Gardens & living

Good ideas take root.

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

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

Hydrangeas and leafy planting beside the brick wall and window of a cottage.

The Garden Notebook

Give a cottage garden a clear framework

Loose planting can feel intentional when paths, edges, and focal points stay legible.

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

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 pale wooden garden gate beneath dense shrubs.

The Considered Detail

Make the garden gate a proper threshold

The entrance can announce a change of pace with one well-resolved detail.

From the notebook

Flowering climbers frame an arched passage in an enclosed courtyard.

Small Space Studies

Design an overlooked yard around the best view

Focus privacy where it changes the experience most.

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

Watering cans, pots, and hand tools on a weathered potting bench.

The Planning Notebook

Reopen the outdoor room with a fresh eye

Use the start of your outdoor season to improve the arrangement, not just uncover it.

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

A small table and outdoor chairs in a garden surrounded by golden fallen leaves.

The Backyards Edit

Set an autumn table around the setting

A smaller gathering and a practical weather plan can make the season feel generous.

From the notebook