As clean and crisp as a Philip Glass composition, the Sales family's minimalist garden designed by Greg Trutza is in complete harmony with its surroundings.

From the angular, 90-foot lap pool accented by octopus agaves to the streamlined patio furniture and 4-foot grids of lawn, every detail is, like the desert surroundings, purposefully spare.

Before the remodel, the old pool, glaring white pool deck, and haphazard plantings had little visual appeal or association with the home. Now the spaces are well integrated and perfectly connected. The tinted exposed aggregate patio links the indoor spaces with the pool, spa, and outdoor areas.

Sculptural details are repeated throughout the landscape. And mass plantings of ornamental grasses and shrubs maintain the minimalist approach. "Very inventive," responded a juror.

DESIGNER: Greg Trutza, New Directions in Landscape Architecture, Phoenix (480/998-4399)