Latest posts
7 Cement Patio Ideas for Small Backyards That Actually Work
The most common outdoor surface in the US is also the most overlooked. A plain grey cement patio sits in millions of backyards doing exactly what it was poured to do — provide a flat surface — and nothing more. I have seen the same slab transformed twice. First with a coat of warm terracotta…
How To Turn Old Junk Into Garden Decor
I kept a broken enamel colander for two years because I could not throw it away. Too cracked to use. Too interesting to skip. It became a planter for trailing nasturtiums on my back fence the summer I finally got around to drilling three drainage holes in the base. That colander has been photographed more…
12 Mini Garden Ideas for Any Windowsill or Balcony
My most visited plant arrangement is a glass terrarium on my desk that cost $23 to build. Three succulents, a layer of white sand, two smooth river stones, a piece of driftwood. People who have never shown any interest in plants stop and look at it for thirty seconds without being asked. That is what…
Rental-Friendly Backyard Ideas: 7 That Leave No Permanent Changes
I have lived in six rental properties. Five of them had backyards I did nothing with for the first year. Bare concrete or neglected lawn. I told myself I would sort it out properly once I owned somewhere. The one time I did something with a rental backyard — an outdoor rug, some container plants,…
8 Pallet Garden Ideas That Cost Almost Nothing
My first pallet herb garden cost $4. That was the compost. The pallet came from behind the hardware store. The pots were from a charity shop. I put the whole thing together on a Saturday morning and it was growing basil, thyme, and rosemary by the following weekend. That is the honest case for pallet…
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…
