This property has a wonderful juxtaposition of modern and traditional elements, which are unified by a natural planting scheme. Although the house is traditional, the client desired some contemporary elements, enabling us to introduce rusted steel fences and arbors, black granite for the barbeque counter, and black African slate for the main terrace. An existing brick retaining wall was saved and forms the backdrop for a long fountain with two stone water sources. Almost an acre in size, the property has several destinations. A winding set of steps takes the visitor up the hill to a redwood hot tub, set in a deck amongst walls and stone pillars, overlooking the property. Another winding path takes the visitor to the arbor at the end of the property, furnished with Emu chaises, with relaxing views back to the house, and easy access to the adjacent vegetable garden. Photos: Simmonds & Associates, Inc.

Striking Texas native botanical design with local river rock top dressing. Photographer: Greg Thomas, http://optphotography.com/

A perfect little seating area next to a heritage orange tree.
Large traditional backyard full sun garden in San Francisco with a vegetable garden and gravel for spring.

Design ideas for a mid-sized traditional front yard partial sun formal garden for spring in Boston with mulch and with flowerbed.

Located in one on the country’s most desirable vacation destinations, this vacation home blends seamlessly into the natural landscape of this unique location. The property includes a crushed stone entry drive with cobble accents, guest house, tennis court, swimming pool with stone deck, pool house with exterior fireplace for those cool summer eves, putting green, lush gardens, and a meandering boardwalk access through the dunes to the beautiful sandy beach. Photography: Richard Mandelkorn Photography

This is an example of a mid-sized traditional front yard shaded garden for spring in Kansas City with mulch.

Perennial Geraniums, Autumn Bride Heuchera, Carex pennsylvanica were planted in massed drifts along this hillside. Vardar Valley Boxwood and Otto Luyken Laurel are used to add some height and evergreen foliage to the planting. The wide, serpentine sandstone slab staircase with generous sized landings are used to create a beautiful walk to the water.

Remodelling the garden to incorporate different levels allowed us to create a living wall of steps, creating the illusion of depth from inside the house

This is an example of a small modern backyard shaded xeriscape for spring in Austin with gravel.

Fall arrangement of kale, mums, peppers, pansies, and plumbago. Hannah Goering Photography
Photo of a large traditional backyard full sun garden for fall in Chicago with a container garden and natural stone pavers.

This veggie bed is accessible from every angle and easy on the back - everything grows right in front of you...no bending over required. Photo Credit: Mark Pinkerton

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.

Jason Morse, AHBL
Traditional sloped garden in Seattle with with rock feature for spring.

After a tear-down/remodel we were left with a west facing sloped front yard without much privacy from the street, a blank palette as it were. Re purposed concrete was used to create an entrance way and a seating area. Colorful drought tolerant trees and plants were used strategically to screen out unwanted views, and to frame the beauty of the new landscape. This yard is an example of low water, low maintenance without looking like grandmas cactus garden.

A wild, native spirit radiates out from within the structured lines and angles of the hardscape - softened by a lush and biodiverse selection of California native plants in a velvety palette of soft silvery grays, greens, and purples with the occasional pop of yellow and orange. Newly planted native Engelmann Oak and feathery Caesalpinia Sierra Sun trees are grounded by weighty golden boulders. White Cloud muhly grass whispers to the ceanothus and flannel bush, while verbena ‘De la Mina’ nestles amongst the buckwheat and artemisia, perfumed by the earthy smell of the endemic ‘Aroma’ Sage. Birds, butterflies, and other pollinators have found their way to this sumptuous wildlife habitat that we’ve created, and their presence brings a delightful song and serenity to the garden.

A beautiful Landscape Design with rustic stone.
Photo of a mid-sized tropical front yard full sun xeriscape for spring in Houston with with raised garden bed and natural stone pavers.

Photo of a large transitional backyard full sun formal garden for spring in Philadelphia with a garden path, natural stone pavers and a metal fence.

Renovated this out-dates terrace to give it a modern twist. This yard is an example of " less is more", with a custom-made concrete and wood bench, matching table, pergola, panel wall, and low-maintenance plants.

Photo of a mid-sized modern backyard full sun xeriscape for spring in Santa Barbara with with raised garden bed, gravel and a wood fence.