This active family with two young boys wanted a place to grow food, lounge in the front yard with friends and have blooms upon blooms of midwestern flowers to enjoy. Custom tuteurs, vegetable beds and benches frame the center of the garden, surrounded by low maintenance flowering shrubs, trees and perennials. Evergreen grasses form the understory of the borders. A bulb layer will be installed summer of 2017. Photo credit: Naomi Goodman

This active family with two young boys wanted a place to grow food, lounge in the front yard with friends and have blooms upon blooms of midwestern flowers to enjoy. Custom tuteurs, vegetable beds and benches frame the center of the garden, surrounded by low maintenance flowering shrubs, trees and perennials. Evergreen grasses form the understory of the borders. A bulb layer will be installed summer of 2017. Photo credit: Naomi Goodman

This active family with two young boys wanted a place to grow food, lounge in the front yard with friends and have blooms upon blooms of midwestern flowers to enjoy. Custom tuteurs, vegetable beds and benches frame the center of the garden, surrounded by low maintenance flowering shrubs, trees and perennials. Evergreen grasses form the understory of the borders. A bulb layer will be installed summer of 2017. Photo credit: Naomi Goodman

Drought tolerant plantings of Lavender surround a Lemon Tree. A just planted Mini Farm Box vegetable garden adds interest to the front yard.
Photo of a mid-sized modern drought-tolerant and full sun front yard mulch garden path in Los Angeles for summer.

Heavily overgrown vegetation including invasive vines had taken over the clients backyard. Some vegetation was over 6ft tall.
Photo of a large drought-tolerant and full sun backyard landscaping in DC Metro for summer.

This active family with two young boys wanted a place to grow food, lounge in the front yard with friends and have blooms upon blooms of midwestern flowers to enjoy. Custom tuteurs, vegetable beds and benches frame the center of the garden, surrounded by low maintenance flowering shrubs, trees and perennials. Evergreen grasses form the understory of the borders. A bulb layer will be installed summer of 2017. Photo credit: Naomi Goodman

This active family with two young boys wanted a place to grow food, lounge in the front yard with friends and have blooms upon blooms of midwestern flowers to enjoy. Custom tuteurs, vegetable beds and benches frame the center of the garden, surrounded by low maintenance flowering shrubs, trees and perennials. Evergreen grasses form the understory of the borders. A bulb layer will be installed summer of 2017. Photo credit: Naomi Goodman

This active family with two young boys wanted a place to grow food, lounge in the front yard with friends and have blooms upon blooms of midwestern flowers to enjoy. Custom tuteurs, vegetable beds and benches frame the center of the garden, surrounded by low maintenance flowering shrubs, trees and perennials. Evergreen grasses form the understory of the borders. A bulb layer will be installed summer of 2017. Photo credit: Naomi Goodman

This is an example of a traditional landscaping in Boston.

This active family with two young boys wanted a place to grow food, lounge in the front yard with friends and have blooms upon blooms of midwestern flowers to enjoy. Custom tuteurs, vegetable beds and benches frame the center of the garden, surrounded by low maintenance flowering shrubs, trees and perennials. Evergreen grasses form the understory of the borders. A bulb layer will be installed summer of 2017. Photo credit: Naomi Goodman

Mild banana peppers form the centepiece of this self-watering container (www.lechuza.us). Mums are planted along the front edge. Learn how to grow easy vegetables that look great on your patio from the book "Easy Container Combos: Vegetables & Flowers." See a free, 24 page sample of the book at www.pamela-crawford.com. in the 'Books' section. Pamela Crawford designed and photographed the planter. Pamela designs landscapes throughout Palm Beach County, FL, including Boca Raton, Delray Beach, the town of Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, and Wellington.

Succulents, grasses and low-water shrubs with vivid foliage give this coastal garden a rich, textured look with minimal maintenance. Exterior colors and furniture selection by Julie McMahon. Photos by Daniel Bosler

The traditional fountain and surroundings are embellished with a variety of drought tolerant grasses, flowering plants and succulents. The removal of the dense and overgrown shrubs provides more outdoor living space for dining and entertaining for the homeowners' enjoyment. And now with site-appropriate plants and no lawn there is less maintenance and a lower water bill. Full color Blue stone and small mexican pebbles replace the lawn and pathways resulting in an updated and contemporary transformation. A variety of low-water plants including succulents offer year-round appeal and interest throughout the seasons to include Sedum rupestre 'Angelina', with chartreuse foliage, other varieties of sedum along with Echeveria succulents, Echinacea and grases. Photos and Design © Eileen Kelly, Dig Your Garden Landscape Design

Jalapeño grown in a 7-gallon Smart Pot, leaves removed so you can see the fruit. This plant produced 69 jalapeños! I let them ripen to red, then smoked them over apple wood and dried them to make chipotle chiles. Photo by Steve Masley

CAST architecture
Example of a small trendy brown one-story mixed siding exterior home design in Seattle with a shed roof

Siesta Key Low Country covered, screened-in porch with fireplace and dining area overlooking the backyard and waterfront. This is a very well detailed custom home on a smaller scale, measuring only 3,000 sf under a/c. Every element of the home was designed by some of Sarasota's top architects, landscape architects and interior designers. One of the highlighted features are the true cypress timber beams that span the great room. These are not faux box beams but true timbers. Another awesome design feature is the outdoor living room boasting 20' pitched ceilings and a 37' tall chimney made of true boulders stacked over the course of 1 month.

The traditional fountain and surroundings are embellished with a variety of drought tolerant grasses, flowering plants and succulents. The removal of the dense and overgrown shrubs provides more outdoor living space for dining and entertaining for the homeowners' enjoyment. And now with site-appropriate plants and no lawn there is less maintenance and a lower water bill. Full color Blue stone and small mexican pebbles replace the lawn and pathways resulting in an updated and contemporary transformation. A variety of low-water plants including succulents offer year-round appeal and interest throughout the seasons. Photos and Design © Eileen Kelly, Dig Your Garden Landscape Design

The best of past and present architectural styles combine in this welcoming, farmhouse-inspired design. Clad in low-maintenance siding, the distinctive exterior has plenty of street appeal, with its columned porch, multiple gables, shutters and interesting roof lines. Other exterior highlights included trusses over the garage doors, horizontal lap siding and brick and stone accents. The interior is equally impressive, with an open floor plan that accommodates today’s family and modern lifestyles. An eight-foot covered porch leads into a large foyer and a powder room. Beyond, the spacious first floor includes more than 2,000 square feet, with one side dominated by public spaces that include a large open living room, centrally located kitchen with a large island that seats six and a u-shaped counter plan, formal dining area that seats eight for holidays and special occasions and a convenient laundry and mud room. The left side of the floor plan contains the serene master suite, with an oversized master bath, large walk-in closet and 16 by 18-foot master bedroom that includes a large picture window that lets in maximum light and is perfect for capturing nearby views. Relax with a cup of morning coffee or an evening cocktail on the nearby covered patio, which can be accessed from both the living room and the master bedroom. Upstairs, an additional 900 square feet includes two 11 by 14-foot upper bedrooms with bath and closet and a an approximately 700 square foot guest suite over the garage that includes a relaxing sitting area, galley kitchen and bath, perfect for guests or in-laws.

A medley of colorful succulents, and low-water grasses and flowering plants surround the fountain providing colors and textures throughout the seasons . The removal of the dense and overgrown shrubs and trees provided more outdoor space for dining and entertaining, less maintenance. And now with site-appropriate plants and no lawn, a lower water bill for the homewoners. The low-water plants include a variety of succulents such as Sedum rupestre 'Angelina' with chartreuse green foliage, Echeveria 'Lipstick', and other succulents along with Lomandra 'seascape' (a grass-like plant), Echinacea, and Salvia. This combination offers year-round appeal and interest throughout the seasons. 1/8" Mexican pebbles were used through the pathways with blue stone. Photos and Design © Eileen Kelly, Dig Your Garden Landscape Design