Gardens & living

Good ideas take root.

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

The Backyards Edit

A compact garden with a lawn, paved seating area, and gray timber fencing.

The Backyards Edit

A backyard for the life you lead

Begin with the ordinary moments you want to spend outdoors, then give them a place.

From the notebook

Tea on a metal garden table beside matching chairs and flowering pots.

The Backyards Edit

Make a place for twenty quiet minutes

One comfortable seat can be the beginning of a much better relationship with the yard.

From the notebook

Stone steps with timber handrails beside an existing wooden fence.

The Backyards Edit

Keep, repair, or replace: editing an existing backyard

A renovation can gain character by retaining the right pieces.

From the notebook

A child gardening at the edge of a lawn with a small hand rake and watering can.

The Backyards Edit

A family yard that can change with the family

Give play a place without making every decision permanent.

From the notebook

An outdoor projection screen and audience in a park beneath an evening sky.

The Backyards Edit

Plan movie night around the audience

A temporary setup that leaves the garden useful the rest of the week.

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 patterned garden path bordered by clipped shrubs and flowering plants.

The Backyards Edit

Formal lines, loose planting

A useful middle ground between a rigid plan and an entirely informal garden.

From the notebook

A straight garden path beside a low wall and hedge overlooking a large lawn.

The Backyards Edit

How to give a large yard a human scale

Create a sequence of useful places instead of enlarging every feature.

From the notebook

A freestanding white garden chair with a gray cushion on paving beside plants.

The Backyards Edit

Let the outdoor room shift for summer

Furniture can follow the season even when the terrace stays the same.

From the notebook