The time for long evenings and summer parties in our backyards is finally here. If your backyard is needing some rejuvenation this season, you’re probably itching to get started.
22.06.2024 - 01:56 / sunset.com / Sarah Yang
Yes, a huge, impressive pool can be #backyardgoals, but it might not be the most practical thing, especially when you consider location and how much time and money you want to spend on maintenance. That’s what designer Emily Henderson and her family thought when they were doing a big overhaul of their property in Portland, Oregon—which included shrinking the sports court; adding a pool area, pool house, garden, and flagstone pathway all around the whole property; and putting in a new healthy lawn in the front.
Kaitlin Green
“When we first closed on the farm, the innocent fantasies for the property began. With almost three acres we technically have the land for a big old pool. But living in the Pacific Northwest it doesn’t make as much sense to spend that kind of money or space to stare at a pool cover eight months of the year,” Emily explains. “At the same time, thanks to climate change, the summers are now crazy hot, and while there are rivers and public pools, the heat last summer reignited the pool question with the same ‘it just doesn’t make sense for us’ conclusion.” Emily says she even considered a bio-dynamic swimming pool, but realized that wasn’t quite a fit, either.
Kaitlin Green
The idea was almost a lost cause until she came across Soake Pools and found that one of their plunge pools checked all their boxes and could be used year-round as a hot tub or regular pool. The low-maintenance features of a plunge pool—it costs less to install, heat, and maintain—were convincing factors in their decision, too.
Kaitlin Green
Emily’s vision was to design her garden around the pool. “We wanted the plunge pool to act as a secret surprise water feature surrounded by potted plants, greenery, and a wooden split rail fence—all
The time for long evenings and summer parties in our backyards is finally here. If your backyard is needing some rejuvenation this season, you’re probably itching to get started.
SOME OF THE many unusual fruits that Allyson Levy and Scott Serrano grow in their arboretum in the Hudson Valley of New York, like goji berries or maybe Schisandra (above), are ones you’re more likely to see on ingredient labels of health food store products than for sale in nurseries or growing in gardens. But grow them you can.
Fruits often take center stage thanks to how quickly they appease our taste buds. But what about food for our eyes? It’s simple: grow these fruits with beautiful foliage, and you’ll get two things: a delicious homegrown harvest and a display of decorative leaves.
Q: We’ve just moved into our home, a new build in the countryside, and don’t have much of a budget to create a garden. We’d like to start by sowing a traditional lawn around the house, which is just a big expanse of bare soil and weeds. Any tips would be great. CB, Co Meath
Looking to step up your flower gardening game? We’ve tapped into the tasteful toolbelt of Hannah Rose Rivers Muller, master florist farmer and author of Designing With Dried Flowers, who shares her selects for stylish yet practical farm gear that she personally uses while busy harvesting at Full Belly Farm. Well known for pioneering the Northern California field-to-vase movement, Hannah is no stranger to getting her hands dirty and knowing the type of quality gear needed when working in a fast-pace seasonally driven industry.
NOBODY WANTS to get the IRS notice in the mail that they’re being audited, heaven forbid. But when it comes to gardens, Rodney Eason believes that the occasional audit is a very positive process, and encourages us to perform one on our own landscape.
Spring has officially sprung, which means one thing: Pool season is so close, we can practically smell the chlorine. But before you slather on the SPF and do your inaugural cannonball, why not turn your watering hole into a well-designed outdoor destination? Chic umbrellas and cozy chaise lounges might be two easy ways to dress up your backyard, but if you want to take your setup to the next level, some people are using bright tiles and paints to transform their pool floors into maximalist moments.
Jasmit Singh Rangr, a Berkeley-based architect, founder of Rangr Studio, and a lecturer in architecture at the UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design, is technically responsible for building his family’s stylish, minimal, cost-conscious home near the Grizzly Peak summit in the Berkeley Hills. But the behind-the-scenes mastermind who made it possible is his wife, Abigail Dillen, president of Earthjustice, a nonprofit, public interest environmental law firm. Anyone familiar with the area’s cutthroat real estate market won’t be surprised to hear that the search for a vacant, buildable lot in one of the most coveted neighborhoods in the West required Dillen to use all of the skills that make her a great lawyer: creativity, a knack for analysis and research, perseverance, and the art of persuasion.
When it comes to dreaming up her perfect coop, Kate Richards—avid gardener, homegrown cocktail crafter, and wrangler of chickens—always starts with function before deciding on design details. First she figures out run size, roosting areas, number of nesting boxes, and where supply storage will live, and then she pieces together the perfect layout for the space. From there Kate adds details and decor elements that might seem over the top compared to the standard utilitarian set up. She’s known for using unexpected paint colors, patterned wallpaper, and gingerbread trim that make the entire space more aesthetically interesting while fitting in with her own home’s style and architecture.
When one thinks about a production garden designed to yield copious amounts of vegetables and flowers, it’s not often one with perfectly manicured rows overflowing with color and paired with thoughtfully organized spaces for gathering. Practicality and function are usually the focus, not a dedication to stunning surroundings. This is where the team behind Oakland-based Pine House Edible Gardens stands out with their impeccable layout and design philosophies, showcasing the ability to implement important functional garden systems with incredible style.
Were you raised in a barn? Probably not, but you might have sliding barn doors as space-saving solutions in your home. Earlier this year, however, experts shared the news that these once-trendy doors are “out,” particularly because they don’t offer much privacy and aren’t the best option if you have space constraints.
Welcome to an exploration of flowers that start with the letter “B”. From the stunning Begonia to the vibrant Bluebell, this list covers a wide range of flowers, each with its own unique charm.