Handsome Planter-Bench: DIY Woodworking Project

Alternating lumber thicknesses give this planter-bench a distinctive linear rhythm. Interlocked planters and bench seat repeat strong horizontal lines. Butted joints with countersunk copper-pipe end caps masking long dec

Southern California Firescape: Fire-Resistant Demonstration Garden

After a 1996 firestorm burned 100+ homes and 8,600 acres in Elfin Forest, residents researched fire-resistant plants. Volunteers installed a 1/3-acre Firesafe Demonstration Garden beside the fire station. Beyond the info

Shadecloth Shelters for Desert Vegetables

In Scottsdale, Arizona, Master Gardeners Christina and John Grubb use shadecloth tents over raised beds for seasonal protection. Heavy shadecloth provides frost protection for cool-season crops (herbs, nasturtiums, salad

Awash in Daisies: Wildflower Meadow in Tucson

Bill Horne re-created desert wash wildflower patterns in his Tucson garden. He loosened native soil, spread African daisy seed in select locations, raked in, watered. Ten days after sprouting, he thinned dense seedlings

Gaining New Ground: Hillside Backyard Expansion in Piedmont

Zelie and Jack Myers, used to outdoor living in Hawaii, wanted more space in their Piedmont, California turn-of-the-century home. Designers Shari Bashin-Sullivan and Richard Sullivan removed old wooden retaining walls, c

Designing a Perfect Covered Patio in Los Gatos

A Backyard for All Seasons Cindy and Gil Clark’s Los Gatos backyard includes sunny and shady spaces, a covered patio, lawn, pool, and hot tub—serving daily meals, relaxation, kids’ activities, book club, and parties. “It

Outdoor Living: One Busy Teak Potting Bench

Cathy Wochner’s teak potting bench in Tempe, Arizona serves as an active workstation for transplanting, a permanent gallery for her birdhouse collection (easy for guests to examine), and a buffet table for parties after

Fall Ensemble: Container Plantings in Smoldering Autumn Colors

Container-design specialist Jean Manocchio filled a trio of pots with foliage and flowers in fall colors. Centerpiece: Phormium ‘Platt’s Black’ (3-4 ft New Zealand flax) with deep burgundy leaves amid yellow gloriosa dai

Western Garden Design Awards: Winning Ideas from Sunset's Contest

As winners in Sunsets contest prove, a great garden design presents plants beautifully, extends the home outdoors, and expresses the owner’s taste. Judges selected the best from several hundred entries by landscape archi

Northwest Infinity-Edge Lawn Frames River View

Doug Naef created an infinity-edge lawn at his Portland-area garden overlooking the Willamette River. The house sits on a bank above the floodplain; the raised lawn edits out cluttered foreground, emphasizing the river a

A Touch of Old Mexico: Low-Maintenance Garden in Stucco Home

Don Steinman and Ruth Greenspan wanted a low-maintenance backyard extension of their 1920s stucco home decorated with Mexican tile murals. Designer Trutza created an old Mexico feel. An old cramped patio was replaced wit

Directions: Stack a Flagstone Raised Bed

Outline bed footprint with string; measure dimensions including wall height. Take measurements to flagstone supplier for quantity. Define perimeter with powdered limestone or gypsum. Excavate or add soil for level found

Tea and Tranquility: Japanese Teahouse Garden in Santa Rosa

Designer Jeff Allen received a Japanese teahouse he built with a mentor, making it a place to honor his late grandfather. Situated in a distant garden part, visiting it feels like leaving the world behind. Beech trees, d

Creating a Garden Bed in Your Lawn: Step-by-Step

Lay out a hose on the lawn, adjusting to the desired bed outline. Using a sharp, square-bladed spade, cut through sod just to soil surface following the hose. Work spade under sod and lift off shovelful by shovelful. To

It's in the Details: Creating a Tropical Paradise

Blend Elements for a Backyard Bali Combine large, lush leaves with bold, bright flowers. Use details—exotic art, furnishings, misters, tiki lamps, candles—to enhance the tropical mood. Hardscape. Black Buckingham slate

Design a Butterfly-Friendly Canyon Courtyard in Santa Fe

Creating a Wildlife Haven The below-grade entrance to a Santa Fe home is ideal for butterflies, says designer Nate Downey. Multitiered raised beds and house walls protect from breezes. A central fountain provides water—a

Discover Tranquility: Meditation Garden at Osmosis Spa, Freestone

The new Meditation Garden at Osmosis spa in Freestone blends Japanese garden principles with California native plants and a coastal-hills setting. “It’s a Japanese-style garden created for California,” says owner Michael

Flowers Make Good Neighbors: Adjacent Gardens in Breckenridge, Colorado

Pat Steiner’s garden of hardy annuals and perennials started from seed in rich native soil. In fall, she raked and broadcast a Rocky Mountain wildflower mix; repeated next spring as snow melted. All seeds germinated, cre

Scruffy to Sensational: A Garden Retreat in Encinitas

TIME: Less than two years. COST: About $5,000. Alix Olson’s 35x19-foot Encinitas yard was weedy with an ugly chain-link fence. She built a patio with French doors, watered grass, planted bougainvillea to hide the fence.

Stonehenge in the Southwest: Sculpture Garden from Storm-Damaged Tree

When a large palo verde in Madge Kunkel’s Paradise Valley, Arizona backyard was severely storm-damaged, designer Steve Sternke suggested a sculpture garden using natural Hass granite stones instead of replanting. Foundat