How to Create an Unforgettable Garden

What do people see when they come over for a visit? Your garden, as does your house, makes an impression on every one of them. Is the impression good or bad? Memorable or forgettable? If the mere thought of this

To Make Your Garden Memorable, Add a Hint of Mystery

“Mystique” is one of those words that conjures up enticing and seductive mental images, perhaps of a clandestine meeting in the shadows in a foreign country. It’s one of those provocative words that always leave

My Houzz: A Modern-Day Homestead Brings a Family Together

Modern family life can feel like a never-ending whirlwind of conflicting schedules, work and outside activities that scatter family members hither and yon. For the Beck family of Poulsbo, Washington, bringing th

Does Your Landscape Need a Little ‘Cosmic Latte’?

A neutral color palette creates a calm and stylish environment in our homes and provides a harmonious backdrop for furniture and decorations. Can the neutrality of beige and its various cousins do the same in ga

Want a More Colorful, Natural Garden? Try a Perennial Meadow

Perennial plants have been a favorite in gardens since the first days of the cottage garden, when the benefits of plants that were long lived, easily propagated and generally hardy due to their ability to surviv

Mysticism and Meaning Meet in an Ohio Artist’s Gardens

Every garden, every landscape we create has a story to tell. It’s why we do what we do: to express ourselves. We have something to say. It could be as direct as stating our love of good, fresh food by way of a h

For Garden Drama, Consider the Lowly Boulder

The lowly boulder is often overused and misunderstood. Readily available from stone and hardscape purveyors, boulders are plopped down and strewn about with abandon and seeming disrespect, despite the fact that

Inside Houzz: A Waterfront Property Ditches the Grass for a Garden

From the day she bought her house in California’s Marin County, Windi Heaton imagined seeing every sunset on her back deck, surrounded by friends, the water and a lush, native landscape. Heaton’s backyard overlo

Pretty Trees for Patios, Paths and Other Tight Spots

People have grown trees in their gardens since ancient times. But as gardens become smaller and more valuable as outdoor living spaces, is there still room for a tree? I know from living with the smallest of gar

10 Simple Ways to Personalize Your Front Entry

You can make your front yard a welcoming prelude to your house any number of ways, from simple outdoor decor to architectural features. Potted plants provide bursts of color, outdoor furniture is inviting and ne

Good Fences, Good Neighbors — and Good Views

Good fences make good neighbors, Robert Frost instructed. Good fences can make even better neighbors when they keep the vistas and sight lines open, even as they establish a boundary. The fences below masterfull

Beautiful Noise: How to Create a Symphony in Your Garden

Our gardens can be our best teachers. We learn about ourselves and our world from them. Our only prerequisite for this course is our ability to open our senses to the wealth of sights, aromas, textures and sound

Get a Mediterranean-Style Garden Even Far From the Sea

What comes to mind when I say, “Mediterranean style”? I think of clear blue skies with distant vistas; warm air scented with sage and lavender; a certain stillness broken only by the gentle splashing of a coolin

A Dynamic Backyard Design Embraces Its Urban Setting

During the first eight months Erica Taggart and Cory Eicher lived in their Brooklyn Heights, New York City, home, their backyard experienced the homeowner’s equivalent of Newton’s first law: A neglected yard wil

How Brick Fits Into Today’s Gardens

Leaning against a brick garden wall warmed by the autumn sun, I pondered whether this ancient building material has a place in contemporary garden design. Is it a relic of traditional gardens? Brick has been a f

Unify Your Garden With a Common Thread

As humans we seek to understand ourselves, our environment and our world. Designers, writers, artists and philosophers, past and present, realize that we frequently need help to process our world in an attempt t

Plant Your Steps for a Great Garden Look

Steps may be the quickest way up or down garden slopes, but that doesn’t mean they have to be mundane or just about utility. Minimalist designs might call for clean outlines of pristine stone and concrete, but i

Relax and Reflect in a Blue Landscape

“Blue color is everlastingly appointed by the Deity to be a source of delight,” wrote Victorian art critic John Ruskin. And, indeed, surveys reveal blue to be among the most popular favorite colors. What makes i

Dream Spaces: A Secret Garden of Your Own

I’ve been hooked on the idea of a secret garden ever since reading the novel The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett, and seeing the 1993 film adaption starring Maggie Smith and John Lynch. Many of us, unf

How to Make Your Brick House Feel at Home in the Landscape

Brick is one of the most popular choices for home exteriors in the U.S. For many, the Georgian home, with its brick exterior, grand scale and formal lines, personifies the American dream. Typically, a Georgian h