David Heald
Photo of a farmhouse full sun vegetable garden landscape in New York.

wa design
This is an example of a mid-sized contemporary partial sun backyard gravel landscaping in San Francisco for spring.

Potting mixes for container gardens need to drain freely, but still retain moisture. My base potting soil mix contains (clockwise from upper left) coarse builder's sand, high-quality organic compost or worm castings, coconut coir, and small lava rock. I supplement this with additional compost, fresh worm castings, and organic soil amendments, with the amounts varying depending on what I'm planting. Photo by Steve Masley

BlackLevel Photography
Photo of a traditional full sun gravel vegetable garden landscape in Philadelphia.

Our client in Emerson has a beautiful home, perched on a magnificent mountain slope with incredible views. They asked Dreamscapes to design outdoor living spaces for them in order to fully utilize the property. Their wish list included a water feature, a deck for outdoor living, a patio to take in the distant views of the mountains, a place to garden, and a natural and native planting design to fit into the existing southeastern native woodlands and mountain environment. Living on the side of a mountain means bedrock. The design incorporates the natural slope and stone and works with the terrain. A new deck was constructed to extend out from the house, floating over the bedrock where it meets the new pond. From the top of the hill, a waterfall cascades down through the native plantings into the pond below. Natural boulders were used to build seating along the pond’s edge, where you can watch the fish, tend to the aquatic plants, listen to the frogs, and even take a dip to cool off. Two natural flagstone patios were built at two different elevations to sit and enjoy the views of the landscape and the mountains. Both patios are accessible by cut stone crab orchard steps set into the slope. The space at the end of the driveway was a blank canvas and the perfect place to design and build a garden of raised beds, enclosed in a traditional picket fence. It is now filled with vegetables, herbs, and cutting flowers. The local bees and butterflies love it too. And the beautiful landscape takes on a magical look after sunset. Landscape lighting was expertly placed, using a variety of fixture types to enhance the pond, waterfalls, trees and plants, bringing the spaces to life after dark. The homeowners are both multi-talented and wanted a place to incorporate their skills. They create original art, build detailed wood work and plant edible gardens, just to name a few. This new landscape gives them and their family and friends a place to work and play and relax. It has become a haven for people and wildlife alike. Outdoor living at its finest!

Our homeowners were looking for a garden where they could sit by the fire, grow vegetable and hear the sound of water. Their home was new construction in a modern farmhouse style. We used gravel and concrete as paving. Board formed concrete firepit keeps it feeling modern. The vegetable beds supply season vegetables and herbs.

Raised-bed garden made with repurposed cedar. Includes drip irrigation, game fence, recycled glass mulch, and potting shed.
This is an example of a mid-sized rustic full sun side yard gravel landscaping in Austin for spring.

Five all cedar raised beds and assorted containers provide ample planting area for this backyard vegetable garden.
This is an example of a mid-sized traditional partial sun backyard mulch vegetable garden landscape in Los Angeles for summer.

Hand made raised garden beds, made from rough cut white oak boards allow for easy reach and access to all types of vegetables
This is an example of a large rustic full sun side yard vegetable garden landscape in Philadelphia for spring.

Jalapeño grown organically in a 7-gallon Smart Pot. This plant produced 69 jalapeños! Photo by Steve Masley
Example of an eclectic home design design in San Francisco

These beds are raised using stone tread stock set on edge and then back filled with an amended soil mix. Raising the beds makes turning the soil and working in the beds easier. The soil of the raised beds also warms up faster in early spring, allowing the beds to be planted a little earlier in the year. Seen in these beds are tomatoes, peppers and broccoli.

© Melissa Clark Photography. All rights reserved
Photo of a large farmhouse full sun side yard stone landscaping in DC Metro for summer.

This is an example of a large traditional partial sun backyard brick formal garden in New York.

The unique domed Berry Bowl is the terminus of the garden's central pathway. Robert Benson Photography
Inspiration for a huge farmhouse partial sun gravel vegetable garden landscape in New York for summer.

This is an urban single family home situated on a narrow lot that is about 1/8 of an acre and is only 2 blocks from the Pacific Ocean. I designed a completely new garden and installed everything along with the client’s help. The garden I designed consisted of an ornamental grass garden, a xeriscape garden with decomposed granite mounds, fruit trees and shrubs located throughout, a jungle forest garden, and raised brick vegetable beds in the rear. Previously, there was a wood deck covering almost the entire property that was removed by the owner. We installed root guard around all of the walkways. I installed the raised brick vegetable beds and walkways around the vegetable beds. Many of the plants were chosen to provide food and habitat for pollinators as well. Dozens of fruiting plants were located in the garden. So, it is called the “Garden of Eatin”. Landscape design and photo by Roland Oehme

Chris Kitterdge Photography, Susie Dowd Markarian Designer, Santa Rosa CA. LANDZEN contractor
This is an example of a small mediterranean full sun front yard gravel vegetable garden landscape in San Francisco.

Architect: Cathy Schwabe Architecture Photographer: David Wakely Photography
Example of a trendy wood exterior home design in San Francisco

Patio - traditional patio idea in Denver

The "secret ingredient" in organic container gardens: worm castings with live worms. Red compost worms convert organic nutrients in potting soils into plant-available form, and the last chamber of the worm gut is loaded with beneficial bacteria and fungi that boost plant immunity, cycle nutrients, and increase the water-holding capacity of the potting soil. Photo by Steve Masley.