 9/20/99 To Whom It May Concern: I recently had the pleasure of spending a couple of days at the Carson residence of my old friend Peter Rashkin. My stay was made pleasurable not only by Peter's excellent hospitality, but by the lush and wonderful environment he had created in his yards. I am a practicing landscape architect and have been involved in landscape design for twenty- five years. I look for three things when I am evaluating a landscape: --Does it create an environment that expresses and enhances the lives of those who occupy it?I appreciated Peter's landscape on all three counts. The landscape was obviously a very personal expression of Peter and Camille, with all the vitality, variety and exuberance I would have expected knowing them both. As I observed their use of the landscape I realized how it contributed to their lives, providing an island within the paved, overbuilt and tumultuous confines of urbanized Carson where nature could rule. Their garden is not only lush, and rich, it is filled with whimsy, and the opportunity for the unexpected, for surprises, for new discoveries. The joy I saw Peter take in his garden was in not knowing what might happen next. His garden is, for him, not only an opportunity to create an oasis, an escape from the urbanization all around, but an opportunity to co-create with nature. I also appreciated how his garden related to the larger environment. The mix of native and non-native species which have thrived with the periodic irrigation he provides reminds me of the lush variety seen in Southern Californian riparian zones. But what also surprised me was how well Peter's landscape blended in with the adjacent conventional residential landscaping of his neighborhood. Due in large part to his rather narrow street frontage, I found that the view of his yard from the Street was intriguing but not at all jarring or offensive. It is an interesting yard to be sure, but not one which appeared to my eye to be inappropriate to the neighborhood. I was also taken with the contribution his garden made to the environment. Not only did I see more plant species in his yard then I'd expected, I also saw more varieties of birds passing through as well. My experience has been that a landscape such as his will provide an environment more conducive to populations of beneficial insects than the monocultural environment of conventionally landscape lots, which could provide benefits for his neighbors as well. And of course Peter uses no fertilizers or gas-powered maintenance equipment in his landscape - our air and ground water supplies would certainly benefit if more would follow his example. All this being said, I was certainly shocked to find out that Peter was being harassed for the landscape he has created - I think deserves an award for his work and the example it provides for others. I hope the perennial discontent of a few people who have gone out of their way to take offense at one man's private garden will not be permitted to deprive him of his right to enjoy his property in the pursuit of his own happiness. This world needs the variety that people like Peter provide - and this world needs good neighbors who are content to live and let live. I hope you will agree. Sincerely,  |