Gardens & living

Good ideas take root.

Gardens through the seasons, places to gather, and practical ideas for making yourself at home outside.

An open timber gate beneath a leafy garden arch.

The Considered Detail

A welcoming route from the gate to the gathering

Help visitors understand where to go without turning the garden into a corridor.

From the notebook

A pale bench beneath the broad trunk and branches of a mature tree.

Before You Build

Let the mature tree lead the design

An established tree is a site condition to understand, not a gap to build around.

From the notebook

Stepping stones cross a gravel courtyard bordered by plants and walls.

Material Matters

Gravel or paving: compare the way you will use it

A surface decision begins with movement, furniture, and maintenance.

From the notebook

Close view of warm-colored paving units laid in a herringbone pattern.

Material Matters

Large slabs or small pavers? Read the pattern first

The scale of the paving changes the visual pace of an outdoor room.

From the notebook

A cushioned built-in seat, separate stools, and a small table beside grasses.

The Considered Detail

Built-in seating or furniture you can move?

Compare flexibility, comfort, and the way a gathering changes size.

From the notebook

Curved pool coping and a drainage channel between blue water and paving.

Material Matters

Choose the pool coping with the terrace

The edge around the water connects the pool, steps, and surrounding materials.

From the notebook

Rounded stones meet timber deck boards along a straight edge.

The Considered Detail

The most important detail may be where materials meet

Resolve the junctions before adding more finishes to the palette.

From the notebook

A wooden chair beneath a stone arch beside cactus pots and shallow steps.

The Backyards Edit

What makes a courtyard feel like a room?

Use enclosure, proportion, and one strong focus to give a compact garden presence.

From the notebook

A bright yellow entrance door framed by white walls and low linear planting beds.

The Backyards Edit

Let a midcentury house set the garden’s proportions

Borrow the relationships of the architecture rather than a collection of period props.

From the notebook

Coastal grasses along a dune above blue ocean water.

The Backyards Edit

A coastal mood without a themed backyard

Build the feeling through light, texture, and a relaxed arrangement.

From the notebook

Timber chairs and a table on a small deck beside tall cacti and dense planting.

The Backyards Edit

A desert-inspired palette begins with restraint

Explore warm surfaces and strong forms without copying plants that do not suit your site.

From the notebook

A shaded woodland path between ferns beneath a canopy of trees.

The Garden Notebook

Make a woodland edge feel like part of the garden

Create a deliberate transition between a sitting place and a more natural backdrop.

From the notebook