Dichondra is a ground cover that seems to be popping up everywhere lately. I let it grow even in places I don't want it because I feel I owe it to William Krisel and his vision. Who is William Krisel? Here is a little history about Modernism, our house and a great architect.
Our neighborhood is called Corbin Palms. Our homes were built in the mid 1950's by Palmer & Krisel. You may not recognize the name but you would recognize the homes. For example, the Elvis and Priscilla Presley's honeymoon home which was originally called the "House of Tomorrow".
Corbin Palms was the first tract housing community Krisel designed for the Alexander Construction Company. At the time Krisel was a start up architect and his goal was to build a better looking home for less money, and he did. Krisel went on to design more than 30,000 homes in Southern California. He also designed many beautiful and architecturally significant properties most of which are in Palm Springs. Today, at 84 years old, Krisel continues to design and consult. He visited our hood before we moved in. I heard he was elated to see the conserved homes and in awe of the horror of others. A few homes are still in the hands of original owners. Most have been sold to people with and without architectural taste and knowledge.
We fell in love with the design of our home. When we put in an offer we were not aware of the house's history. After moving in we realized the gem we had stumbled upon. Krisel was both an architect and landscape architect. He believed, along with the modernist movement, that a living space should flow from inside out and outside in so his selection of windows and greens all had a purpose. Dichondra was Krisel's choice for ground cover. It use to cover all the properties instead of grass. So, whenever I see it grow I leave it because I feel it's Krisel's signature on our house . Lately, I see more and more of it which I interpret as the house's way of saying "you're taking me back to my roots....thank you!"
Labels: Krisel, modernism
