Great indoor outdoor living space. This is truely Santa Barbara outdoor living at its best!
This is an example of a huge farmhouse drought-tolerant and partial sun backyard gravel landscaping in Santa Barbara.

Allen Russ Photography
Design ideas for a traditional drought-tolerant and full sun front yard stone garden path in DC Metro.

Osmunda Regalis / Royal Fern Arboretum Trompenburg - Rotterdam

Patrick & Topaze McCaffery - Taproot Garden Design "Calamagrostis foliosa (Mendocino Reed Grass) is most happy in part shade."
Design ideas for an eclectic drought-tolerant and partial sun front yard stone landscaping in San Francisco for spring.

Butterfly Milkweed / Asclepias tuberosa

Sensitive Ferns in New York field. Photo by Jay Sifford.

Garden Travels: Desert Botanical Garden
Design ideas for a southwestern landscaping in Phoenix.

Deschampsia Cespitosa 'Goldtau' / Golden Dew Tufted Hair Grass

Lupine growing at the Desert Botanical Garden
Design ideas for a traditional landscaping in Phoenix.

Combining colorful flowers and foliage with controlled growth, Purple Diamond® is a gem. Unlike some other loropetalums that can swallow your house, this one grows 4 to 5 feet tall and wide. Showy pink flowers appear in spring and sometimes summer. Deep, rich purple foliage holds its color all season. FEATURES Bloom/Feature Magenta ribbons in spring Plant Type Shrubs Evergreen or Deciduous Evergreen USDA Zones 7,8,9,10 Zone Detail Hardy to 0 F Key Features Deer resistant, reblooming, dwarf, year-round interest Use Accent, container, mass planting, slope, hedge Exposure Full sun to part shade Bloom Season Spring Dimension 4-5' H x 4-5' W Growth Rate Moderate to fast growth CARE Water Water as needed Soil Type Acidic, moist, well-drained, humus-rich Fertilizer Early spring Pruning Shape after spring bloom PLANTING INSTRUCTIONS water before planting plant in full sun to part shade dig hole 3X the width of pot, backfill and plant 1”-2” above soil level water and add more soil if needed mulch plants

Snowberry / Symphoricarpos albus var. laevigatus Photo: Hansen's Northwest Native Plant Database, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported

Nestled at the end of a long flag lot driveway in Amagansett, NY, a young couple purchased the property with intentions to construct a second home for their growing family. A home that would not only be comfortable for the immediate family but also serve and grow on busy summer weekends to accommodate extended family, friends, children and guests. The tight lot along with the sizable program culminated in the building envelope being pushed to every limit, restriction and regulation one could imagine. The resulting architecture possesses a traditional Hamptons cottage exterior juxtaposed with modern elements that help break up the single mass. Centered on the entry façade is a large double story window that shrouds the floating switchback staircase on the interior. A bluestone patio wraps three sides of the home, which, in the rear, leads to a small in ground pool with a frameless glass railing. In the interior, custom white washed white oak floors run throughout the home as well as on the floating central staircase. For a more modern style of living, the open living, kitchen and dining area serve as one large entertaining space. In an area surrounded by sprawling Mcmansions, this tightly knit home functions more similar to that of a large NYC apartment by serving the perfect balance between maximized form with the right amount of function given the strict parameters. Large glass sliders open the living and dining rooms to the backyard patio and pool creating harmony between the indoor and outdoor spaces. Shaker style cabinets in the kitchen pair with a more contemporary staircase softened by the warmer wood tones of the vertical slats that surround it.

We selected an assortment of ornamental grasses, hydrangeas, and other perennials for the terraces to provide multiple seasons of color and interest.

This large updated mid century home was recently renovated again with a large expansion to create a home with a real resort vibe…especially in the back facing a large expansive yard bordered by a large structural privet hedge. We created a rythmic border in the front years ago with boxwoods, panicular hydrangea and purple blooming Siberian Iris. Great effort was taken to prune out artfully the massive old weeping Jap. Maple and to underplant and highlight it with “Autumn” Fern and low growing perennials. In the back where a huge hill was created, we used Rhodos, Hydrangeas and Winter Jasmine punctuated with masses of Sedum and other low maintenance perennials. On the lower borders we used reblooming “Encore” Azaleas and boxwoods for structure and color. Italian Cypress were planted in large planters with climbing wine grapes to grow across the elevated porches. Tree-Formed Hydrangeas were strategically planted for vertical interest in the borders and in planters on the upper terrace.

This project presented unique opportunities that are not often found in residential landscaping. The homeowners were not only restoring their 1840's era farmhouse, a piece of their family’s history, but also enlarging and updating the home for modern living. The landscape designers continued this idea by creating a space that is a modern day interpretation of an 1840s era farm rather then a strict recreation. The resulting design combines elements of farm living from that time, as well as acknowledging the property’s history as a horse farm, with staples of 21st century landscapes such as space for outdoor living, lighting, and newer plant varieties. Guests approach from the main driveway which winds through the property and ends at the main barn. There is secondary gated driveway just for the homeowners. Connected to this main driveway is a narrower gravel lane which leads directly to the residence. The lane passes near fruit trees planted in broken rows to give the illusion that they are the remains of an orchard that once existed on the site. The lane widens at the entrance to the gardens where there is a hitching post built into the fence that surrounds the gardens and a watering trough. The widened section is intended as a place to park a golf cart or, in a nod to the home’s past, tie up horses before entering. The gravel lane passes between two stone pillars and then ends at a square gravel court edged in cobblestones. The gravel court transitions into a wide flagstone walk bordered with yew hedges and lavender leading to the front door. Directly to the right, upon entering the gravel court, is located a gravel and cobblestone edged walk leading to a secondary entrance into the residence. The walk is gated where it connects with the gravel court to close it off so as not to confuse visitors and guests to the main residence and to emphasize the primary entrance. An area for a bench is provided along this walk to encourage stopping to view and enjoy the gardens. On either side of the front door, gravel and cobblestone walks branch off into the garden spaces. The one on the right leads to a flagstone with cobblestone border patio space. Since the home has no designated backyard like most modern suburban homes the outdoor living space had to be placed in what would traditionally be thought of as the front of the house. The patio is separated from the entrance walk by the yew hedge and further enclosed by three Amelanchiers and a variety of plantings including modern cultivars of old fashioned plants such as Itea and Hydrangea. A third entrance, the original front door to the 1840’s era section, connects to the patio from the home’s kitchen, making the space ideal for outdoor dining. The gravel and cobblestone walk branching off to the left of the front door leads to the vegetable and perennial gardens. The idea for the vegetable garden was to recreate the tradition of a kitchen garden which would have been planted close to the residence for easy access. The vegetable garden is surrounded by mixed perennial beds along the inside of the wood picket fence which surrounds the entire garden space. Another area designated for a bench is provided here to encourage stopping and viewing. The home’s original smokehouse, completely restored and used as a garden shed, provides a strong architectural focal point to the vegetable garden. Behind the smokehouse is planted lilacs and other plants to give mass and balance to the corner and help screen the garden from the neighboring subdivision. At the rear corner of the garden a wood arbor was constructed to provide a structure on which to grow grapes or other vines should the homeowners choose to. The landscape and gardens for this restored farmhouse and property are a thoughtfully designed and planned recreation of a historic landscape reinterpreted for modern living. The idea was to give a sense of timelessness when walking through the gardens as if they had been there for years but had possibly been updated and rejuvenated as lifestyles changed. The attention to materials and craftsmanship blend seamlessly with the residence and insure the gardens and landscape remain an integral part of the property. The farm has been in the homeowner’s family for many years and they are thrilled at the results and happy to see respect given to the home’s history and to its meticulous restoration.

Photo: Lauren Dunec Hoang © 2017 Houzz