The Great Outdoors
With the addition of a pillow or two, a naturally smooth boulder can make a surprisingly comfortable seat that virtually disappears into the landscape when not in use. While you probably wouldn’t want to settle into this seat for a long stretch, a boulder-plus-pillows situation can be just right as a gardener’s break spot.
Calling to mind a fairy-tale structure that wouldn’t look out of place in Tolkien’s Rivendell, this rustic gazebo is sure to enchant garden wanderers of all ages. And while it is romantic, a gazebo’s usefulness can extend beyond cozy tête-à-tête chats: Consider it a lovely meditation or yoga pavilion, teahouse, or spot to take shelter from a sudden rainstorm.
If privacy is hard to find in your backyard, adding a structure like the pergola shown here can be a wonderful way to carve out a quiet nook. The natural, bark-on branches and logs used to create this pergola look beautiful with or without plants trailing overhead. Beneath the boughs, a comfy outdoor sofa and coffee table provide a snug place to sit and chat.
At the end of a stepping-stone path, a pair of Adirondack chairs positioned to face a lush woodland puts nature center stage. But there’s no need to have a sweeping view to make this work — chairs facing a particularly lovely cluster of trees, flowerbed or water feature will work just as well. Bring your coffee and enjoy the morning birdsong, solo or with a fellow nature lover.
10. Bring on the glow. Instantly change the mood of your outdoor seating area in the evening from shadowy to alluring with the addition of subtle outdoor lights. Consider a combination of light sources to create the effect you’d like. For example, make the setting feel romantic with the flicker of candles or subtle glow of downlighting on trees. Use twinkling cafe lights overhead and an inviting outdoor fire pit to set the mood for a backyard party.
9. Plan the position of your seating area. If you’re looking for more reasons to be drawn outside to enjoy your backyard, position your seating area where you can see it from inside. Look for sightlines from the home, like the view from a living room window, and consider the layout of your outdoor seating area accordingly. Catching a glimpse of a sunny lounge or a rocking chair overlooking the garden while inside the house can be enough to tempt you outside.
8. Keep it casual. Outdoor seating areas don’t need to look professionally designed to be inviting. In fact, the opposite is often true. Casual outdoor seating areas can often feel more laid-back and encourage you and your guests to relax. To make an inviting, impromptu outdoor seating area, spread a blanket out on the lawn or take advantage of floor space on the deck with a soft outdoor rug and seat cushions.
7. Anchor under a canopy. Particularly in warm climates, one is naturally drawn to the dappled shade areas under the canopy of a tree or vine-covered veranda. If you have a mature tree in your garden, pull a table or pair of chairs beneath it to take advantage of the leafy shade and feeling of seclusion created by the branches. No mature trees? Consider putting up a gazebo or building an arbor large enough to create shade for a cafe table and chairs.
6. Design for your group size. Whether you often have a couple of friends over after work, host dinner parties or prefer to keep your garden as a private retreat for one or two, design your seating area to best accommodate your group size. If you host the occasional larger party, keep things flexible with a mix of built-in seating and open areas where you can easily set up a folding table and chairs.
5. Carve out multiple areas. Conversely, create multiple destinations in a backyard or on a terrace, with two or three seating areas, each with a different purpose. The designer of this city roof deck in Paris divided the space into three seating areas, each with specific use: a trio of chairs for hosting a small group, a built-in seating nook for reading — or extra seating for larger groups — and a single lounge for relaxing and enjoying the sunshine. This strategy can maximize utility in a small space and provide plenty of reasons to get outside.
3. Create a sense of privacy. Make your backyard seating area feel like a secluded retreat, rather than a place where you’re on display to neighbors, with the use of hedge plants, trees, fencing and arbors. Screening can be key in making small urban gardens feel inviting. In larger gardens, increasing the privacy around an outdoor seating area — such as surrounding a dining table with hedges and lush boarders — can help make a space feel more intimate.
Are there ways to make your backyard lounge look and feel more comfortable, such as with cozy throw blankets or colorful pillows? If you have an outdoor table, consider placing small potted plants such as herbs or succulents as living centerpieces. If the fences surrounding your outdoor room look empty, plant flowering vines to trail up the sides or hang accent pieces like antique lanterns for interest.
2. Treat your outdoor room like your living room. We go to great lengths to make the insides of our homes feel inviting — investing in comfortable furniture, adding layers of color and texture with textiles, choosing accessories for tabletops — and we should bring the same intention to our outdoor spaces. Try adopting the mindset you would use when arranging your living room as you consider your outdoor seating area.
We’re immediately drawn to certain outdoor seating areas: a table and chairs under a shady veranda, a lounge overlooking a view of the garden, chairs drawn up around a fire pit. If you have an existing seating area or are considering adding one to your back lawn or patio, take a look at these ideas to make your outdoor gathering place a little more alluring. 1. Mimic the look of your dream vacation spot. Set the scene for relaxation by styling your outdoor seating area with design details that remind you of being on holiday. If you have fond memories of dining alfresco in the Italian countryside, look for ways to pull the look and feel of Tuscany into your backyard by using crunchy, warm-toned gravel and bistro-style furniture. Dreaming of beach vacations? Style your outdoor seating area with lounge chairs, seafoam green cushions and glass lanterns.
If your garden is very dry, then you might consider taking inspiration from a dry region of the world. Certain plants instantly evoke warm, dry climes — like lavender, thyme, rosemary and other gray-leaved drought-loving plants. Team these with some warm-toned gravel, stone and terra-cotta pots to achieve the kind of Mediterranean look seen here. Many drought-tolerant plants also are high in aromatic oils, so you’ll get the bonus of scent.
Planting styles, like any other style, can fall in and out of fashion. One of the strongest and most fashionable movements in planting right now is perennials combined with ornamental grasses, planted in large swaths akin to a meadow. Inspired by the flowers of natural prairies, it is a look full of movement, light and color. Good perennials to combine with grasses include Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’, knautias, alliums, poppies and kniphofias.
Ornamental grasses are infinite in their subtle textures, colors and outlines. They work well when set against clean, modern lines and are generally low-maintenance too, making them an ideal choice in many urban gardens. Their wonderfully translucent flower heads catch low morning or evening light, and this, coupled with their ability to move in the slightest breeze, adds life and welcome movement to any outdoor space.
Mossy stepping stones form an understated stairway up a wild slope. Allowing steps to weather in place — collecting moss, lichen and small plants to grow between them — makes stairways look more like a natural part of a landscape than a man-made addition. To keep steps from getting slippery, scrub the areas where your foot lands on the tread with a rough brush.
Although raw-edge stone steps are more commonly used in naturalistic landscapes, they can also work well in juxtaposition to modern design. Here, rough granite steps form a pathway between contemporary retaining walls made of Cor-Ten steel. As the steel is exposed to moisture, its surface forms a rusty patina that picks up the flecks of warm brown in the gray granite.
This pathway could easily have been left without any steps as a gradual slope. However, the use of a handful of caramel-coloured , uneven stone slabs laid horizontally across the pathway, creates a transition from the house to the adjacent studio.
Fairy steps : pillars of cut black basalt that are sunk into the hillside form an unusual stairway from one garden level to the next amid a lush carpet of baby’s tears and woodland ferns. The stairway design could work well in a romantic woodland retreat, an Asian-inspired garden or as part of a contemporary garden.
A pathway of granite slabs bordered by chunky granite boulders curves down a slope from the front of this home to the street. The expanse of gray stone was softened with a mix of low-water Mediterranean perennials and ground covers. Clumps of lavender and tangerine-colored sun rose billow over the tops of the boulders, while woolly thyme fills in the cracks between the stairs.
In this serene garden, a large urn provides a striking focal point at the top of basalt stone stairs. The rich basalt stone complements the color palette of the surrounding foliage of blue-green, silver and chartreuse.
Turn to natural stone both for its beauty and its ability to withstand high traffic and exposure to the elements. It’s hard to beat the durability. Here, sturdy boulders with the flattest side exposed act as steps to the garden’s upper level. The partially buried boulders appear as if they were naturally a part of the coastal hillside.
Natural stone steps encourage one to slow down and appreciate the lush cascade of bold-leaved hostas, delicate ferns and clipped boxwoods that bank the stairway.
Faced with a steep slope on either side of your front yard path ? Use chunky granite boulders to retain soil, and then granite slabs for steps to the front door. To soften the entry, plant lavender and woolly thyme at the base of the steps.
In contrast to engineered paving materials, which are generally smooth and uniform, natural stones often have irregular surfaces and rough, uneven edges. Using them as steps in the garden can be an intentional way to slow travel from one elevation to the next, turning the path into a journey. Natural stone steps complement many styles of gardens, from ferny woodland glens to arid desert hillsides. Steps made of thick slabs of salvaged granite look right at home in this hillside. A combination of native ferns, shrubs and ground covers act as a seamless transition to the surrounding forest. To add stability to the stairs, each slab of weathered granite was dry-laid on a compacted crushed-stone base.
Matrix gardens tend to look good year-round, given their dense structure and attention to texture, varying heights and interplay among plants. Grasses, sedges, seed heads, barren stalks and empty branches all play key roles in both the garden’s style and wildlife value from summer through winter and on into spring. Wildlife will come to seek shelter, eat seed heads or, in the case of some pollinators, overwinter inside stems or under leaf litter. If you use plants native to your area, the sustainable and ecological value of your matrix garden will greatly expand. While such a garden may take a bit of research early on — learning how plants compete in the wild and with one another — it will be well worth it in the end. These gardens often are self-guiding, with each year revealing something new. Of course, you may need to thin some plants or make replacements, but that’s part of any garden — and also part of the fun.
Designing a matrix planting isn’t just about aesthetics and how plant forms play off and against one another. It’s also about how the plants work together above and below the ground. Competitive plants should be planted among competitive plants so that they can control one another. This competition may manifest in the aggressiveness of their roots or how quickly they self-sow. Well-behaved clumping plants should be placed among other slow-to-spread plants. Root structure is another element to be aware of. Place plants with deep taproots among plants with shallower fibrous roots so neither outcompetes the other; each will have its own level to pull resources from.
Keep in mind that these plants all have different soil and moisture requirements, as well as various root systems. They should be matched to one another and the other matrix plants. Small shrubs and trees can be used to add a last, artistic layer to the garden, often to frame a view, serve as a focal point or guide us down a path. A few larger sculptural perennial forbs, or herbaceous plants, scattered throughout also add interest to the designed wildness.
Try including clumps or sweeps of flowers for every season.
The base of a matrix planting is almost always made up of sedges, grasses or both. These plants form a background, ground cover or green mulch that visually ties the landscape together and also provides real sustainable bonuses. They outcompete weeds by shading the soil and create wildlife habitat in the form of a dense cover. Plant sedges close and in plug form for the base of a thriving, low-care landscape, then plant sweeps of taller ornamental grasses for their fall color and winter seed heads. After the ground layer, look to seasonal displays of diverse flowers to place in clumps or drifts. These plants can be the same height as or taller than the matrix sedges and grasses. Plants that are all the same height provide a softer and less imposing view — especially suited for front-yard gardens where you don’t want a “weedy” look. Seasonal flowers that are a bit taller add an exciting architectural texture that mimics nature even more closely. You can have just a few flowering plants or have a lot, but generally 50 percent flowers and 50 percent sedges and grasses is a good baseline.
A matrix planting is designed to emulate the look and function of a natural ecosystem found in the wild. By using plants’ strategies for competition, and siting plants correctly, we can create a sustainable landscape that reduces human inputs, from water to fertilizer to trimming and more — and also cuts down on maintenance. A matrix garden often combines elements of a meadow or prairie with a tiered and flower-based garden. This means it feels familiar to us while opening up new ecological design possibilities (accepting what looks at first to be a bit messy).
Natural rock features help the outdoor areas blend into their surroundings and overcome challenges that come with a steep slope.
Natural materials such as wood and stone have been skillfully used in this award-winning project. Natural stone makes the outdoor dining area a highlight, and the same stonework appears on the built-in barbecue.
Permeable lawn and stone areas surround the artfully arranged pavers and bench.
This barbecue area is set up well for entertaining, with seating for guests plus plenty of counter space for drinks and nibbles
“Lifescapes” sum up what landscape designers try to achieve in every project: outdoor rooms that extend your living space, enhance your home’s functionality and style, and add value in the process. Design elements of the house repeat in the garden, linking the two spaces. The wide pavers echo the dimensions of the house, for example.
Love the greenery all over unusual places !
The key to positioning a backyard cafe table in a way that feels intimate is to nestle it right up against some tall greenery. Plants feel softer and more inviting than a fence or wall while still helping to add privacy and buffer sound. For maximum privacy, place your cafe table at the end of a curving path, so it’s not immediately visible from the house.
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