Wildlife-Sensitive Lighting for Coastal Landscapes: Protecting Sea Turtles and Seabirds

A lit beach garden offers evening magic — waves, stars, sea breeze. But artificial light disrupts coastal wildlife perilously. Many coastal areas regulate outdoor lighting because light pollution threatens sensitive habi

Roberto Burle Marx: The Artist Who Painted with Plants

Brazil gave the world Pelé — and Roberto Burle Marx, the father of modern landscape architecture. A true Renaissance man: sculptor, jewelry designer, florist, botanist, abstract painter. He was Brazils first landscape ar

Dog-Friendly Backyard Design: 8 Features Your Canine Will Love

A dog romping happily in the yard is a classic dream — but it takes more than opening the back door. Thoughtful design gives your dog what they need and love, and pet-friendly features benefit humans, too. 1. Keep Wa

Front Yard as Community Hub: A San Clemente Ocean-View Gathering Place

In a Southern California beach town with an ocean view, the front yard becomes the natural gathering spot. The front is where friends and neighbors gather, says Sacha McCrae, homeowner and principal of Living Gardens Lan

Choosing the Right Patio Door: A Complete Guide to Styles, Costs, and Considerations

Large glass patio doors are a relatively modern innovation, made affordable by manufacturing advances. Once exclusive to the wealthy, they now span every style and budget. From sliding to folding, hinged to telescoping —

Implied Movement: The Secret to a Garden That Feels Alive

Great gardens speak through rhythm, balance, texture, shape, and color. Some announce themselves with moving water; others master a subtler magic — implied movement. The garden stands still, yet the eye travels, the body

Punctuate Your Garden: Designing Landscape as Narrative

An exceptional garden tells a story — of its creator, its land, its spirit. Beyond the sensory narrative (brooks, birds, wind in grass), a written story weaves through paths, art, and plant choices. Viewing your garden a

The Power of Gray in Garden Design: A Neutral That Works Overtime

Gray dominates interior walls for good reason — its a chameleon neutral that harmonizes with virtually any color without dominating. In gardens, gray and silver plants have long been valued for drought tolerance and mono

Wind-Screening Strategies for Coastal Gardens: Creating Livable Microclimates

Coastal gardens face relentless wind and salt spray. A summer sea breeze is pleasant; winter gales are not. Thoughtful windscreens create sheltered microclimates, extending outdoor living through the seasons. Identify

Modern Planting Lessons from a Historic English Garden: Bishopscourt

Behind the Bishop of Rochesters residence at Bishopscourt, in the shadow of one of Englands oldest cathedrals, a traditional garden is being quietly revolutionized. The acre-sized space retains Victorian and Edwardian bo

From Sterile Lawn to Living Shoreline: A Lake Washington Transformation

When landscape designer Paul Broadhurst noticed sinkholes developing in a concrete bulkhead on Lake Washingtons Kirkland shore, he saw more than a repair job — he saw an opportunity. The propertys acre of lawn, held back

Siting a New Home: A Landscape Architect's Guide to Reading the Land

Building a new home involves countless decisions, but few are as consequential as where the house sits on the land. A landscape architects perspective reveals terrain, water, soil, and existing vegetation as living syste

Modern Gardens for Modern Homes: Aligning Landscape with Architecture

In 1938, landscape architect Christopher Tunnard observed: The modern house requires modern surroundings, and in most respects the garden of today does not fulfill this need. He wrote as the first International-style hou

Stainless Steel Sculpture: Bringing Unexpected Shine to the Garden

The most memorable gardens surprise us. While concrete lanterns and rusted Cor-Ten steel have their place, theyve become familiar notes in the garden repertoire. What if you introduced a material that catches sunlight, b

Living Harmoniously at the Wild Edge: Design Tips for Nature-Forward Homes

Dreaming of a home perched beside a vast ocean or nestled in a secluded forest? Whether its a permanent residence or a seasonal retreat, living on the boundary of wilderness requires thoughtful design that honors the lan

Narrow Trees for Tight Spaces: Columnar Picks for Side Gardens & Small Yards

Narrow side gardens—often 10 ft wide or less—challenge designers. Ground cover alone emphasizes the “runway” feel; dense arborvitae hedges increase enclosure. The solution: columnar trees that add height without width, d

Stacked Stone Art: From Hoodoos to Cairns in the Home Landscape

Nature stacks stones spectacularly—hoodoos (goblins) in desert wildlands, towers of varied rocks resembling totem poles. Humans echo this with cairns (Gaelic trail markers), inukshuks (Arctic figure‑markers), and artisti

Award‑Winning Sausalito Garden: Staircase Choreography & Bay Vistas

Landscape architect Scott Lewis transformed a steep Sausalito hillside—overgrown, two‑unit 1940s ranch remade into a single‑family home—into a sequence of gardens that frame San Francisco Bay views. The 5,400‑sq‑ft site

Smart Plantings on a Hillside: Terraces, Bocce & Fire with a View

Landscape architect Pete Pedersen spent eight years shaping his own 1‑acre San Anselmo hillside—blank slope to lush retreat abutting open space with Mount Tamalpais views. The home, a “bungalow on steroids,” sits below s

The Right Stone for Your Garden: Pebbles, Cobbles, Boulders & Beyond

Stone—cost‑effective, timeless—serves every garden style. From Zen gravel to English driveways to contemporary surfaces, its rounded relatives (pebbles, cobbles, paddle stones) multiply design options. Sizing & Origin P