Nicole
Design ideas for a contemporary landscaping in Vancouver.

Nicole
Design ideas for a contemporary landscaping in Vancouver.

In south Seattle, a tiny backyard garden needed a makeover to add usability and create a sitting area for entertaining. Raised garden beds for edible plants provide the transition between the existing deck and new patio below, eliminating the need for a railing. A firepit provides the focal point for the new patio. Angles create drama and direct flow to the steel stairs and gate. Photo credits, Mark Garff.

Edible daylilies come in a variety of colours - you can have cool colours, hot colours, even bi-colours to spice up your landscape and your plate! Wouldn't this cool refreshing bloom be lovely decorating a dessert/tropical plate? Despite their fragile looks, daylilies are drought-tolerant once established, and their can also do well in a rainstorm.

Nicole
Photo of a contemporary landscaping in Vancouver.

Nicole
Inspiration for a contemporary landscaping in Vancouver.

Nicole
Design ideas for a contemporary landscaping in Vancouver.

Karen Christman, Arbor Services, Inc.
This is an example of a mid-sized transitional backyard vegetable garden landscape in Santa Barbara for spring.

Nicole
Design ideas for a contemporary landscaping in Vancouver.

During mid-June 2026: the day of planting of the Edible Garden (delayed because of the cool spring weather and low soil temperatures). Raised bed #2 is used for plants preferring cooler weather - i.e the traditional assortment of northern European herbs and vegetables. It has more of an Eastern sun exposure than bed #1. All the new landscaping, including hardscaping i.e. positioning the cedar beds, and adding new stepping stones was done by Judith Slater and co-workers. The homeowner also had a significant participatory "hand" in it! This was definitely a full participation garden involving homeowner and landscaper.

Nicole
Design ideas for a contemporary landscaping in Vancouver.

Nicole
Design ideas for a contemporary landscaping in Vancouver.

At the height of summer, this balcony garden yields tomatoes ranging in size and shape from tiny marble-sized, to cherry sized, to yellow pear, to cocktail and finally to slicing tomatoes. Next to it are the herbs and edible flowers that are good companions for tomatoes.

Nicole
This is an example of a contemporary landscaping in Vancouver.

Example of a small trendy metal railing balcony container garden design in Ottawa

Nicole
This is an example of a contemporary landscaping in Vancouver.

This peach tree was nearly dead in an abandoned corner of the landscape. Peaches like more water and 'cool' feet than is available here in the high mountain desert. I revived this tree by adding deep mulch out past its drip line and planting a non-spreading variety of comfrey all around. Comfrey is one of the most amazing beneficial plants in the garden, it deserves an article, even a book of its own. In addition to herbal and medical properties comfrey is a powerful dynamic accumulator and mulch plant, it brings a variety of nutrients from deep in the ground and accumulates them on the surface in its leaves. The leaves break down quickly into rich black soil.

This custom Ipe fence was just right to create a buffer between the driveway and the garden. The clients were interested in growing food as well as keeping bees (bees were in the rear garden). The welded wire mesh allowed for viewing the garden from outside the fence and the strong Ipe structure was a perfect hoist for the Kiwi vines to grow on.

Vanilla strawberry hydrangea in the background. Little Lime Hydrangea on the right. Cedar raised beds with kale and curly leaf lettuce. Elliott Hallum