Dashing Starling 

When this chap reared up in front of me in my mother's rear garden the pebble dashed wall behind him acted as a nice neutral passive background to contrast with his dashing demeanour...

Dashing

adj.

1. Audacious and gallant; spirited.
2. Marked by showy elegance; splendid: a dashing coat

What is dry dash or pebble dash?

Dry dash and pebble dash are different descriptions for the same thing. It is essentially a rough textured finish created when a suitable size aggregate is thrown onto a freshly applied coat of mortar and left exposed. It is widely used in the construction industry on housing and buildings as maintenance-free finish, (especially in Ireland during the 1960's, when this home was built). Come to think of it, my present home (built in 2001) is also pebble dashed.

I digged his dashing coat too...