SUCCULENT GARDEN
多肉植物园

While a home may be located in a sub-division, one of four or five similar models, it can still express the individuality of the homeowners. The landscape is the primary opportunity for the unique personalities and tastes of the owners to shine. The family which owns this home includes two growing children and creative, artistic parents. Instead of a water thirsty, high maintenance lawn with typical foundation planting, they wanted to extend their living space into the front yard for entertaining and the gracious outdoor living lifestyle so loved by Southern Californians. They wanted the area to express their love for good design and still be relatively maintenance free.

Once the lawn was removed, there was plenty of area to build a courtyard with low concrete walls to define and separate this outdoor room from the low traffic residential street. The base of the courtyard is made from“I” pattern concrete pavers, set in place and not mortared. This method provides permeability, so that the rainwater can penetrate the soil to hydrate the plants and not just sheet off to the sewer. The hardscape is made from concrete including: permanent raised planters, bench seating and retainer wall. These elements define the space and give it solidity. Strategically placed local boulders nestled among the plants provide natural looking and permanent dimension.

People often forget the importance of the building as a backdrop for the garden. Painted in a strong but subtle earth tone, the home provides the perfect setting for the beautiful sidewalk level succulent garden. Succulents are perfect plants for this area of the country. They provide exciting visual interest with their multitude of colors, sizes and shapes year round. The seasonal blooms are simply an added bonus. In a mixed setting, the plants are like a piece of art, drawing the eye into their striking beauty. They require very little water, if any, and do not lose their leaves in winter. They provide a visual interplay of structural and flowing botanical material.

尽管这座住宅只属于附近四五座风格相近的样板房其中之一，但它还是体现出业主的个人特色，尤其是景观，是业主展现其独特的个性与品位的大好舞台。这个四口之家由一对夫妇和他们两个还在成长的孩子组成。业主夫妇俩艺术品位高雅，创意非凡，他们希望把生活空间延伸到前院，打造出一处娱乐空间，以享受南加州人梦寐以求的那种精致的户外生活，而不是让这个庭院充斥着种满典型植物的草坪。这种草坪需水量极大，还需要经常维护，并非精明之选。

在草坪被移除后，原来的地方留下了相当充裕的空间，可供建造带混凝土矮墙的庭园，以区分室外空间与车流稀少的居住区道路。庭园地面用“一”字形的混凝土砖拼砌而成，并没有使用砂浆接合。这种铺砌方法使路面具有渗透性，以便雨水渗入泥土中，为植物提供水分，而不仅仅是把水截住，让它流入下水道。硬质景观皆由混凝土打造而成，如高于地面的固定种植池、长凳和护墙。这些设备界定了空间，并赋予空间一种沉稳厚重之感。精心摆设的本地岩石隐藏在植物中，拥有自然的外观和相对固定的尺寸。

建筑作为庭园背景所起到的重要作用经常会被人遗忘。这栋住宅外部漆成浓重而不乏细腻的大地色系，完美地衬托着建在人行道上的风景秀丽的多肉植物园。没有什么比多肉植物更适合栽种在这片地区里，它们色彩丰富、大小不同、形状各异，全年都能给人带来无限的视觉乐趣，令人精神为之一振，而对园主来说，其季节性绽放的花朵更是一个意外收获。在这片多种自然条件交织的环境中，多肉植物如同艺术品一般大放光彩，把人们的目光吸引到它们动人心魄的美丽中。只需极少量的水分，它们就能存活，而且在冬天也无落叶的烦恼。多肉植物作为一种植物素材，或有优美的结构造型，或有流畅的线条，它们相互作用为人们带来一场视觉的盛宴。