landscaping travel

palm springs: alexander homes

May 17, 2013

Hi friends!  Where did the week go?  It’s been a busy one over here, and I’m looking forward to the weekend and some more projects.

I’ve been trying to get organized lately, and realized that a few months back, I totally neglected to share with you my favourite past-time in Palm Springs:  looking at houses!  In fact, one of the original goals of that trip was to do some field research on landscaping.

Makes you want to rip out your lawn and fill it in with gravel, doesn’t it?  OK, maybe it’s just me.

These beauties are almost all from the famed Racquet Club Estates, mostly on the same street as our rental house.  They are Alexander homes.

The Alexanders are like the Eichlers of Palm Springs:  both merchant builders of mid-century modern tract homes.  Except with more glamour and a family tragedy that ended their development.  Unlike Eichlers, they seem to be ubiquitous throughout the area, and much better preserved, with fewer heinous improvements than we sometimes see in the Bay Area.

After getting my fill of desert amazingness (as much as was possible due to certain, ahem, constraints), I returned inspired to set some landscaping plans of my own into motion.  The horsetail and beach pebble installation from last weekend is a start.  Small steps.

For more of Palm Springs through my eyes, check out my flickr set.

Happy Friday!  See you next week.

photos:  Karolina Buchner

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