Do we encourage illicit cultivation? Bet on it.

We recently reported on the efforts of a cadre of guerrilla gardeners whose mission is to beautify ugly, untended public spaces—vacant lots, busy intersections, traffic circles—by planting wildflowers or tossing "bombs" of seeds into the dirt. Join the movement.

Above: Seed bombs from Commonstudio—500 seeds packed in clay and compost—break open and germinate within a week. Image via Kaufmann Mercantile.

Above: A six-pack of Seed Bombs, available in six specially formulated regional mixes—California, the Southeast, the Southwest, the Northeast, the Northwest, and Lonestar—is $7.90 from Kaufmann Mercantile.

Above: The perfect tool for "planting" a seed bomb—a Wood Slingshot, made from buckthorn branches and natural latex tubing. It's $21 from Kaufmann Mercantile.

Off the coast of Washington state, a 25-acre family compound on Decatur Island feels like summer camp: there's whale watching, and sailing, and hiking, and, in the distance, views of the rest of the San Juan archiepelago.

Designed by Seattle-based architects Tom Bosworth and Steve Hoedemaker as a cluster of buildings where family members can both come together and retreat to their own personal spaces, the Nettly Wood Compound has a master cabin, a picnic pavilion, a guest cabin, a writer's hut, and a renovated barn. Sited on a slope to take advantage of views and natural light on the wooded parcel, the structures are connect to one another by a single path:

Photographs via Bosworth Hoedemaker.

Above: Porches are deep enough to invite family members to sit outside even in the rain.

Above: The renovated barn.

Above: Buildings are connected to one another by a single, continuous footpath.

Above: Trees cut down during construction were milled for timber framing.

Above: The structures were sited for both privacy and scenic views.

Above: A secluded writer's hut is on the edge of the woodland.

Above:

Above: Full height windows capture views. (N.B.: For 40 more images of Family Compounds, see our Gallery of rooms and spaces.)

I love a garden I can push around.

Thank you, Santa Monica-based FoodMap Design, for a planter on wheels—easy to move indoors if the weather is bad or just to the far end of the patio, to get a few more hours of sunlight:

Above: A FoodMap Container, made from recycled milk jugs, has a contoured drainage system and reservoir to prevent plants from sitting in standing water. Available in two sizes, it costs from $139 to $149 from FoodMap Design.

Above: A weather-resistant frame of metal tubing and rubber casters make the planter a practical choice for both outdoor or indoor use.

Let’s face it, L.A. is not too pretty. You have to love mid-Century in a sick, weird way not to recognize that the city is home to some of the ugliest spots in the world. I’m thinking of Melrose and Highland, say, or La Brea and Santa Monica. There’s even a Twitter feed called LA’s Ugliest Intersections. Now, often I like L.A. very much: blue skies, palm trees, the Paramount gate, scent of jasmine, lavender evening light... But the rest of the time, living in L.A. is like substance abuse: it’s bad for you, at heart you don’t want this to be happening, but somehow, everyday, you find yourself still locked into it.

Sometimes I want out. I want to rest my eyes on something that is not modeled after the soulless 1950s, something that’s not avocado green or institutional orange or shaped like a kidney bean and made of plastic. I want freedom from the daily asphalt. I want to escape from the fierce and changeable god of the 405 and get into some deep, raw nature.

Photographs by Amy Wilentz, except where noted.

Above: Image by Michael Hartley, via Flickr.

Oddly my escape from the rule of macadam begins by driving north on the freeways for six hours. And this, only to end up on a narrow span of highway that vaults precariously over the pounding Pacific Ocean, and then winds and winds around hairpin turns over oceanside cliffs so steep you have to avert your eyes in order to believe you’re not going over. You’ll recognize in this a description of California Highway 1, if you’ve been on it -- even just once.

But fear (the kind that doesn’t end in death) offers release, and for me the high drama of the car trip from L.A. to Big Sur is an integral part of my annual rehab.

So far we haven’t died on the road, and eventually we arrive at Deetjen’s Big Sur Inn. Because I’m so keyed up from the excitement and terror of the coastal route, the colossal peace of the Big Sur coast acts on me like a sudden injection of tranquilizer.

People might claim we stay at Deetjen’s because we’re cheap. And we are, okay? But that’s not why we stay at Deetjen’s.

We stay at Deetjen’s first of all because it’s beautiful; it’s on the National Register of Historical Places. Its arrangements and its architecture all summon up an old California of postal routes and grizzled hermits, of mining towns in the 1880s and later, of hippies and artists living way off the grid. It’s beautiful in the way most things made by man in Big Sur are beautiful: slapdash, cobbled together, unplanned, slammed up against the mountains and redwoods and facing the sea not far away.

Above: The dining room at Deetjen's. Image by See Monterey, via Flickr.

One way to describe Deetjen’s is that some of the rooms don’t have private baths. Another way to describe it is that some bathrooms have windows in the shower, looking out at the spectacular redwood forest behind the hotel. One way to describe it is that the walls between rooms seem to be made of some preternaturally sound-carrying material; it’s as if you were living in the same room as the guests next door -- or even in their bathroom, or their bed. Another way to describe it is that each room is eccentric, cabin-like, comfortable and unexpected.

Above: The view on the hike behind Deetjens.

I also stay at Deetjen’s for the guest books. These are books dating back to the 1990s and sometimes earlier that guests are supposed to sign. But Deetjen’s guests never do exactly what’s expected. Instead of just signing and saying, “Great spot!,” they wax on for pages. There are themes in these books.

One theme is that people come to Deetjen’s to have sex, which is a funny thing, considering everyone can hear everything, but maybe that’s the appeal. Another is that Deetjen’s and Big Sur are places of spiritual renewal, which sounds flaky, especially when surrounded on the page by little hearts and lipstick kisses. Many entries combine these two themes. “Beloved” is a favorite word. So is “faith.” Other writers work on a more material level, discussing Deetjen’s food (very good), or the flowers and trees of Big Sur (very impressive) or the overheard sexual and bathroom activities of their neighbors (also impressive). Snoring is a big theme. So is flushing. So are squealing and moaning.

My favorite entry of all time, however, went something like this: “This place sucks. No bar, no phones, no wireless, no service, no television, no spa, no action. We’re out of here. Brad and Tammy, Fresno.”

Above: Lacecap hydrangeas at Deetjen's.

Brad and Tammy couldn’t have summed up more succinctly why Deetjen’s in Big Sur is the ideal place to escape.

One other thing: the Esalen Institute, the historic New-Age hippie retreat, is only a half an hour down the coastal road from Deetjen’s. You can book a day visit to look at the grounds and the magnificent vegetable garden, and then go for a massage. This entails getting there early and soaking in the sulphurous hot-spring tubs that hang out over the Pacific (nude, did I mention? The faint-hearted can wear bathing suits). You can whale watch while your skin softens and your mind goes blank. If that’s spiritual renewal, I’m in favor.

I can’t think of a better solace for the personal, cultural, and physical wounds that LA inflicts than these tubs… and the massage that follows. Some more memorable massages have included swaddling, lullaby humming, ear-blowing, and most famously, the masseuse ending up beneath the massee.

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Above: Rock roses at Deetjen's.

Some of the massage associates – or whatever they are called – are beautiful young hippies from France and Amsterdam. Others are local mothers. I once had a masseur at Big Sur who looked suspiciously like the toothless, bewhiskered man I used to see working a corner near a church in Hollywood. Was he actually the guy? I can never know. But although he reminded me of the cares and anxiety of the big city, he worked his wonders, and an hour later, I ended up renewed and spiritual, to say nothing of trembling and ecstatic, and wondering what would be on the menu for dinner at Deetjen’s that night.

After a childhood spent being warned against wild and possibly poisonous mushrooms, it's no wonder I still have an arm's-length relationship with fungi.

But mini mushrooms farms could change that:

Above: Kits from specialty growers, such as California-based Far West Fungi, will grow indoors and are capable of producing multiple crops of shitake or oyster mushrooms. Image via David Ing.

Above: Far West Fungi, which has a retail store in the Ferry Building in San Francisco, offers a Pre-Activated Shiitake Mushroom Farm for $19.50. Image by Dawn Endico, via Flickr.

Above: A Back to the Roots Mushroom Garden is $19.95; grown in recycled coffee grounds, the yield can be as great as 1.5 pounds.

Above: Oyster mushrooms, via Hunger and Thirst. (N.B.: For handmade fungi foraging tools, see "Stalking the Wild Mushroom.")

Here's one to add to the gift-giving list for the gardener in your life (which may well be you): a gardening stool complete with its own tool bag.

Spotted on Materialicious.

Above: The Gardener Folding Chair with Tools offers a foldable 17-inch tall steel-frame stool, a detachable gardening storage bag with exterior pockets, and five gardening tools; $44.95 at Amazon.

Above: The included gardening tools are made of steel with wooden handles.

Above: For more gardening gift ideas, see our collection of Garden Tool Posts in our Gallery of rooms and spaces.

The last time I was in Paris I made a pilgrimage to see the safari-worthy collection of dead wild game at Deyrolle, I wondered why the world's most famous taxidermy store doesn't charge admission; certainly it holds its own against the city's other best-of-breed museums.

The store, established in 1831 by naturalist Jean-Baptiste Deyrolle (whose son grew up to be an entomologist, by the way), is so beloved that a devastating 2008 fire that destroyed 90 percent of the inventory prompted a national outpouring of sympathy and support. Here's a look, via South Acres Farm, at the results of the successful restoration effort:

Above: Parakeets and parrots—and peacocks— on the store's second floor.

Above: A sample of the educational materials—including a large collection of posters of flora and fauna—with which French schools are stocked.

Above: New paneling in the entomology room. Image by Anders Sandberg, via Flickr.

Above: For more about Deyrolle's large collection of botanical posters, see "Flora and Fauna for the Walls."

Above: After the fire, France's minister of culture asked museums throughout the country to donate wooden display cases.

Above: One collector donated 50 boxes of butterflies.

Above: Image by Anders Sandberg, via Flickr.

Above: The 4,300-square-foot store rebuilt its collection of wild game, including a zebra, a tiger, and a lion.

(N.B.: For three more images of Taxidermy as Decor (why aren't there more: discuss), see our Gallery of rooms and spaces.)

Last year a real-life county parks department in Washington state sponsored a contest that sounded like just the sort of thing Amy Poehler would dream up on Parks and Rec: Transform a surplus cargo container into a permanent campground cabin. And make it cozy.

The winner, Seattle-based HyBrid Architecture, already has a Cargotecture line of re-purposed shipping containers—perhaps you saw last year's Sunset Idea House in northern California? For Kings County's Toit-MacDonald Park campground, HyBrid's cabin is designed to sleep four and will have a kitchenette. And it's portable, so it can be moved to different locations in the county's 26,000 acres of parkland.

Above: This Cargotecture cabin is already in use as a guesthouse on a rural property near Seattle. Says HyBrid Architecture's principal and co-founder Joel Egan, "These containers are fun, emotional, curious, and durable." Image via HyBrid Architecture.

Above: Under construction. Soon to be a cabin, the former cargo container has its windows cut, its door installed, and its exterior brushed clean. Next the interior and windows will be framed. Image by Kings County Parks, via Flickr.

Above: HyBrid Architecture collaborated with Sunset Magazine last year to install the Nomade C192. It's a 192-square-foot container home. Image via Sunset.

Above: These doors on the Sunset Idea House open to a deck and let air and light flow through. Image via Sunset.

Above: The C192 has a small kitchen, living space, and built-in-bedding. Joel Egan describes it: "It's a rough shell on the outside, comfortable space on the inside." Image via Sunset.

When writer Calvin Rutstrum's Wilderness Route Finder was published in 1967, it was described in the New York Times, rather drily as, "a camping guide." That was putting mildly.

Chapter One of the wilderness classic was called "Getting Rid of Delusions," and in it, Mr. Rutstrum wrote, "Man cannot walk in a straight line or otherwise maintain a directional course without relying on some tangible clue wholly apart from his own instincts." Fifty years later, Mr. Rutstrum's sound advice for navigating unfamiliar terrain remainsl in print:

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Above: A 224-page softcover copy of Wilderness Route Finder is $18 from Best Made.

Above: Mr. Rutstrum, the author of 15 books (mostly about camping, canoeing, or generally navigating the wilds), died in 1986.

Above: Graphic illustrations to describe and explain such topics as how to use a compass.

Why have we never taken a moment to consider the beauty of the mechanism that lifts the separate panels of an overhead garage door? There's really no faster—or elegant—way to eliminate the standoff between outdoors and in:

Above: An entire kitchen wall disappears instantly, courtesy of a simple system of tracks and rollers. Image via New York Magazine.

Above: From Seattle-based Balance Associates, polished concrete floors, frosted-glass retractable doors, industrial pendant lamps, woodburning stove, stainless utility sink, and bicycle storage.

Above: Borrowed from the garage: A picture window retracts to open a dining room to the sea in Cape Town. Images via Marie Claire Maison.

Above: British Columbia-based Place Architects used an overhead garage door mechanism to open a kitchen wall.

Above: Instant sidewalk seating: the garage door at Cravin Raven Coffee Shop in Portland, OR. Image by Cravin Raven, via Flickr.

Why not let a fiddle-leaf fig tree dominate your dressing room? Via Door Sixteen.

How to Throw a No-Fuss, No-Nonsense Friday Night Dinner Party, via Food 52.

Still life with garden, via The Style Files.

Beach read: How the word "craft" came to mean "cute," via The New Yorker.

Spotted at the new online store Lin Morris, these deck chairs from Gallant & Jones.

Hand crafted in Vancouver, the oak framed chairs come in a choice of fabrics, but we are particularly taken with the Chevron print, exclusive to Lin Morris.

Above: Handmade Deck Chair in a bold ocean blue chevron made from 100 percent high UV polyester; $345 from Lin Morris.

Above: The frame is protected with a natural and hard-wearing outdoor oil, and the adjustable zippered pillow case contains an organic cotton insert.

Above: The Malibu, featuring a classic wide stripe in bright pink, made in 100 percent high UV polyester.

With chapters titles like Wicked Libations and Healthy(-ish) Thirst Quenchers, Gayla Trail's new pocketbook Drinking the Summer Garden has just rocketed to the top of my summer reading list.

Author, designer and photographer Gayla Trail, the woman behind the You Grow Girl blog, is convinced that the summer garden is the most abundant and exciting. "I try to drink it all in, both literally and figuratively before the season ends," she says. Trail has transformed this passion into Drinking the Summer Garden, a finely edited collection of drink recipes with a few nibbles thrown in for good measure. The recipes include both family friendly thirst quenchers (watermelon agua fresca, anyone?) and unusual twists on grownup libations using ingredients from summer gardens and farmers' markets.

Photography by Gayla Trail.

Above: Drinking the Summer Garden is available in digital and paperback formats; $9.95 and $19.95 respectively.

Above: Trail's take on adult summer garden beverages includes enticements such as Raspberry Rose Sangria, a Watermelon Mojito, and Three Lemonades (the hard way).

Above: The "Syrups, Infusions, and Flourishes" section includes a recipe for raspberry liqueur.

Above: Syrup recipes include Lemony Basil, Blackberry Beebalm, and Lavender Honey.

Above: Springs of mint garnish a refreshing limonota.

Admired recently: a clever DIY project from Matti and Megan, the self-proclaimed "plant nerds" of Far Out Flora.

With a few key ingredients (salvaged table legs, a used shipping pallet, and a collection of succulents) and a bit of elbow grease, this duo created an outdoor table that doubles as a mini succulent garden. For more details, visit Matti and Megan's blog, Far Out Flora.

Above: A textured and colorful succulent garden nestled in the center of the table.

Above: Their primary supplies were an old table (to salvage the legs) and used shipping pallets.

Above: Stripping planks from the pallet to make the table top.

Above: Attaching salvaged table legs to the frame made from pallet support boards.

Above: The boards laid on top of the frame before attaching, to ensure proper fit and sizing.

Above: Prior to planting, small holes were drilled in the bottom of the planting bed for drainage. The majority of the succulents are varieties of Sempervivum, Sedum, and a hint of Orostachys iwarenge, planted in fast-draining cactus mix.

Above: The finished product provides a permanent outdoor dining centerpiece.

NB: For another creative outdoor dining table idea, see DIY: Instant Wine Bar.

There’s no question: Every garden is a work of art. But when you add a sophisticated structure with a bolt of color, it has the potential to go from a simple sketch to a modern watercolor.

This runs true regarding the work of landscape designer and artist Jennifer Gilbert Asher. Together with Karen Neill, Asher co-founded Terra Trellis, a sculpture company that creates bold contemporary metal and stainless steel trellises, arbors, and tuteurs for the garden. Being “fascinated by the contrast when bold, clean forms are set in unrestrained beauty of nature,” Asher’s designs are made of hand-welded 15-gauge steel with a sculpted rebar and steel cable; each of the company's nine designs are meant for both small and large gardens. They offer a platform for vines, climbers, perennials, and edibles to grow inside, behind and around--something Asher describes as “a living vertical tapestry.”

We've taken note of Asher's work before (see Outdoors: Ina Wall Trellis by Terra Trellis), but after TerraTrellis garnered accolades at this year's Dwell on Design, we took a closer look at the inspirations and reasoning behind each architectural piece. For more information, go to Terra Trellis.

Above: The Gracie Modern Arbor in Aubergine. Each sculpture is painted in a custom, low-VOC Pantone powder coat; a special technique oxidizes the metal to create a weathered finish. Asher describes her coloring process as being "as important to me as the forms. I'm interested in colors that are naturally occurring in the landscape."

Above: The Gracie Arbor in Kumquat. Each design is meant to support a plant, and also to integrate with it, allowing it to grow and expand to greater lengths.

Above: Pinot Noir Grapevines weave around the Toki Bubble Trellis in Berry. Asher says the trellises can be placed in a garden or patio with plants either rooted in the earth or in a container.

Above: Black Satin Blackberries grow up the Mira Garden Trellis Sr. in Aubergine. Asher notes that when the weather turns cold, the sculptures provide lasting color and context in a setting where the other plants are dormant.

Above: A curious spectator at Dwell on Design walks through the Gracie Arbors in Cloud.

For more garden inspirations, visit our Room Gallery of more than 400 images of Outdoor Spaces.

When Barcelona-based Cristina Merino was dreaming up the biannual Plant Journal publication, she was responding to the recent renewed interest of artists and designers in plants and all things botanical.

Friends of cultish Spanish magazine Apartmento, Merino and graphic designers Isabel Merino and Carol Montpart set out to compile stories all based around the bond between creatives and their plants. The Plant Journal is a healthy mix of fictional stories, interviews with plant-loving artists, and gardening instructions. When a friend of mine dropped off a well-read copy of Issue Two: Monstera Deliciosa, I read the second installment of the magazine in an hour's time. Beyond an inspiring feature on Piet Oudolf, I most enjoyed a short piece on an overgrown Mexican Sedum morganianum in a plumbing shop's window in Hudson, New York.

To find a copy of Issue Two, visit The Plant Journal.

Above: A few copies of Issue One: Staghorn Fern.

Above: Photograph from Flower Waterers by Chris Kabel in Issue Two; Dutch designer Kabel researched making an invisible vase based on a farmhouse chicken water-er.

Above: A piece by contributor Philip Watts on Vines and Small Gardens.

Above: Photograph by Adria Canameras for The Plant Journal.

N.B.: Looking for more reading material? See 72 Required Reading posts in our post archive.

In Southern California, some of the best gardens are off limits—except for one day of the year. Here's a glimpse behind the gates in Venice:

Photographs by Mimi Giboin, for Gardenista.

Above: A dry garden on this year's annual Venice Garden Tour, which showed visitors the private courtyards and backyards and gardens in two neighborhoods: the Gregory Ain tract in Mar Vista and the blocks east of Lincoln Boulevard.

Above: Tillandsias—also known as air plants—in a sunny courtyard.

Above: Succulents, including a variety of drought tolerant succulents, thrive in a dry, sunny spot.

Above: Potted ucculents, pelargoniums, and herbs in a courtyard where a permeable gravel base aids drainage.

Above: A permeable path, edged with drought tolerant perennials.

Above: Low-growing groundcover roses in galvanized metal troughs.

Above: The rough texture of a concrete planter complements the vaguely swollen look of succulents, which hoard water in their leaves.

I know an architect who aspires to be the Ernest Hemingway of architecture; using simple materials, effectively. Here’s an outdoor garden solution of which she would approve.

When Brazilian architect,Philip Scroback built his reinforced concrete house in Sao Paulo (see "A High Style Solution"), he extended the feel of the concrete floor into his urban garden by placing large stone pavers on a bed of gray gravel. The materials for this elegant solution are easy to find and economical; a perfect Hemingway solution.

Above: Large stone pavers make a simple and dramatic impact on the gravel bed. Photograph by Evelyn Müller via FiftyLimited.

Above: 24 in Gray Square Patio Stone; $8.49 at Lowe's.

Above: A bed of Blue Gray Pea Gravel; for more information, visit Bradsher Farms.

Looking to quench summer thirst? Try this easy hibiscus and lime drink.

In my current obsession with hibiscus flowers, we have been drinking hibiscus and lime all summer long (even in England, where the vibrant pink seems shocking with the more subdued hues of the British countryside). It's easy to make: see below.

Photography by Sarah Lonsdale for Gardenista.

Above: I take a handful of hibiscus flowers, put them in a jug with water and leave them to soak in the sun for several hours. Hibiscus flowers can be easily found at any Mexican supermarket in the produce section, but for an online source Amazon offers Dried Hibiscus Flowers for $14.25 for a two-pound bag.

Above: Add the juice of two limes (I like mine pretty tangy) and a little sugar, or honey to taste.

Above: I like the look of the flowers steeped in water and use a tea strainer for pouring. But if you wish to avoid straining, you can soak the flowers in a Drawstring Musln Bag: $4.45 for a pack of 25 from Amazon. Next on my list is a hibiscus cocktail. Still a work in progress.

For another idea with hibiscus, see our post: DIY Hibiscus-Dyed Drop Cloth.

On a broad plateau in West Texas, the challenge was to create a windbreak and to shade an exposed ranch house sited on a slope.

The solution, from Austin-based Ten Eyck Landscape Architects, involved retaining walls, native plantings, and even a mini-orchard:

Photographs via Ten Eyck Landscape Architects.

Above: After noticing that existing pecan trees were thriving, the landscape architects created an orchard of six more near the house to create shade.

Above: Beneath the pecan trees, a dining table amid clumps of native grasses.

Above: A rustic fire pit.

Above: In the garden, the pool's perimeter is defined by masonry retaining walls .

Above: Expansive southern views, from the pool.

Above: Native plants withstand the harsh West Texas climate.

Above: Alongside old ranch roads, native grasses create a visual counterpoint to the vast horizon.

Above: Mesquites line the entry path.

Above: Cast concrete, stone, and drought-tolerant plantings accentuate the beauty of the severe climate, rather than trying to fight it.

(N.B.: For more inspiration, see 225 more images of Texas Gardens in our Gallery of rooms and spaces.)