Wave petunias spill over stone retainingon this frontyard landscape.
Photo of a mid-sized transitional front yard partial sun outdoor sport court for winter in Cleveland with brick pavers.

View from front entry back to front yard with amphitheater-like garden.
Mid-sized modern front yard partial sun outdoor sport court in Los Angeles with concrete pavers.

Large traditional front yard partial sun outdoor sport court in New York with a garden path and natural stone pavers.

Inspiration for a small modern front yard partial sun outdoor sport court for spring in Seattle with concrete pavers.

Floating wood and smooth stucco entry wall with stainless mounted address numbers. Decorative gravel in custom modular concrete pads. Contemporary wood bench. Dry stream bed with natural river rock boulders offsets the tight geometry of the entry. Xeriscape drought tolerant landscape plants with succulents, native grasses and shrubs. Plants include Kangaroo Paw, Agave Attenuata, Coleonema 'Sunset', Agave 'Blue Glow', Pennisetum 'Fireworks', Cercidium 'Desert Museum', Salvia Gregii, Escallonia Fradesii, Festuca Glauca, and several varieties of Echeveria. Photos by Dominic Masiello. Plants sourced from budgetplants.com.

The problem this Memorial-Houston homeowner faced was that her sumptuous contemporary home, an austere series of interconnected cubes of various sizes constructed from white stucco, black steel and glass, did not have the proper landscaping frame. It was out of scale. Imagine Robert Motherwell's "Black on White" painting without the Museum of Fine Arts-Houston's generous expanse of white walls surrounding it. It would still be magnificent but somehow...off. Intuitively, the homeowner realized this issue and started interviewing landscape designers. After talking to about 15 different designers, she finally went with one, only to be disappointed with the results. From the across-the-street neighbor, she was then introduced to Exterior Worlds and she hired us to correct the newly-created problems and more fully realize her hopes for the grounds. "It's not unusual for us to come in and deal with a mess. Sometimes a homeowner gets overwhelmed with managing everything. Other times it is like this project where the design misses the mark. Regardless, it is really important to listen for what a prospect or client means and not just what they say," says Jeff Halper, owner of Exterior Worlds. Since the sheer size of the house is so dominating, Exterior Worlds' overall job was to bring the garden up to scale to match the house. Likewise, it was important to stretch the house into the landscape, thereby softening some of its severity. The concept we devised entailed creating an interplay between the landscape and the house by astute placement of the black-and-white colors of the house into the yard using different materials and textures. Strategic plantings of greenery increased the interest, density, height and function of the design. First we installed a pathway of crushed white marble around the perimeter of the house, the white of the path in homage to the house’s white facade. At various intervals, 3/8-inch steel-plated metal strips, painted black to echo the bones of the house, were embedded and crisscrossed in the pathway to turn it into a loose maze. Along this metal bunting, we planted succulents whose other-worldly shapes and mild coloration juxtaposed nicely against the hard-edged steel. These plantings included Gulf Coast muhly, a native grass that produces a pink-purple plume when it blooms in the fall. A side benefit to the use of these plants is that they are low maintenance and hardy in Houston’s summertime heat. Next we brought in trees for scale. Without them, the impressive architecture becomes imposing. We placed them along the front at either corner of the house. For the left side, we found a multi-trunk live oak in a field, transported it to the property and placed it in a custom-made square of the crushed marble at a slight distance from the house. On the right side where the house makes a 90-degree alcove, we planted a mature mesquite tree. To finish off the front entry, we fashioned the black steel into large squares and planted grass to create islands of green, or giant lawn stepping pads. We echoed this look in the back off the master suite by turning concrete pads of black-stained concrete into stepping pads. We kept the foundational plantings of Japanese yews which add green, earthy mass, something the stark architecture needs for further balance. We contoured Japanese boxwoods into small spheres to enhance the play between shapes and textures. In the large, white planters at the front entrance, we repeated the plantings of succulents and Gulf Coast muhly to reinforce symmetry. Then we built an additional planter in the back out of the black metal, filled it with the crushed white marble and planted a Texas vitex, another hardy choice that adds a touch of color with its purple blooms. To finish off the landscaping, we needed to address the ravine behind the house. We built a retaining wall to contain erosion. Aesthetically, we crafted it so that the wall has a sharp upper edge, a modern motif right where the landscape meets the land.

Bring back that sense of carefree pleasure you enjoyed on warm, moonlit evenings with friends, with our 2012 Rose of the Year®, 'Summer Nights'. The blooms have delicate yellow petals blushed with a soft, rosy pink that deepens as it moves to the outer edges. You'll fall in love with this gorgeous new hybrid tea, reveling in its lovely licorice fragrance and exquisitely formed blossoms, whose soothing colors evoke memories of sweetly remembered sunsets! Our 24" patio tree roses are heavy-blooming roses grafted onto a top-quality standard. More compact than the traditional 36" size, they are ideal for today's smaller gardens, as well as for containers of all types. Make a bold statement with this remarkable rose! 24-inch patio tree roses are budded onto a 24-inch trunk. This will make the overall tree, once leafed out and blooming, taller than 24 inches.

Here is the new "Urban Farmhouse"! Home Free's Episode 3 boasts an edible landscape chalk full of apple, pear, and persimmon trees, with blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries, herbs like rosemary, mint, and lavender.

Eric from New Port Richey, Florida shows off his Pro Dunk Platinum Basketball system. It stands of a multi colored slab measuring 24' by 24'. This is a Pro Dunk Platinum Basketball System that was purchased in August of 2011. It was installed on a 24 ft wide by a 24 ft deep playing area in New Port Richey, FL. Browse all of Eric M's photos navigate to: http://www.produnkhoops.com/photos/albums/eric-24x24-pro-dunk-platinum-basketball-system-736/

Jim Walton
Photo of a mid-sized contemporary front yard full sun outdoor sport court in Miami.

Marion Brenner
This is an example of a large modern front yard full sun outdoor sport court for fall in San Francisco with with outdoor playset.

Rich Cox Photography
Photo of a small country front yard partial sun outdoor sport court for spring in Santa Barbara with concrete pavers.

カーテンも不要なプライバシーと大きな開口がもたらす開放感を両立するため、塀で囲った庭に面してのみ大きな開口を設けている。（撮影：粟野展和）
Photo of a mid-sized modern front yard full sun outdoor sport court in Osaka.

Photo of a mediterranean front yard full sun outdoor sport court in Marseille with with rock feature and mulch.

Dry stream bed with natural river rock boulders offsets the tight geometry of the entry. Xeriscape drought tolerant landscape plants with succulents, native grasses and shrubs. Plants include Kangaroo Paw, Agave Attenuata, Coleonema 'Sunset', Agave 'Blue Glow', Salvia Clevelandii, Wilson Olive Tree. Photos by Dominic Masiello. Plants sourced from budgetplants.com.

Marc and his daughter absolutely love the hoop. He was so glad that he went with Pro Dunk Hoops over the Big Box Stores, etc. His Pro Dunk Silver Basketball System is installed on the side of his concrete driveway in front of his residence. The playing area is 39 feet wide and 22 feet deep. His residence is located in Des Plaines, Illinois. This is a Pro Dunk Silver Basketball System that was purchased in March of 2013. It was installed on a 39 ft wide by a 22 ft deep playing area in Des Plaines, IL. Browse all of Marc Z's photos navigate to: http://www.produnkhoops.com/photos/albums/marc-39x22-pro-dunk-silver-basketball-system-594/

写真　新良太
This is an example of a large modern front yard full sun outdoor sport court.

Ornamental Grass, Mums
Inspiration for a mid-sized traditional front yard full sun outdoor sport court for fall in Detroit with a garden path and mulch.

Photo of a large traditional front yard outdoor sport court in Atlanta with a container garden and brick pavers.