Build a Backyard Beach: A Seaside Illusion in 100 Square Feet

Bringing the Coast Home

Test garden coordinator Bud Stuckey created a 100-square-foot beach at Sunset's Menlo Park headquarters in two days for under $200, inspired by the California coast. He painted a wooden fence to mimic sea and sky, formed dunes with decomposed granite and 3 inches of sand, and added a firepit, plants, and driftwood.

Key Elements

• Horizon: Light blue paint on the fence; darker blue along the bottom edge after masking tape.
• Dunes: 2 tons of decomposed granite raked into mounds, firmed with water, planting pockets scooped out and filled with potting soil, then covered with 1 ton of play sand.
• Firepit: Base of an old 22-inch kettle barbecue with bottom vents open, grill in place for firewood, flagstones around the rim, steel-mesh spark arrestor on top (check local fire codes).
• Plants: Eulalia grass (Miscanthus sinensis) and Mexican feather grass (Nassella tenuissima) mimic beach grasses; Martha Washington geraniums and ornamental oxalis add color.
• Accents: Weathered logs embedded in sand recall a boardwalk.