eichler ’s glass wall . “ The first affair I said to my node was , ‘ Let ’s create a really big terrace that feels like an lengthy room off the house , ’ ” Dalbok explains as the server approach with the first of three round of minor plates . “ I did n’t want the patio to be too multicolored . This ticket comes with some variation , but in the end it provides a really nice desktop to dress off the furniture , the plants and whoever is on the terrace . ”
Well said , considering the artfully designed intellectual nourishment coming out of the kitchen on ignominious and orange lacquer trays from the San Francisco catering company , Taste Catering & Event Planning . The company ’s creed is fresh , local and sustainable — and of form , delectable . First out is a cool down lobster with creamy mozzarella - like burrata cheese ( a current darling of the Bay Area food scene ) and tomato from Baia Nicchia Farms . Dalbok explain how his relationship with Taste goes back 30 class , when he first moved to the Bay Area and shape with Taste founder Timothy Maxson as an event designer . “ I wanted to get originative with the food for thought display , and I acknowledge that Taste would be quick to play . ”
As the party gets into its channel , node settle into a low modular sofa where they rest glasses and plate on the ceramic - top table . Says Dalbok : “ I need unique and edgy furniture that would reflect the feeling of the property and the garden — and be comfortable . The choices reinforce the color story in the garden : There ’s a lot of orange . And elements like the teak in the arms of the chaise longue carry over to the teak dining table . ”
Upstage from the dining mesa — allow for the evening ’s final act , afters — is the other major innovation constituent . The gradient directly off the back of the bench combines herbaceous perennial and drought - tolerant plant like the agaves and aloes . “ That curvilicious bed acts as a counterpoint to the neat - line design of the patio , ” Dalbok says , attributing its shape to the ethos of Brazilian landscape painting - invention legend Roberto Burle Marx .
When reviewing his plant palette , Dalbok explains that he did n’t want to puzzle to one look from one area . “ I want it to be diverse and to habituate the kinds of plant I mat up like using . It could palpate Asian in some areas ( pointing to the variety of Japanese maple ) and Southwestern in others ( as he waves across the many succulents ) . ” He used pot to unify the component . “ I turned to John Greenlee , the original eatage serviceman of California , as an advisor to the project . I knew he would be able to suggest mixture that would make the effect I was after . ” For instance , the No Mow fescue . “ I love the way it lies down and is shiny and creates a lucullan limey interspace , so you do n’t see any malicious gossip . It also reminds me of the seagrass you see between the corals . ”
To struggle the Northern California evening chill , Dalbok asks the caterers to brew some Camellia sinensis , and he enjoy in wait on it himself in jewel - tone specs from a teapot he ’s just brought home from Marrakesh . ( “ It ’s the teapot I ’ve been looking for all my life . ” ) His image is reflect in a massive mirror he ’s hang on the fence to make the playful head game of an launching to another part of the garden .
In this moment , his friends seated cosily in the oversize orange chairs and Dalbok playing host , it ’s impossible not to recall 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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