Latest posts
11 Outdoor Kitchen Ideas From Budget to Built-In
The first summer I cooked entirely outside I did not plan to. The pizza oven arrived on a Thursday. By Saturday I had not used the indoor kitchen once and my guests had not left before midnight. That is what an outdoor kitchen does. It changes the social physics of a gathering. The host is…
12 Front Yard Garden Ideas That Make Neighbors Stop
There is a house on my street where I slow down every time I walk past. Nothing dramatic — a cottage border that spills slightly over the path edge, a climbing rose on the fence, lavender in groups of five or six. The front door is painted dark green. I have never met the owner.…
7 Sloped Backyard Ideas That Use the Gradient
I was standing in a sloped backyard in Portland with a client who had been apologizing for the garden the entire way through the gate. Awkward to use. Impossible to maintain. Embarrassing compared to the neighbors. What I saw was three natural terraces already suggested by the contours. A cascade line from top to bottom…
7 Full Sun Planter Ideas That Thrive in Summer Heat
I have killed more plants in south-facing containers than in any other position in any garden I have worked with. Not from lack of attention. From choosing the wrong plants and learning about it in July when replacing them costs twice what they cost in May. The full sun south-facing patio is the most unforgiving…
10 Mini Dish Garden Ideas for Any Room or Windowsill
I made my first mini dish garden on a Sunday afternoon with a bowl from a charity shop, five succulents from the garden center, and some sand left over from a kids’ project. Cost about $12. It sat on my kitchen windowsill for three years. That is the thing about mini dish gardens that no…
8 Sleeper Garden Ideas That Last for Decades
The first sleeper garden I built took one afternoon and cost $60. It was a raised bed. Three courses of stacked oak sleepers, a layer of landscape fabric, 200 litres of compost. It is still in the garden twelve years later and looks better now than it did when I built it. That is what…
10 Backyard Cabana Ideas That Look Expensive But Cost Under $300
I built my first backyard cabana from four PVC pipes, a length of outdoor fabric, and $47 from the hardware store. It looked better than I expected and I used it every weekend that summer. That is what got me interested in how much is actually achievable on a small budget outdoors. These backyard cabana…
12 Best Trellis Planters for Patios and Small Gardens
Most garden purchases do one thing. A trellis planter does five. It is a raised garden bed for deep root growth. A climbing plant support for roses, jasmine, and clematis. A privacy screen that blocks overlooking windows. A garden focal point that transforms an empty corner. And depending on the model a mobile garden feature…
14 Townhouse Backyard Ideas That Make Small Spaces Feel Bigger
I painted a fence dark green once and stood back and genuinely could not understand why the garden looked bigger. Nothing else had changed. Same plants. Same furniture. Same dimensions. The fence had been cream. Now it was dark. The boundary had disappeared. The eye was not measuring the distance to it anymore. That is…
7 Small Backyard Ideas That Make Every Foot Count
My neighbor has a backyard I would trade mine for. It is roughly 10 by 14 feet. Concrete floor, two fence walls, one gate. She has a dark green fence, a jute rug, two rattan chairs, a terracotta pot with a bay tree, and string lights she strung across the corner on a Sunday afternoon.…
