This front garden echoes the classic lines and Mediterranean feel of the home’s architecture. A thirsty lawn was replaced with vibrant aloes, agaves, and low water shrubs. An area of decomposed granite doubles as an informal play court. Photo by Daniel Bosler

Debb Smith
Photo of a mid-sized craftsman full sun front yard stone formal garden for spring.

Shed was elevated to eliminate contact with moisture from high water table which offered the opportunity to build a bridge for access and to add a unique look by Michael Conk

David Duncan Livingston
Cottage painted wood floor kitchen/dining room combo photo in San Francisco with white walls

Photo: Karen Melvin
Dining room - traditional dining room idea in Minneapolis with gray walls

Kimberley Bryan
Photo of a farmhouse landscaping in Seattle.

A grand outdoor stairway leads from the side yard to a large patio area. Lights are installed in the cheek walls for extended nighttime use and safety. The steps are constructed using EP Henry Products.

After working with us on landscape projects at their home and business, these homeowners turned their attention to their lake retreat. A flagstone patio adds cozy entertaining space near the house, while natural stone steps and mown paths add safe access up and down the hillside to the beach. Native plants form the backbone of the landscaping, with planting pockets for colorful annuals arranged throughout.

Photo of a contemporary landscaping in Boston.

Landscape Design in a Day
Inspiration for a large craftsman shade backyard stone landscaping in Portland for summer.

This garden path is an entry to the shade garden. The stepping stone walkway is planted with moss. The garden path meanders through the canopy of the shade garden. The garden and landscape design is in Connecticut backyard by Matthew Giampietro of Waterfalls Fountains & Gardens Inc. designed and installed the secret garden and the stepping stone walkways.

This dry river bed not only add interest to the back yard, it helps retain the grade. Lots of four season planting interest make this fun to look at form the window any time of the year.

Example of a large mountain style brown three-story mixed siding gable roof design with a shingle roof

Inspiration for a transitional backyard patio remodel in San Francisco with a pergola and a bbq area

Photography by Patrick Ray With a footprint of just 450 square feet, this micro residence embodies minimalism and elegance through efficiency. Particular attention was paid to creating spaces that support multiple functions as well as innovative storage solutions. A mezzanine-level sleeping space looks down over the multi-use kitchen/living/dining space as well out to multiple view corridors on the site. To create a expansive feel, the lower living space utilizes a bifold door to maximize indoor-outdoor connectivity, opening to the patio, endless lap pool, and Boulder open space beyond. The home sits on a ¾ acre lot within the city limits and has over 100 trees, shrubs and grasses, providing privacy and meditation space. This compact home contains a fully-equipped kitchen, ¾ bath, office, sleeping loft and a subgrade storage area as well as detached carport.

Small foundation planting area became a little Zen garden spot. Green slate entry. Photo by Ketti Kupper.
Inspiration for a small full sun hillside landscaping in Los Angeles.

The goal of this project was to provide a lush and vast garden for the new owners of this recently remodeled brick Georgian. Located in Wheaton this acre plus property is surrounded by beautiful Oaks. Preserving the Oaks became a particular challenge with the ample front walk and generous entertaining spaces the client desired. Under most of the Oaks the turf was in very poor condition, and most of the property was covered with undesirable overgrown underbrush such as Garlic Mustard weed and Buckthorn. With a recently completed addition, the garages were pushed farther from the front door leaving a large distance between the drive and entry to the home. This prompted the addition of a secondary door off the kitchen. A meandering walk curves past the secondary entry and leads guests through the front garden to the main entry. Off the secondary door a “kitchen patio” complete with a custom gate and Green Mountain Boxwood hedge give the clients a quaint space to enjoy a morning cup of joe. Stepping stone pathways lead around the home and weave through multiple pocket gardens within the vast backyard. The paths extend deep into the property leading to individual and unique gardens with a variety of plantings that are tied together with rustic stonewalls and sinuous turf areas. Closer to the home a large paver patio opens up to the backyard gardens. New stoops were constructed and existing stoops were covered in bluestone and mortared stonewalls were added, complimenting the classic Georgian architecture. The completed project accomplished all the goals of creating a lush and vast garden that fit the remodeled home and lifestyle of its new owners. Through careful planning, all mature Oaks were preserved, undesirables removed and numerous new plantings along with detailed stonework helped to define the new landscape.

photography by Joe Dodd
Design ideas for a large contemporary hillside concrete paver formal garden in San Francisco.