When Melbourne, Australia-based landscape designer Ben Scott first saw a newly built farmhouse on a 20-acre property about an hour’s drive south from the city, there was no garden to speak of. The only existing feature he had to work with was a stand of slender, native eucalyptus trees with a strong, architectural silhouette.
That was in 2012—and luckily the trees were all the inspiration he needed.
The result? A hazy, romantic landscape where texture and shape play as important a role as any color. Tightly pruned, round shrubs complement the matchstick trunks of the eucalyptus trees. Velvety green ground cover envelops the slopes surrounding the house and guesthouse. Formality gives way to wildness at the edges of the garden, where the surrounding bush frames a distant view to Western Port Bay on the Mornington Peninsula.
“I look to designers who use plants as the focus in their work,” says Scott. “I count Bernard Trainor in the US, Dan Pearson in the UK, Wolfgang Oehme in Germany, and Piet Oudolf in the Netherlands as strong influences.”
In 2016, new owners bought the property—and loved the design so much that they’ve asked Scott to expand its scope. Let’s take a look at the latest improvements:
Above: A native ground cover, Myoporum parvifolium (also known as creeping boobialla) grows between the pavers.
Above: The golden foliage of perennial sedge (Carex) adds texture and warmth to the landscape.
Above: Native to Australia, Eucalyptus radiata trees gracefully drape over a zinc-sided guesthouse and a courtyard paved in granite gravel. Clipped boxwood balls breach the boundary between planting beds and gravel.
Above: Round shapes and flowing silhouettes echo the slopes of the land and soften the effect of the change in elevation (which varies by as much as 100 feet across the nearly 20-acre site).
Above: At the base of eucalyptus trees, white correa (Correa alba) is pruned into round (and not-so-round) doughnuts.
Above: Boston ivy cloaks a wall, bordered by more granite gravel held in check by Corten steel landscape edging.
Above: Shrubs including Westringia and silver-leafed germander (Teucrium fruticans) are clipped into round globe shapes.
Above: A turf developed in drought-prone Australia, Kikuyu ‘Village Green’ is a low-water alternative to a traditional lawn.
Above: Four ginkgo trees (Ginkgo biloba) anchor the corners of a gravel seating area with a fire pit.
Trailing ground cover Convolvulus sabatius (blue rock bindweed) adds a contrasting color which stands out dramatically against the many shades of green.
Above: A hedge of Portuguese laurel (at Right) encloses a patio area with a pizza oven. Boxwood, Cotyledon orbiculata, and Acanthus mollis grow in the foreground.
Above: Strong colors in the planting beds create a transition to a wilder landscape, complementing the rich golden slopes of the surrounding hills. Perennials include grasses, sedum, hebe, and burgundy-leafed smoke bush (Cotinus).
Are you designing a garden from scratch (or overhauling an existing landscape)? Start with inspiration from our curated guides to Garden Design 101, for help choosing Perennials, Shrubs, and just the right color of Gravel to complement the rest of the landscape.
See more of our favorite drought-tolerant gardens in Australia:
An outdoor shower gets lonely in the winter. Pipes freeze, and by late November you start to wonder why you ever installed it in the first place. Enter the pop-up outdoor shower. Without a need for fixed plumbing, these showers hook up to a standard garden hose and at the end of summer, get pulled into the shed or garage to wait for the following year. Here are 10.
“There isn’t another site like this available anywhere near Portland, Maine,” said Russell Tyson of Whitten Architects, “and it’s the site that makes this house so unique.”
He’s describing a jaw-dropping 36 acres perched along the oceanfront in Scarborough, Maine, the site of many native habitats—rocky coastline, woods, wetlands, and meadows included. Most of the land is in a conservation trust to preserve its natural character, but that didn’t deter the owners, a young couple with two children who wanted a weekend retreat that was “the antithesis of their high-rise life in New York City.” Two acres could be developed, so they removed an existing 1980s house that had “no sort of relationship to the landscape,” said Tyson, the project architect. In its stead, they designed a four-bedroom, mostly single-story house and detached car barn with guest quarters above.
Whitten partnered with landscape architect Todd Richardson to create a strong connection between the house and landscape. They knew each other well and had collaborated before, so they designed the project’s indoor and outdoor elements in tandem. “Here, the exterior spaces were just as important as the interior ones,” said Tyson. Let’s take a look.
Photography by Trent Bell except where noted, courtesy of Whitten Architects.
Above: At the entryway, a Rockport granite boulder directs visitors from the parking court toward the front door just off to the right. A small apple orchard flanks the walkway.
The site was once part of a farm, full of rolling meadows that drop down to the shore.
Above: In the front garden are salvia and ornamental grasses mixed with lawn. “The walls extend outward from the house to throw the architecture out into the landscape,” said Richardson.
The previous house had an asphalt parking lot prominently featured in front; in contrast, said the architect, “we wanted you to park your car and forget about it for the rest of the time you are here.”
Above: Flanking a porch off the bedroom wing: A birch tree at far left hovers over highbush blueberries, northern bayberry, low huckleberry, lowbush blueberry sod, and hay-scented fern. The patch on the right side of the walkway also includes black chokeberry, rhodora, and cinnamon fern.
The landscape architect chose native plants that thrive in this part of Maine.
Above: Each bedroom has a porch to encourage residents and guests to head directly outdoors in the mornings.
The house is framed in Douglas fir and stained in Cabot Nantucket White. The decking is water-resistant ipe wood, and the roof is standing seam metal in slate gray.
Above: Bordered by full-height sliding glass doors, the living room links a courtyard in front of the house to a patio on the opposing side. The landscape architect planted pitch pine here, centered on the axis of a single large pitch pine hovering over the water’s edge—the only tree along the waterfront for about 1,500 feet, visible beyond the living room.
Above: A glass walkway connects the main living volume to the bedroom wing. Sliding glass doors link the courtyard to the fire pit beyond.
Honed dark granite used as flooring in the main living space “spills” outside into the landscape, said Richardson. The design is “hard to differentiate in a way you typically might between indoors and out,” he said.
Above: Carefully placed boulders “bring the dramatic shore geology inland from the coastline,” said Richardson.
Pitch pine, the predominant tree on the property, is prevalent along the coast of Maine.
Above: Richardson selected native shrubs, grasses, and wildflowers to blend the landscape with the existing meadows that stretch toward the shore. Here, lowbush blueberry wraps around wood posts.
Above: Farther from the house, Richardson planted a New England wildflower mix, dominated by black-eyed Susans.
Above: Throughout the coastal property, the landscape architect planned long stretches of trails and boardwalks through meadow, woodlands, wetland, and shoreline.
“The house is the pivot point between the woodland and agrarian landscapes,” said Richardson. “It touches a different environment on each side.”
Above: A private seating area on stone slabs is set among an existing grove of pitch pines.
Above: The angled boulder in front of the fire pit is the single largest rock placed on the site. The Adirondack chairs are from Crate & Barrel (though they’re no longer available in natural wood). The fire pit patio has 180-degree views of the ocean. On buggy nights, the family sits just next to the patio on a screened porch.
Above: The house at twilight. The stone walls, open meadows, and apple trees recall the property’s agrarian past.
“The most important thing to the clients was that the house not be an impediment to getting outside,” said the architect. “So you can get outdoors from as many locations in the house as possible.”
Above: Note the diagonal dashed lines on the site plan; the boulders sit on axes carefully aligned with the axis of the shoreline.
In Process
Above: The site of the house, just before the foundation was laid. Photograph by Todd Richardson.
Above: A boulder being laid on the site via crane. Photograph by Todd Richardson.
For more of our favorite landscapes in Maine, see:
When I visit large gardens, I am in awe of their beauty—as well as the work that is required to make and keep them gorgeous. It makes me privately feel a bit smug that my own little yard is so manageable. But there are other times—like when I visit New York City’s High Line park, where grasslands grow above the city streets of in Chelsea—when I yearn for enough space to hold swaths of native plants. I would like a garden that can lure butterflies and birds on a major scale. I would like to witness a miracle each year, when a carpet of tender green springtime shoots transforms by the end of the growing season into waves of papery seed heads.
This brings me to little bluestem grass.
Among the indigenous species of perennial grasses that are the natural denizens of meadows, little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) stands out. This plant needs little care, is remarkably unfussy about soil and moisture, and all on its own, without any intervention by gardeners, puts on a colorful show in each and every season of the year.
Is little bluestem grass the right plant for your garden? Read on to find out:
Schizachyrium scoparium (formerly known as Andropogon scoparius) is a native of the North American prairie and is said to be found everywhere in the US except for Nevada, Oregon, and Alaska. It is one of those vigorous long-rooted grasses which anchored and enriched the deep soil, luring the settlers west to claim their homesteads and establish farms after the Civil War. Although it has a rather unprepossessing appearance, this plant is an awesome force for holding the earth in place. Its roots can extend down as far as 5 feet and it forms firmly anchored 18-inch clumps which spread through self-seeding.
Little bluestem gets its name from a tinge of blue that appears at the base of its slender, flat blue-green leaves in spring. As it matures to a height of 2 or more feet, it develops a distinctive blue-green color which eventually becomes striking bronze-orange or even burgundy in autumn.
Flower stalks appear in mid to late summer and rise above the plant by a foot or more. The flowers are understated 3-inch purplish bronze racemes that dangle in the breeze. In winter the foliage fades to beige and the plant is distinguished by clusters of fluffy white seed heads that sparkle in the sun.
Little bluestem is an excellent choice for meadows and prairie-style gardens and is also recommended for use in rain gardens.
With such a mighty root system, little bluestem grass is frequently planted in disturbed areas such as river banks, slopes, and urban trail landscapes to prevent erosion.
S. scoparium works well planted en masse and with asters such as Michaelmas daisies, and with other flowering natives including Coreopsis tripteris, pale purple coneflower (Echinacea pallida), Mohr’s rosinweed (Silphium mohrii) and orange coneflower (Rudbeckia fulgida).
The dried foliage and flower stalks of little bluestem grass should be cut back to make way for the new spring foliage—but not until late March because the seeds provide winter food for song birds.
Little bluestem attracts butterflies and other pollinators, but is not appealing to deer.
Above: Little bluestem grass grows wild in Wisconsin. Photograph by Joshua Mayer via Flickr.
Keep It Alive
Plant little bluestem grass in full sun in USDA zones 3 to 9.
Little bluestem tolerates a wide range of soils including clay, but needs good drainage and cannot thrive in shade or wetlands.
This plant has minimal water needs and, once established, tolerates both drought and high humidity.
As a warm-season type of grass, little bluestem can be late to appear in spring and grows best when temperatures are 80 degrees Fahrenheit or hotter.
It will self seed but can also be propagated by seed or, in early spring, by division.
A number of little bluestem cultivars are available and include some short varieties for smaller gardens. ‘Carousel’, which has a broad shape, is only 1.5 feet high, reaching a maximum height of 2.5 feet in bloom; ‘Prairie Blues’ is the same height but can exceed 3 feet tall when in flower.
“The Blues” is a popular cultivar with gorgeous blue green foliage. It was originally chosen by Dutch designer Pete Oudolf for the High Line but was later replaced by ‘Standing Ovation’, which is taller, more upright, and better able to withstand the harsh High Line climate.
Above: Not to be confused with little bluestem grass: big bluestem grass is a quintessential prairie grass. Photograph by J. Van Cise via Flickr.
Little bluestem is not to be confused with big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), which was the dominant species of the tall grass prairie. It is a warm-season perennial with similar cultivation needs similar to little bluestem, but it grows taller (up to 9 feet) and spreads by rhizomes. It gets its nickname, Turkeyfoot, from the shape of its flower (which is structured in three parts and does in fact somewhat resemble the foot of that large bird).
Are you trying to choose the best perennial grass for a garden? See more of our favorite species in our curated guides Grasses 101 in our Garden Design 101 guides. Read more:
I once had a vegetable garden. It was small and cute (roughly four by six feet), slightly raised, and enclosed by four thin planks of wood. The best part? It had come with the house, and presumably, all that needed to be done was plant seeds and, as they say, just add water. I did till the ground before I planted. That much I knew. I only wish I had known more.
That spring, I planted carrots, cucumbers, green beans, rosemary, kale, and bok choy. It was the bok choy that I looked forward to the most. Growing up in a Chinese-American household, I ate the vegetable at least weekly; I wanted to make it a staple for my kids, too.
One day, I checked in on my fledgling garden and discovered little yellow flowers sprouting from the tops of the bok choy. Cute, I thought. A week later, they towered over the leaves, which were still in their infancy. I called my mom, who, as usual, was full of bad news. “It’s too late. You can’t eat them now,” she said. I rolled my eyes. I Googled. And I discovered my mom hadn’t exaggerated after all. My bok choy—and my kale, too, as it turned out—had bolted.
What happens when an edible plant bolts?
Above: Bolted bok choy. Photograph by Jade Craven via Flickr.
When a vegetable or herb bolts, it has prematurely gone to seed and is now spending more of its energy growing the flowers and seeds than the leaves (leaves are what you want from edible plants). Bolting produces plants that are tough, woody, and bitter—basically inedible. The edibles that are most at risk of bolting tend to be leafy crops that thrive in cooler temperatures (see last week’s The Garden Decoder: What Is a ‘Cool-Season Crop’?). Why? Read on.
Hot weather and longer days are the biggest culprits—which explains why cool-season crops are likeliest to bolt. When temperatures rise above 70 degrees Fahrenheit and there’s prolonged daylight, these plants go into survival mode and quickly switch their focus to producing seeds.
Above: Bolted kale. Photograph by Keith Rowley via Flickr.
Not surprisingly, bok choy and kale are cool-season crops; I had planted my garden in the middle of spring, closer to summer than winter, and not early spring, as recommended by gardening guides and my more gardening-savvy friend, who, when I told her my plans, politely remarked, “Oh, they usually do well in colder weather, but I’m sure they’ll be fine!” (Note to friend: Next time, tell me when I’m doing something dumb.)
For cool-season crops, time your planting for either early spring or late summer/early fall, so vegetables can mature in cool weather. You also can try to keep the soil temperature down by topping it with mulch and watering regularly. If you insist on growing cold-loving crops such as lettuce in the summer (it’s salad season, after all), plant them where there’s some shade. Also, you can discourage bolting if you continually harvest (pick the outside leaves) and trim seed shoots if you see them. Last, consider choosing varieties that aren’t predisposed to bolt; they’re often marketed as “slow-to-bolt” seeds.
Imagine how useful it would be to have a big, deep coat closet in your garden. For inspiration, consider Julie’s made-from-a-kit shed in Mill Valley, California (shown in the photo above). As you can see, she has kitted it out with shelves, hooks, and plenty of wall space for pegs.
Like a coat closet, a wooden garden shed can hold (and hide from view) all sorts of stuff you own: tools, off-duty hoses, and mucky boots. Not to mention bikes, pool equipment, bamboo garden stakes, balls of twine, and that bag of muddy dahlias you just dug up. If you’re the organizing type (and we are), you can putter for hours, putting everything in order while you wait for spring.
Here are 10 of our favorite small wooden sheds to assemble and tuck into a corner of a garden:
Above: Made of untreated larch with knot holes, a slim Garden Cupboard has a sloped zinc roof, “five shelves, two double hooks and three single hooks for storing garden tools and accessories and work clothing,” notes retailer Manufactum. It is €1,043.
Above: A Grand Garden Chalet made of western red cedar measures 6 feet wide by 3 feet deep (and is 72 inches high). It is $1,245.88 from Home Depot.
Above: A compact Aldsworth Shed made of spruce has a sheet metal roof and is £250 from Garden Trading.
Above: A 7-by-5-foot timber Pent Roof Garden Shed is sided with tongue-and-groove panels to prevent rot and water damage. It comes with a 10-year guarantee and is £489.99 from Sheds Direct.
Above: A Waterproof Wooden Garden Cabinet made of solid wood has two built-in shelves and a peaked roof and is $132.99 from Vidaxl.
Above: Designed to store bikes, pool equipment, or garden tools, a Lockable Storage Shed with double doors is 72 inches long, 64 inches high, and 32 inches deep. It is $519.99 from Bosmere via Amazon.
Above: An Apex Shed is “made in the UK from FSC-certified, pressure-treated timber that needs no annual re-treatment,” says retailer Crocus. It is £189.99.
Above: With two wide doors, an unfinished western red cedar SpaceSaver Shed by Thos. Baker measures 8 by 4 feet and is $2,149.99 from Wayfair.
Above: Similar to Julie’s and made of cypress wood, a two-door Vertical Storage Shed is 72 inches tall and measures 3 feet wide and 2 feet deep; $298.79 via Amazon.
Above: A DIY Cedar Shed Bayside Kit is customizable and comes with such options as a Dutch door, a fixed window, and a sliding door. The kit comes with pre-cut wood wall panels, hardware, a pre-shingled roof, and step-by-step instructions for assembly (no cutting necessary). It is $1,629 from Cedar Shed.
Are you checking off autumn garden cleanup and rehab projects? See more ideas in our curated guides to Garden Design 101, with inspiration to help you plan upgrades to Outdoor Lighting 101 and curb appeal fixes for Exteriors & Facades. Read more:
Houseplants may be the single most important element of interior design: when deployed effectively, they can add depth, height, and airiness to any room. Here are 10 ingenious ways (culled from our archives) that houseplants can make any room look bigger:
Repeat a Theme
Above: In a room with high ceilings, twin windows are flanked by foliage, both faux and alive. The shape and texture of a potted Ficus elastica’s leaves mimics a wall sculpture and adds to the sense of symmetry created by a pair of eBay armchairs. Photograph by Jersey Ice Cream Co.
Above: A closer look at the same rubber plant as shown in the photo above. Photograph by Jersey Ice Cream Co.
When chairs go low, plants go high. The effect? Creating an instantly alluring corner where you want to curl up with a book.
Slim Down
Above: In a sunroom on Long Island, designer C.S. Valentin unified a disparate collection of desert and tropical plants in pots made by his brother, David Haskell of DGH Studio. Photograph by Jonathan Hökklo.
Above: At the end of a long, narrow Brooklyn townhouse hallway, a pair of potted plants directs visitors toward the open doorway at the back of the house. Photograph by Pia Ulin, courtesy of white stair hall designed by Bangia Agostinho Architecture.
Above: An empty black fireplace becomes a shadowbox frame for an exuberant fern in architect Elizabeth Roberts’ Bellport, NY beach house. Photograph by Dustin Aksland and Eric Striffler, courtesy of Elizabeth Roberts.
Indoor plants for “low-light conditions” are tolerant of living in a dark apartment with one wall of windows (or possibly, one window). At the same time, their presence suggests sunlight even where little exists.
Add Color
Above: In an upstairs guest room/office in a Brooklyn townhouse, a large Fiddle-Leaf Fig Tree assists a red chair in adding color and pattern to an otherwise monochromatic room. Photograph by Brian Ferry.
Above: In a small, reconfigured mews house in Hackney, London (for a family of four), architect Craig Hutchinson re-jiggered the interiors, knocking down most walls in favor of half-walls, so light could pass through. Photograph by Helen Cathcart.
Above: In a Brooklyn, NY dining, architect Kim Hoyt specified full-depth masonry planters below grade as part of a remodel, complete with integrated irrigation and drainage. They planted creeping fig as the main vine, with asparagus fern and rex begonia vine as accents. Photograph by Dan Wonderly courtesy of Kim Hoyt Architect.
Above: In her Brooklyn kitchen, houseplant enthusiast Summer Rayne Oakes clusters plants on countertops, shelves, and tabletops. Photograph courtesy of @homesteadbrooklyn.
Says Summer Rayne Oakes: no surface should be off limits to plants: let them spill over the edges of shelves. Let them jockey for space with the tea kettle. See more of her 700-plant collection in Living with Houseplants: Four Years Later in a Brooklyn Apartment.
Create a Curtain
Above: Begonia ‘Angel Wing’ is a cane begonia, a tropical plant that thrives in bright light and moist, well-drained soil. Its lacy flowers and foliage also can filter light, adding depth to a window. Photograph by Mimi Giboin.
The Remodelista editors spent the week uncovering the freshest new interior design trends for fall. Here are a few of their favorites:
Mattress in a Box
Above: Casper’s mattress selection includes three models: the original and much-revered Casper ($995 for the queen size), the ergonomic Wave ($1,995), and the streamlined Essential ($600).
Above: Source a Vintage Thonet Bench like this one, via Jayson Home, on eBay, Etsy, and Chairish.
Alexa discovers “an apartment in São Paulo designed by architecture firm Felipe Hess features a compact kitchen opening onto a humble dining area. We like the look so much that we set out to re-create it with similar elements, both vintage and new.” Recreate the look in Steal This Look: Kitchen/Dining Room in São Paulo.
Limewash Paint
Above: A sampling of colors from the Ressource line of limewash paints.
Above: The Room & Board Crane Floor Lamp has a hand-welded base, a fabric cord, and a white fabric shade; $529.
Simple floor lamps with white drum shades are too hard to come by, writes Alexa. No more. She rounds up her 10 favorites in this week’s 10 Easy Pieces post.
Patterned Lampshade
Above: A glass-and-nickel Wisteria Table Lamp from UK lighting company Pooky, £165, comes with dozens of shade options in a range of sizes; this block-printed-cotton Empire Gathered Lampshade starts at £30.
An upcoming book signing and 10 more things to know about this weekend.
Above: Today and tomorrow at Glasswing in Seattle: a fall plant sale, with discounts starting at 15 percent, select varieties up to 50 percent off, and select pots, terrariums, and vases on sale as well. Photograph courtesy of Glasswing.
Remodelista readers: Julie will be at Field + Supply in Kingston, New York, next Sunday; stop by to say hello (and get your book signed).
Move aside, fronds, grasses, and seedpods. Just when it looked as if wispy foliage had taken floral arrangements hostage for the season, we noticed something surprising: blowsy billows of hydrangeas.
Hydrangeas are the comfort food of flowers. Impossibly frumpy and fusty, these bobblehead pompoms are the antidote to the slender, the desiccated, and the severe dried floral arrangements currently in fashion. We’re ready for a little coddling, and so are our favorite interior designers, stylists, and architects.
Here are eight of-the-moment ways (culled from our archives) to style old-fashioned hydrangeas to warm up a room:
Poured Forth
Above: In a pitcher instead of a vase, dried hydrangeas are in motion, spilling out against a static backdrop of Farrow & Ball wallpaper. Photograph by Beth Kirby of Local Milk.
Above: Textile designer Helen Dealtry has a studio in downtown Hudson, New York, near her house, and often paints her watercolors from cut flowers she picks up at nearby Cedar Farm Wholesale. Photograph by Alison Engstrom.
Above: In a tall, smoky glass vase in the corner of a second-floor landing, freshly cut pompom hydrangeas are a reminder of the midsummer garden in Bellport, New York. Photograph by Jonathan Hökklo.
Above: Hydrangeas light up a far corner in a living room of a farmhouse that Brooklyn-based architect Roberto Sosa and his partner, Jeffrey Coe, own in upstate New York. Photograph by Mylene Pionilla.
A clear glass vase is a neutral backdrop for hydrangeas, neither competing nor disappearing. See more on Dried Hydrangea Garlands for Fall.
Deep Reds
Above: For a similar variety, Hydrangea ‘Fire and Ice’ has flowers that start out white and then deepen to red by season’s end. See more at Monrovia. Photograph by Jonathan Gooch.
Interior designers (and self-proclaimed Japanophiles) Roman and Williams got their start in Hollywood, and still bring a set designer’s critical eye to every product they choose for both their online shop and their downtown Manhattan Guild emporium and restaurant.
We’re currently craving a hand-forged folding Japanese gardening knife they came across on their travels in the Banshu region in the Hyogo prefecture of Japan:
Above: “Handcrafted with great care, incorporating sword making techniques to ensure its longevity and sharpness,” a Banshu Hamono Japanese Folding Knife has a high carbon “ao-hagane” blue steel blade and is available in several sizes.
In the garden, use the folding knife to prune, trim, and cut back perennials and small shrubs.
Above: Available in four sizes (which include small, large, and extra large), a Japanese Folding Knife is from $78 to $550 depending on size at RW Guild.
The knife’s design “has remained unchanged since the Meiji period (1868-1912),” say Roman and Williams.
(In her monthly column for the Wall Street Journal, Gardenista editor Michelle Slatalla tackles interior and exterior design challenges. In this installment, she wonders how important it really is to unplug in nature. Hear her out (and see the original in the Wall Street Journal).
Above: Photograph by Mimi Giboin.
It’s very cold and lonely in the middle of the night in my backyard, where I am standing as I beg my eight-week-old puppy to empty his bladder so we can both go back to bed.
“Be a good boy,” I whisper-yell, trying not to wake the neighbors as I peer through the darkness toward the spot where I last saw a tiny, big-eared dog hop through the grass in pursuit of a leaf that needed a pouncing.
I wish I had something to do out here, like watch TV or listen to music or text a fuzzy photo of the puppy to my husband, who is asleep but if his phone buzzed might wake up and come out to relieve me until the dog relieves himself.
A burgeoning trend among Americans is to turn the backyard into the living room and, weirdly, I’m starting to see the point. Maybe it’s sleep deprivation, but a weatherproof TV is starting to sound good to me.
CE Pro, a trade magazine that covers the custom electronics industry, reported a 44 percent growth in outdoor installations last year as more people installed outdoor wi-fi hubs and ran underground cable to extend the reach of their indoor audio and visual equipment. There are lawn-embedded charging stations (which I could use right now, since my phone’s power level is at an ominously low 4 percent). There is even an intriguing, though ugly, stereo speaker shaped like a rock, which might look OK at the base of my rose bushes.
“Maybe we should investigate surround sound for the garden,” I said to my husband the next morning (and three more trips to the backyard later). “With the right infrastructure, we could have a wall-mount plasma flat screen.”
“Nice try,” he replied. “But you’re not getting me to take over your night shifts with a little CE sweet talk. Besides, the neighbors would complain about the light pollution.”
“We could put the TV under a pergola or something,” I said. “It’s boring out there—I’d rather be watching ‘Brockmire.’”
“Who are you?” he asked, but I could tell he was a tiny bit thrilled. He does love consumer electronics.
Above: Weatherproof televisions customized for use in full sun, full shade, or even a snowstorm are manufactured by Sun Brite TV.
It’s true that the woman my husband married believed that gardens are for gardening. I used to say that humans lose some of our nature when we give up on nature—and technology is a threat to all the things I love about being in nature (unplugging, listening to birdsong, growing things). Outdoors, the best audio is the wind rustling through the redwoods.
But the more I looked into it, the more I wondered if I had been a reactionary. The indoors-ification of the outdoors has been happening more or less consistently since the early days of civilization—with or without me. The ancient Greeks built open-air theaters where audiences were exposed to live plays and post-sundown breezes that likely made those who forgot to bring a sweater (or whatever they wore over their togas) wish they were home indoors.
Making it easier to do indoor activities outside is a major trend in garden design now, according to a 2018 American Society of Landscape Architects survey of 808 members who ranked the projects clients are clamoring for this year. “Flexible-use space for yoga class, movie night, etc.” and mobile charging stations were two outdoor amenities that made the top 10 list of items with highest consumer demand. Traditional backyard recreational centers such as swimming pools, tennis courts, and hammocks did not.
What the survey results are telling us, says Washington, D.C.-based landscape architect Jennifer Horn, is that “in the past, people felt like they just had to adapt to their landscapes and now are more interested in making their gardens adapt to their lifestyles.”
Above: Custom yoga platforms designed by Ananda Woodworks have boards fastened by wooden pegs and are made of reclaimed and salvaged wood. For more information and pricing, see Ananda Woodworks.
So what could make life with a puppy more bearable in my backyard?
For one thing, a kitchen. Gone are the days of the humble outdoor grill. This year the Char-Broil Co., whose portable outdoor cookers stoked post-WWII America’s newfound ardor for backyard barbecues, has brought to market a build-your-own modular outdoor kitchen system you can customize to fit your space with a choice of two sizes of gas grills, stovetop burners, a refrigerator, running water, and a charging outlet for a mobile phone.
Above: A Char-Broil Modular Outdoor Kitchen Entertainment Module “boasts a fully functioning faucet and sink, removable insulated cooler and cutting board insert, in addition to a removable trash can and electrical outlet” and enables you to plug in and charge a cell phone, notes the manufacturer; $1,199.
The idea behind the Char-Broil modular kitchen system, said product manager Robert Hawkins, is to give consumers all the choices available in a high-end, built-in outdoor kitchen—a new favorite among the architect-hiring set—for a more affordable price. “This is a DIY project, for consumers who maybe don’t have $10,000 to pay a contractor. You don’t need a plumber or an architect. You can add modules one at a time, seasonally, and run numerous extension cords to power them.”
Numerous extension cords? While the affordable price was a lure (for $599, the stovetop module has a rust-resistant burner and 65,000 BTUs), I hate extension cords. Even one is too many.
Maybe that stereo speaker shaped like a rock was the answer?
The Nuvo collection features a variety of outdoor stereo speakers from France-based manufacturer Legrand, which are covered in molded rubber meant to disguise them as small boulders. Sadly, however, Fritz Werder, a Legrand vice president and general manager, told me that they’re being phased out.
“They looked fake,” he said. “Industrial design is important.” He added that Legrand’s industrial designers are creating a new generation of stereo speakers to blend in better, mounted under the eaves of houses, matching a facade’s paint color, or sitting less conspicuously in flower beds.
“What are the rocks being replaced by?” I asked.
“Speakers that look like mulch,” he said.
It sounds promising. But maybe I am in the end just a reactionary. For now I think it might be faster and easier to teach my dog to heed nature’s call than to ask nature to watch “Brockmire” with me.
Watching people pass by from the safety of your balcony is one of the great joys of urban life. But when people start watching you back, it’s less fun. The solution? Potted plants—and also a privacy panel. Here are 10 we like.
Above: From a UK source, the Garden Fence Panel Balcony Cover, available in a range of colors (shown in Aazure) and two sizes (300 by 90 centimeters and 500 by 90 centimeters), is made of UV- and windproof polyester fabric; £24.43 at eBay in the UK.
Above: The Windscreen4less Sunblock Shade Cloth comes in an 8-by-1-foot roll and is available in beige (shown), brown, canary yellow, dark green, light gray, and turquoise green; $16.99 at Amazon.
Above: The Ikea Dyning Balcony Privacy Screen in White is the same composition and measurement as the design in black (above), but with a lighter, more translucent look; $14.99.
Above: The Anself Oxford Fabric Balcony Screen Cover is made of coated oxford cotton and comes in a saturated terracotta, beige, or anthracite color in four sizes; from £9.99 to £14.99 at Amazon in the UK.
Above: A Custom Sunbrella Fabric Panel with Grommets in a custom size and choice of weather-resistant Sunbrella fabric color is available at Outdoor Fabric Central. Contact the company for custom pricing and ordering information.
Above: The Utility Canvas Tarpaulin, shown in olive and available in a range of colors, is made of simple, garment-dyed drop cloth—unfinished so better for warm and dry months—and is $62 to $102 at Utility Canvas.
Recently on Remodelista, Margot took us through the guesthouse of Jacky Winter Gardens, an artists’ residence and informal showroom for the work of partner artists. The cottage has undergone a masterful redesign, and the gardens are changing, too:
Above: Owner Jeremy Wortsman says the verdant gardens and surrounding landscape are what drew him to the site in the first place. Filled with native greenery and bordered by a winding creek, the retreat is located in Belgrave, Australia, just 45 minutes outside of Melbourne.
Above: The guest house was built in the early 20th century and was recently remodeled by Sarah Trotter of Hearth Studio. Here, a silver birch tree offers residency for wildlife.
Above: The gardens have undergone a similar renovation, led by Belgrave-based permaculture expert Miranda Mueller. She was first called to the place by the real estate agent selling the house, who was hoping for a quick garden cleanup to make the property more attractive for sale. At the time, there was no walking path and the garden was buried beneath dense undergrowth.
Above: After the half-acre landscape became Jacky Winter Gardens, Mueller was “employed to unravel [the garden’s] wilderness and tame her just enough that she could be enjoyed for her fruitfulness.”
Above: In the center of the garden, beside the walking trail, is an informal orchard of peach and apple trees bearing Granny Smith and Golden Delicious apples. More edibles including lemons, kiwis, figs, grapefruits, and raspberries grow throughout the property, and a kitchen garden is under development.
Above: The property is part garden, part natural bushland, a mix that the owners call “both tranquil and invigorating.” The gardens feature more than 80 types of plants, including bromeliads, rhododendrons, and fan palms. Ferns dominate the mix, including tree ferns, mother ferns, and fishbone ferns—a motif that’s reflected in the wallpaper inside the cottage.
Above: Clematis Creek meanders behind the property; from the residence, you can hear its burble. Wildlife can be spotted here, including wombats, wallabies, the tiny marsupials called antechinus, and sometimes even platypuses.
Says Mueller, “I share this garden with a tribe of native friends, and have been lucky enough to meet the resident cranky old wombat. He likes to nibble on the lower limb foliage of the fruit trees.”
Above: The garden now has more structure, while retaining its free-form playfulness. Here, a fan palm grows in the shade behind the trellis.
Above: Color appears amid the greenery: roses, daisies, and the sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ (shown) grow in the garden.
Says Mueller of her future plans for the garden, “My mission will remain to honor her wilderness, to plant native screens to help our native friends, with just a splash of color to complement such a pretty cottage!”
Above: Silver spurflower is another source of blooms.
Above: Jacky Winter Gardens sits in the Dandenong Ranges, a low mountain range where lower altitudes are covered in temperate rainforest of mountain ash trees and dense undergrowth of ferns. Here, oak trees and a tree fern on the edge of the property.
Above: The garden remains green all year—though Melbourne is only a short way away, average summer temperatures in Belgrave reach only about 73 degrees Fahrenheit and the region gets ample rain all year.
Above: A whimsical map of the gardens by illustrator James Gulliver Hancock; a poster-size map is given to every overnight visitor.
If you are a resident of the East Coast, the much-lamented loss of North America’s tallgrass prairie may be a vague concept. It is almost impossible for those of us not in on plains with distant horizons to imagine what 250 million acres of open grassland looked like. It may be even more difficult to visualize the individual plants which inhabited what was once the largest ecosystem in the United States. Unfamiliarity may explain why we still rely a great deal on imported grasses instead of turning to the vigorous, long-rooted native species of the prairie when designing our gardens. Time to change that.
Is switchgrass a good fit for your garden? Read on to learn how and where to plant Panicum virgatum:
Above: Flat-bladed Panicum virgatum ‘Shenandoah’ is known as red switchgrass because of its deep burgundy coloring. Photograph by David J. Stang via Wikimedia.
The four dominant species in the tallgrass prairie were: little bluestem, big bluestem, Indian grass, and switchgrass. Today all are readily available, dependable, easy to grow and provide seasonal beauty. However, for adaptability and usefulness, it would be hard to beat switchgrass. In addition to the prairie, Panicum virgatum is found on dry slopes, in pine and oak woodlands, and along river banks. It is also known to thrive in heavy clay, sand, drought-plagued areas, and even in saturated soils such as brackish marshes. In other words, it will grow almost anywhere.
Above: The prairie comes to the city. White Japanese anemones (‘Honorine Jobert’) bloom against a backdrop of frothy switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) in the Central Park Conservancy Garden in New York City. Photograph by Cultivar413 via Flickr.
Cheat Sheet
Switchgrass attracts bees and butterflies and provides protective cover for songbirds, quail, pheasants, and small mammals such as rabbits and chipmunks.
Use switchgrass in meadows or native plant gardens or place it in a row for a feathery screen or hedge. Used as a specimen, switchgrass makes an excellent substitute for the non-native Miscanthus.
Prevent erosion by planting en masse on slopes and ridges.
Switchgrass flowers make attractive additions to fresh or dried arrangements.
Switchgrass is not appealing to deer.
Above: P. virgatum ‘Northwind Ozz’. Photograph by David J. Stang via Wikimedia.
One of the most valuable traits of Panicum virgatum as a garden plant is its nearly year-round interest. Although, as a warm-season grass it is slow to start in the spring, after it materializes it keeps embellishing the landscape with an ever-changing color show. From the first fresh appearance of its narrow green or bluish leaves to its mid-summer bloom when the delicate pinkish flowers appear on stalks about a foot above the foliage, it is a subtle but effective accent plant. Fall is the most dramatic season for switchgrass: the foliage turns bright yellow or gold (sometimes tinged with burgundy or red). In winter it fades to a pleasant beige that is considerably enhanced by a snowy landscape.
Keep It Alive
In addition to being ridiculously tolerant of different kinds of soil, switchgrass helps to restore damaged or contaminated areas (think strip mines).
Plant in full sun for the most prolific flowering, best fall color, and upright growth.
Does best in USDA zones 4 to 9.
Deep roots (as long as 9 feet) mean this plant, once established, is extraordinarily drought tolerant and does not require fertilizer.
Wait to cut back dried foliage in early spring as seeds provide nutrition for birds during the winter.
If the centers of clumps die out every few years, dig up, divide, and replant to rejuvenate.
Large plantings of switchgrass can be revitalized through controlled burns.
Above: Switchgrass grows in the botanical garden Red Butte Garden, in the foothills of Salt Lake City, Utah. Photograph by Andrey Zharkikh via Flickr.
Panicum virgatum is a large plant, up to 8 feet high and3 feet wide, but recently developed hybrids are compact and more suited to smaller gardens. ‘Cape Breeze’ is a variety discovered on Martha’s Vineyard that is salt-tolerant, dense and erect with bright green foliage and airy yellow-green blooms. Even in flower, it tops out at 30 inches in both height and spread. Another distinctive short cultivar is ‘Shenandoah’, which is a small vase-shaped plant that turns a striking red-purple color in fall. Like ‘Cape Breeze’, this hybrid gets about 30 inches tall with a similar spread.
Other popular ornamental cultivars include the blue-leaved ‘Cloud Nine’ which can reach 8 feet when in flower and changes color to bright gold in autumn. ‘Dallas Blues’ is somewhat shorter at 6 feet but makes a good specimen plant with its vertical habit and powdery blue foliage that turns copper in the fall. ‘Prairie Fire’ sports bright red foliage in early summer, which later converts into a buttery yellow. This upright plant can reach 5 feet in height.
Above: Panicum virgatum ‘Shenandoah’ grows in Fairfax, Virginia. Photograph by David J. Stang via Wikimedia.
But switchgrass is not a plant to be strictly classified as ornamental. It has a number of agricultural and commercial uses such as pasture and hay for cattle and sheep. It can be pressed into pellets that are used as fuel and research is ongoing into its use in the manufacture of a textile fabric that could be a more environment-friendly substitute for cotton. Scientists believe that in the future switchgrass may be used to create a sustainable biofuel which would be far more energy efficient to produce than ethanol which is made from corn. So enjoy this plant as a decorative accent in your garden, but respect it as a valuable environmental workhorse.
I’ve always known in theory that if you plant spring-flowering bulbs (such as tulips, daffodils, crocuses, and alliums) you can fill your garden with successive waves of color for three months while you wait for summer. But in my garden, after the spring flowers on the azaleas and rhododendrons fade? Nothing—until June. I eye my neighbors’ more colorful gardens with envy and initiate late-night talks with my husband about why this is the year we should hire a landscape designer.
This fall I plan to be proactive and plant bulbs—which I know is a thing you do in autumn because one year I went to our local nursery and asked for alliums. I’m particularly enamored with the extraterrestrial look of alliums, with their large pompom heads and tall, slender stalks. But it was during the height of summer, and the nice lady who worked at the nursery had to break it to me that I’d have to wait until September or later for the bulbs to be available for purchase. Like many other bulbs, they are planted in the fall and bloom in the spring, she told me, with the not slightest bit of disdain.
A job requirement for working at nurseries must be an uncanny ability to refrain from rolling one’s eyes when asked idiotic questions. Thankfully, my interview with Barbara Pierson, nursery manager of White Flower Farm, in which I asked beginner questions about spring-flowering bulbs, was conducted over email. (Thank you, Barbara, for not inserting any eye-roll emojis.) Here’s what I learned:
Q: What are bulbs, anyway?
Above: Tulip bulbs ready for the planting. Photograph by Meredith Swinehart.
A: A bulb is “essentially a storage organ” for plants, says Barbara; all the food they need is concentrated in a compact, onion-shaped mass. “True bulbs have scales which are fleshy and become leaves after the bulb begins to grow.” They’re often lumped together with corms, rhizomes, and tubers, because they all grow underground and produce plants, but they are different. Corms don’t have scales; rhizomes grow horizontally and can produce more plants, and tubers have eyes (like potatoes) that can grow into sprouts or roots. (See Everything You Need to Know About Bulbs and Tubers for a roundup of some of our favorite springtime bulb and tuber flowers.)
Q: Which bulbs are the easiest to grow?
Above: Barbara recommends ‘Globemaster’ alliums. “They are easy to grow and most times, will flower the first year after planting in the fall,” she says. “Plant them four to five inches below the soil line in a border close to other perennials so the foliage is hidden when it dies down during and after flowering. Remembering to let bulb foliage die down naturally is the key to having them come back year after year.” Photograph by Justine Hand.
A. “Bulbs are a great beginning for gardeners because they don’t need special growing techniques or knowledge,” says Barbara. (This is music to my ears.) Since the nutrients are stored in the bulb, “fancy soil preparation” isn’t necessary. The hardest part may be figuring out which way to orient the bulb when you plant. For this reason, Barbara recommends big bulbs such as daffodils, tulips, and alliums: “The larger the bulb size, the more obvious the roots, which helps when determining which side is up.” Of the three, daffodils and alliums have the longest-lasting blooms, though heat and/or rain can shorten their flowers’ life span. (See Everything You Need to Know About Ornamental Alliums.)
Q: When is the best time to plant bulbs?
A: Now. But if you have plans this weekend, don’t fret. “The planting time for bulbs is a long window of time during fall,” says Barbara. “Rule of thumb for most is to have them root in for six weeks before the ground is frozen. The ground doesn’t freeze here in Connecticut until early to mid-December. In most areas, September through mid-November is prime time.”
Tip: Tulips can be damaged by warm soil, so they are planted later in warmer zones. If you’ve already bought your bulbs but the weather is still balmy, be sure to store them in a cool, dry place, like a garage, basement, or pantry. “A refrigerator is not necessary and can actually force them into early flowering once planted,” she says.
Above: Low-growing crocuses are among the first bulbs to flower in early spring and look like a colorful carpet if you plant the bulbs in a lawn. After the flowers fade, you can mow the foliage along with the turf. Photograph by ChelseaWa via Flickr.
A: Choose a sunny spot. Consider adding bulb food in the hole before you plant. “It isn’t necessary but can produce larger blooms for a longer period,” says Barbara. Water your bulbs after planting. If there’s ample rain in the fall, you don’t need to water again, but if there’s a dry spell, you should water them a few more times. For more on how to properly plant bulbs, see Gardening 101: How to Plant a Bulb. And for a chart on which bulbs bloom when, go here.
A: To avoid the sad, sparse look of a lone tulip swaying in the breeze or a single row of spaced-out alliums, plant in clumps (not rows) and plant them closer than the instructions recommend, says Barbara. Her tips for specific bulbs: “For allium, you will plant them in threes. For daffodils and tulips, ten to twelve in a group is best. I like when they emerge looking like a bouquet of flowers ,and large swaths or drifts of blooms planted closely is beautiful. For daffodils and tulips, I only give them two to three inches apart. For crocus and minor bulbs such as Eranthis, plant them in groups very close together for a great show in spring.”
Squirrels make it look so easy. But digging a deep, narrow hole to plant bulbs can be a challenge.
Bulb planting tools reduce the hard work by grabbing dirt in a cone when they are pushed into the soil, creating a bulb-ready hole. The simple rule of thumb I was taught is that bulbs need to be planted in a hole about three times as deep as the bulb is wide. Simple short-handled hand bulb planters are perfect for small planting jobs. For bigger jobs or particularly stubborn soil, get off your knees and consider a foot-powered, long-handled bulb planter.
Make the job easier this fall. Here are ten of our favorite bulb planters, from modern to vintage (like the one in the top photo, via Etsy).
Hand Bulb Planters
Above: The Burgon & Ball Steel Bulb Planter is endorsed by the Royal Horticultural Society. It features a deeply serrated edge for easy insertion into dirt, as well as convenient depth markings; $27.95 from Terrain.
Above: The Sneeboer Hand Bulb Planter is handmade in Holland of solid stainless steel; $89 at the Garden Tool Company.
Above: The Joseph Bentley Short Handled Bulb Planter is stainless steel with a wood handle, and features a 4-inch scale to measure planting depth; $59.99 through Amazon.
Above: Made of boron steel with a hardwood ash handle, the Small Bulb & Crocus Planter by DeWit measures 10 inches in length and creates holes about 1.5 inches in diameter. DeWit Tools has been producing hand-forged Dutch garden tools in the north of Holland since 1898; $20.99 at Amazon.
Above: The Hand Bulb Planter by Ames has a wooden handle; $4.56 at Hardware World.
Long-Handled Bulb Planters
Above: The DeWit Double-Handled Bulb Planter enables you to make a hole and deposit the bulb in one step: “Simply place a bulb into the cone-shaped reservoir created by the blades, drive the blades into the ground, and open.” The ash handles are 30 inches long, and the hinge doubles as a step for foot-driven power; $87.36 at Amazon.
Above: The hand-forged Traditional Bulb Planter features a one-piece stainless steel digging end and a wide T-handle. It has a convenient footstep to help power the tool into the soil; £89.95 from Sarah Raven.
High levels of arsenic and lead in the soil, a decrepit factory building, a courtyard roofed over with half-rotted plywood and tarpaper, a courtyard paved in concrete—we’ve all heard this Brooklyn story at least once. But surprise, there’s a happy ending for one garden on an industrial block in East Williamsburg.
When FABR Studio + Workshop partners Tom Dalmus, Bretaigne Walliser, and Eli Fernald discovered the skeleton of a 700-square-foot courtyard while remodeling a building for clients, they were able to see beyond the grit. They decided to site their company headquarters in a first-floor studio space (see the interiors today on Remodelista) and—in a genius move—to install steel factory doors to connect their office to a courtyard garden.
The problem? The plan required them to create a courtyard garden from scratch, which required a leap of faith. “We dug up the whole concrete floor—broken slabs and dirt—and removed layers of plywood and tarpaper, and rebuilt a garden wall,” said Bret. “At that point we tested the soil—and it was shockingly high with lead and heavy metal. It was essentially a brown field site.”
The solution? They remediated the dirt below the concrete with ground-up fish bones and fish meal (to render the heavy metals inert) and carted topsoil one wheelbarrow at a time to create a healthy foundation for plants. “It took a week and smelled like low tide for days, but the plants are absolutely thriving,” said Bret.
The result? Magic. Read on and see if you agree:
Photography by Matthew Williams.
Above: “We’ve been building up and layering the palette out there,” said Bret. Potted plants clustered at the edge of a koi pond include tropical caladiums, a decorative orange tree, and a lime tree.
In a neighborhood where rusting construction cranes and corrugated sheet metal are far more common sights than butterflies and bees, Fabr Studio created an oasis both for themselves and for the next generation of both insects and humans (Bret and Tom are partners in life as well as in work, and have two young children who have named all the fish).
Above: “We dug a drop-level koi pond and lined it with concrete brick, and started with some koi and some goldfish,” said Bret. They reproduced so there are more babies.”
The fish live year-round outdoors. “You can get a little pond warmer with a heater, to create an oxygen hole when it ices over,” said Bret. In the winter when ice on the surface of the pond is thick enough “to ice skate on,” the fish hibernate at the bottom, she said.
Above: In a garden bed anchored by a Japanese black pine tree (at center), purple morning glory vines are trained to grow vertically on a string trellis. Grow your own with our tips: Morning Glory: A Field Guide to Planting, Care & Design.
“In the beginning we were worried because we planted two apple trees ad then worried there were no bees because it was an industrial area,” said Bret. “But there was a bar on corner which has a flower garden on the roof—and beehives.”
The bees fly from the roof down to the Fabr Studio garden to drink water and then return to their hives. “They pollinated our apple tree and all the flowers and the tomatoes,” said Bret. “There’s a thriving little bee colony although the rest of the neighborhood is like a wasteland.”
Above: Wisteria, alliums, verbena. Plant the same against a wall.
“Oh my God, the garden is incredibly therapeutic,” said Bret. “We live about ten minutes away in a loft apartment with our two toddlers. When we were finally able to build this place and have the garden, it was a wonderful opportunity to have space for the kids to come hang out.”
Not shown: plastic inflatable pools, water guns, and the barbecue grill that appear on the weekend. “This garden goes high, it goes low,” said Bret.
Above: On the roof are morning glory vines and trailing juniper.
“We’ve been trying to have a little bit of a biodynamic scenario,” said Bret. “We bought lady bugs to deal with the lacewings.”
Above: A wild rose (dug up from Tom’s parents’ Cape Cod garden in Wellfleet) covers the brick wall.
Above: The garden spills into the indoors, where portable desks on wheels can be moved out to make room for events.
Above: Bret and Tom, no water guns visible.
If you’re designing a courtyard garden from scratch (or any kind of urban attempt at nature), see our curated Garden Design 101 guides for tips. If lead, arsenic, or other contaminants are a concern, read more:
Golden hues, textured walls, and sink-into-comfort seating are just right for the cocooning season ahead. See five of the Remodelista editors’ favorite design ideas for an autumn palette:
Paint Splatters
Above: Chairs called “Ginger” and “Fred” from the Frank collection by Rolf Sachs sport a playful paint splatter pattern.
“With soulful interiors and floaty, romantic curtains,” a bedroom at Casa Privata in Italy is “straight out of a Michelangelo Antonioni film,” writes Alexa. See more in this week’s Steal This Look post.
“Tadelakt is a traditional Moroccan wall surfacing technique composed of lime plaster and black soap made from olives,” writes Meredith. Among its many benefits: no grout, no seams, and it’s naturally mold and mildew resistant. Read more in this week’s Remodeling 101 post.
Building-Block Sofas
Above: Blu Dot’s Cleon Sectional Sofa is available as components, armchairs, and ottomans in three different upholstery options. The Cleon Medium Sectional Sofa, shown, is $3,299 at Blu Dot.
Modular sectional sofas “are designed to be separated, stacked, arranged, and rearranged. They function particularly well for the indecisive designer, frequent remodeler, or a family of climbers and fort builders,” writes Alexa. Read more in this week’s 10 Easy Pieces post.
Paint Trends: Matching Trim
Above: Wife and husband architect team Zoe Chan Eayrs and Merlin Eayrs matched the paint color on the trim to the Verde Luana green marble in the bath of their own home in London. Photograph by Michael Sinclair, courtesy of Chan + Eayrs.
Attention, D.C. readers: Monarchs are on the move this week. Plant some milkweed in your garden now to help the butterfly population increase next year.
Minnesota, are you headed into the garden this weekend to plant your spring crocuses? Consider it your civic duty.
The 220 African American women and men who helped build Norfolk, Virginia’s botanical garden in 1938 were paid less than white workers—and prevented by segregation laws from visiting it until the mid 1960s. Now the garden wants to ID them to honor them at its 80th birthday celebration. If you can help, contact NBG.
