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Stephen Gabor always bring in his work home with him . But do n’t sense bad for Stephen : Office and mansion are just a court apart , severalize by the most late result of his labors — a gorgeous garden bursting with cannas and foxtail fern , and the calming ambient racket of a koi pond .
Silver lady fern , a black - stem form of taro and hybrid coral - flowered cannas line a itinerary of exposed mass concrete steppingstones that leads from Stephen Gabor ’s plate , past a tranquil pool , to his office , which he shares with Patrick Allen of design - build firm Gabor + Allen . Photo by : David Young - Wolff .
train as an designer at cutting - sharpness SCI - ARC ( Southern California Institute of Architecture ) in Los Angeles ( as was business partner Patrick Allen ) , Gabor purchase this property in Venice , California , back in 2004 , which he shares with his wife and their young daughter . In an enactment of near desecration for railroad car - addicted Los Angeles , he opted to pluck down the rest home ’s two - car garage and convert it into an office for his newly formed design - build and landscape painting practice , Gabor + Allen . The grand place between home and office does reduplicate duty as family space and a showcase for prospective clients . It ’s also , literally , fertile basis for the cooperator ’ design ideas : Gabor and Allen enthusiastically bear on to it as their science lab .
Gabor knew he wanted a flexible space for alfresco dining , an outside living room with a fire pit , and a weewee element . He also hop to discover a way to better connect the home ’s master bedroom to the garden ( a goal achieved through the invention of a alone space - saving organization , incorporate one half - Gallic / one half - pocket threshold ) as well as a chic way of life to direct visitors from the street to the office .
California garden mythology might suggest courtly palms or verdant lawns , but the truth is that most of those quintessential palms are n’t indigenous , and the epoch of the eminent - maintenance mantle of grass has fall out . “ The modern California garden is a empire , ” says Gabor , a claim he proves in his own — a vibrant premix of colors , textures , cultures , coinage and material body , not to advert edibles .
The dining table , made by Gabor from old wooden fencing planks , does double over duty for shape lunches and family gatherings . Photo by : David Young - Wolff .
Since he was designing for himself , Gabor was able to evade some of the typical client restraint , but whether he and Allen are working for clients or for themselves , he explains that “ it ’s not our way or the highway . Architects have a reputation for being inflexible , but we have no difficulty interspersing our modern aesthetic with a Tudor house . You do n’t have to place to just a cactus garden or just a rose garden . ” And the house ’s work illustrate just how well an eclectic portmanteau word of styles and philosophy can merge .
Gabor ’s personal project not only flourish the definition of the California garden , it also offers a primer into much of the current thought process on gullible landscapes . Most of Gabor + Allen ’s client are on the west side of Los Angeles , peculiarly Santa Monica and Venice , where sustainable , drought - kind landscaping is no longer just an eco - movement . Santa Monica in particular has sweep up more and more stringent restriction on water employment and plant selection . The city has a no - weewee - waste ordinance that interdict runoff and overspray onto impermeable hardscapes , and to sanction any new grammatical construction , the metropolis review and then requires an on - land site inspection of industrial plant , irrigation systems and grading . But far from discourage the pair ’s creativeness , Gabor and Allen are both of the belief that these initially challenging constraints terminate up enrich their labor .
bluff clumps ofColocasia esculenta‘Fontanesii ’ ( black cocoyam ) help separate the small garden into disjoined spaces . Photo by : David Young - Wolff .
Perhaps the most spectacular modification to come from these new tight essential is the move off from the said toothsome lawn , a pick that , as Gabor explain , “ has been such an constitutional part of the mundane landscape . Very few client have ever stopped to opine double about alternative , but as soon as Patrick and I introduce the wide sort of options along with the pros and cons , their interest increment and they begin to reconsider . And now that the state is emphasise current piddle shortages and implementing new charge charge per unit , node are expressing more flexibility . They have come in to pick out the additional quad the lack of lawn will create , increasing the livability of their backyard . ”
In station of the gestate — and water- and plant food - guzzling — blanket of grass , Gabor + Allen typically proposes more - permeable hardscape , for instance concrete , integrating it with plant to satisfy the “ constitutional pauperization , ” incorporate planters to fix a blank space and laying pavers to create a way . “ People do n’t pull in the potentiality of concrete , ” explains Gabor , “ its dissimilar finishes and usage . But we ’re able to show what clients can get for $ 8 to $ 12 a square pes versus the more distinctive $ 20 to $ 25 for flagstone . ”
In the out-of-door life room , Gabor + Allen ’s distinctive fire board made from lifelike stone emerges from a groundcover ofSedum anglicum . picture by : David Young - Wolff .
Concrete divides Gabor ’s own space into unlike quadrants , while pot strip determine the circulation from street to garage and garage to house . Fanned - finish concrete extends from the business office ; steppingstones were made of a rougher - grain exposed mass concrete . Benches and plantation owner were also formed from the oft under - appreciated material .
Hardscape of course , helps to reduce water usance , perhaps the most urgent challenge for nurseryman . Gabor opted for the unexpected option of hand watering , argue that he is able to water certain percentage of his garden less oft and can saturate the land in other parts . There are also plans to incorporate rainwater drum , one of several storm - water direction systems increasingly being encouraged through local and land incentives , Grant and educational programs .
In the front garden ( which used to be a lawn ) , curvilinear planting beds frame the margin of the permeable hardscaped terrace with a smart palette of lime gullible , yellowness and oranges . The chairs were a Santa Monica Airport flea market discovery , reupholstered with new coral Sunbrella cloth shock absorber . Plants includeAcorus gramineus‘Ogon ’ ( Japanese sweet flag),Agave desmetianaandFarfugium japonicum‘Aureomaculatum’(leopard plant ) . exposure by : David Young - Wolff .
Another move toward a more sustainable garden can be seen in the desegregation of victual . “ Robert Smaus , the former garden editor for theLos Angeles Times , once wrote that every garden in southerly California should have a maize tree , ” says Gabor . “ We enjoy to incorporate citrus fruit . ” Though Gabor is less concerned in creating a designated vegetable garden than in intersperse edibles throughout the garden , whether herbs like thyme , chives and oregano , or veg like tomato , peas and light-green bean . And for customer with kids and for his own family , Gabor like to set strawberries near footpaths to provide blossom , abundant fruit and easy picking .
Such kid - friendly idea figure prominently into Gabor + Allen ’s designs . “ Children have been a major thespian in the workplace we do , ” excuse Allen . “ The blank space we design is never just for adults ; we ’ll always admit areas of discovery for nestling , some little surprise to stumble upon . kidskin bang it . ” And arguably , they lead to some of the most “ gullible ” interventions ; instilling an early appreciation for the landscape — and the planet — is key to a greener future .
DITCH YOUR LAWN
Mowing Woes : Want to exchange your lawn for a more sustainable choice ? First , verify you may : Many urban center and towns have lawn - mowing ordinances to dissuade the great unwashed from fail to maintain their green space . Violators often face blind drunk fine . But as water shortfall and increase in water system terms are here to bide , this will start out to change . have this empower you to take up the number with your homeowners association or local government .
City Water : change are afoot countrywide : In Southern California , where water shortages are becoming a way of life , decisive action has been taken by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to require waterwise irrigation and single drought - tolerant plantings . Even if your city or town miss this stringent plan , conceive stick to its authorization for the good of the major planet .
Grass is Past : Educate yourself . A new 2nd edition of Fritz Haeg’sEdible land : Attack on the Front Lawnhas been published by Metropolis Books ( Spring 2010 ) . Be inspired by the eight edible garden feature in the book as well as the Good Food Revolution manifesto from Growing Power ’s Will Allen . Look for opportunities like garden expert Nan Sterman ’s “ Bye Bye Grass ! ” class which teaches attendees how to get disembarrass of their forage and what to imbed rather .
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