Innholdsfortegnelse for 2017 i Small Gardens

When Father Richard Pighini came to minister at the Maternity of the BVM church in Bourbonnais, IL, thirteen years ago, he left behind a spectacular garden he had nurtured for years. What he found outside his new residence was landscaping that could hardly be called a garden and pots of faded plastic flowers flanking the door. Putting his degree in art and design to work, Father Richard designed an enclosed garden next to the rectory. A large gray portico is divided into three small “rooms” of various sizes. Although Father Richard spends time in the space honing his gardening skills, it is also where he greets visitors. Fire-engine-red geraniums and cascading begonias, sunsetorange lantanas, and the brilliant red, yellow, and orange flower bracts of Guzmania, a flashy bromeliad, used liberally…

Over the years, Patti Kommer’s dual-personality backyard in West Des Moines, IA, has repeatedly tested her gardening skills. And so far, she keeps acing the exams. When Patti and her husband, Dennis, bought their home in 1974, the backyard was a sunny expanse of lawn. Easy peasy, right? But their neighbors’ growing trees began casting dark shadows on her gardening ambitions. Now two-thirds of the Kommers’ yard lies in shade. But Patti embraced the changes. By freely experimenting with plants, she learned that a shady yard still can teem with bright colors. Of course, her gardens include hostas—mainstays for shady yards—but they also feature colorful wax begonias, New Guinea impatiens, sedum, and Mexican heather. Sometimes Patti even puts shade-loving plants in sunny spots and vice versa— and finds they often…

Move outdoors. Live outside. That’s the motto of Vancouver landscape-design firm Aloe Designs, which creates gardens that emphasize sustainable resources and virtually guarantee backyard bliss. Principals Caitlin and Owen Black applied the same motto to their own tiny yard, a south-facing, asymmetrical plot that once was a concrete pad adorned with overgrown weeds. They managed to turn a natural disaster into an urban oasis organized with raised beds, a colorful perennial border, and a patio for cooking, dining, and entertaining. The Blacks’ goal for their garden, along with using it to test plants and design concepts, was to grow as much food as possible. So they built raised beds for eggplants, corn, peppers, tomatoes, carrots, and even edible flowers. One 5-by-5- foot bed grows nothing but greens. Potted herbs make…

New York City landscape designer Jeffrey Erb gave a narrow and dreary backyard a broader outlook with warm materials, neutral colors, and lush plantings. Walls now painted a warm charcoal gray support a twotiered trellis system that allows vines to fill the garden, which spans two floors of this Greenwich Village home. The deep color recedes visually and makes the space feel wider than it is. “A neutral background in the garden also allows for focal points to be added and edited over time,” Jeffrey says Bluestone pavers, salvaged from a property teardown out side the city, pair with custom wood decking that runs the length of the small space. Dramatic built-in planting beds function as a retaining wall and provide a wide ledge for seating that augments the vintage…

SNIPPETY DOODAD Precision pruning is easier with the Softgrip Micro-Tip Pruning Snip from Fiskars. The stainless-steel blades stay sharp and swing back into a protective blade cover when not in use. The 6-inch tool was awarded the Arthritis Foundation’s Ease of Use Commendation. $12.99. Fiskars.com A GEM OF A SHRUB It looks like a boxwood, but it’s actually a type of holly known as an inkberry. Gem Box forms a dainty mound 2 to 3 feet tall and wide, making it suitable to keep in containers (in a mild climate, year-round) or plant in the ground. Use several as a small hedge; the plant is even deer resistant. Gem Box grows in sun to part shade. Buy it at garden centers or online at provenwinners.com. TOTE YOUR STUFF Cuter than…

UPCYCLED ELEMENTS are right at home in a funky setting like this. The siding under the front roof peak, fashioned from colorful paint can lids, resembles fishscale tiles. A Mercedes grille glams up the windowbox. And who can resist the artistic take on the white picket fence that flanks this outdoor retreat, clad in rustic corrugated siding and featuring a recycled barn door? The ensemble brings personality-plus to a compact footprint. BOTANICAL IMAGES are always right at home in a garden setting. If you don’t have a vertical wall, fence, or building to hang a picture on, consider adding legs to a frame and letting the artwork stand inside a bed. ON A BUDGET? If you’ve got dowels or posts and a bunch of samesized flowerpots, you can create these…

BEFORE tip Balance the natural attraction of a water feature and plantings with a cozy arrangement of patio furnishings. There’s nothing like the soothing sound of water to add a relaxed atmosphere to a backyard. A pond welcomes wildlife, supports aquatic plants, and helps mask the sounds of mechanized life that surround us. And it’s an ideal addition for a backyard that needs a landscaping feature to help define it. When Hannah and Kurtis Kettler moved into their cottage in Cedar Rapids, IA, a year ago, they inherited a dead tree and a derelict play set that starred in all the views from their back windows and upperstory deck. After chopping down the tree and removing the play set, they were left with a blank slate. That’s when our team…

Nestled among London’s skyscrapers, this urban garden proves that al fresco experiences can be enjoyed above ground level. Katharina Nikl designed this rooftop terrace at New Concordia Wharf, an upscale development created from a 19th-century warehouse, for clients who love to entertain and wanted the space to be cozy and inviting. Ipe hardwood, Western red cedar, and Scottish beach pebbles make up the hardscaping; structures include a floating bench and raised planters built on a steel framework. The Garden Builders, who handled the construction, adjusted the planters on-site to fit the space All that wood and stone provide a natural framework for multiple seating zones. A series of ever-changing plant combinations unifies the garden design by connecting seating areas through repeated colors and textures. Evergreens, olive trees, and climbing perennials…

Flowers are the flamboyant stars of the garden, taking center stage and receiving most of the attention. But they are fleeting, so the supporting plants that set them off are equally important. For Jenn Ferrante of Portland, OR, foliage became her unbridled passion when she discovered the compelling effects of plant combinations. “I especially love pairing black-foliaged plants with gold,” she says. “When you see the deep chocolate leaves of ‘Black Negligee’ snakeroot set against golden Hakone grass, it just makes your eyes pop!” Jenn favors plants with dazzling foliage because they lend multiseasonal interest, are low-maintenance, and come in an array of colors, textures, and structures: “Gardening is my creative outlet. I can spend hours playing with different combinations to see how they look.” Jenn’s corner lot offers room…

Sally Kanin and her husband provided uninhibited backyard space for their children, two boys and a girl, as they were growing up. With the freedom to explore, build, destroy, and learn life’s lessons outdoors, the kids had plenty of space to spread their wings. Once they were grown and the play area was no longer in use, Sally decided that outside play should continue, but this time for the adults. Designing the garden herself, she laid out what would best suit her and her husband in the next stage of their lives The Kanins travel extensively throughout Europe, and their new garden embraces both French and Italian formal design; English roses elevate the mood with color and scent. Meticulously groomed boxwood hedges and pleached Carolina cherry trees offer year-round interest…

A military career like Juan Zetino’s can include plenty of surprises, such as a Christmas Day phone call canceling his scheduled six-month deployment to Guam. Instead, he headed out for an 11-month stint in Afghanistan. While he was away, Juan pored over home-improvement and gardening magazines during his downtime and was inspired to revamp his small backyard once he got home to Camarillo, CA. “The idea came while I was homesick. I decided I would build my own oasis, my own paradise, where I could catch up with family and friends,” he says. “Designing my backyard was the way I released stress.” The project became a hot topic whenever Juan phoned home, as he and his wife, Vicky, chatted about materials, colors, and budgets. With two sons and a daughter,…

The term “xeriscaping” is only about 30 years old, but there’s nothing new about landscaping with drought-tolerant plants. In some regions, it’s a traditional way of life based on climate; in other places, suffering from years of low rainfall, limited water use may be required by local ordinances to conserve resources. Xeriscaping is thriving in the parched Southwest, but there’s also interest in it in typically soggy areas, such as the Pacific Northwest, and it can work successfully nationwide. The practice is nicknamed “smart-scaping” for a reason: Utilizing less-thirsty native species, matching plants to conditions in your yard, and minimizing lawn area can cut your outdoor water usage by more than 50 percent. You’re also likely to spend less on fertilizer and other products and may discover that occasional pruning,…

1 Bigger is better. Because plants can grow more roots in big pots, place them in the largest containers possible. Supersized pots also need watering less often, since there’s more soil to hold the moisture. 2 Be a water wizard. Water when the top inch of soil is dry to the touch. Avoid leaving pots standing in water, which can rot roots and promote disease. Too much water can be as bad as too little. 3 Go the hole way. Every container needs drainage holes. If you want to use a pot that doesn’t come with holes, drill some on the bottom or sides. If needed, raise the pot so excess water can dribble out. 4 Avoid a food fight. Fertilize right. Repeated waterings wash nutrients from the soil quickly.…

An urban garden may be tiny, but it’s definitely mighty enough to serve as an extension of its owner’s personality. Twenty years ago, this space was just a boring cement block attached to a run-down house. Today, it’s lively, invigorating, and personal, thanks to the use of quirky, fun, and bright objects the owner found—and loved—in secondhand shops, garage sales, and local markets. A bold use of color enlivens this eclectic space, with warm reds, oranges, and yellows taking a starring role. Here and there, a dollop of blue tries to cool things down, but the fact that it’s usually a vivid electric blue actually seems to charge up the scheme. Objects are carefully placed in groupings that serve as focal points and create a pleasing sense of balance amid…

INDOOR LIVING heads outside with all-weather furniture settled around a stone fireplace. Outdoor fabric on the pillows and cushions allows them to last longer in the sun and rain. Decorate the mantel as you would in your house, personalizing it to fit your style. Enclosing the garden with a vine- and tree-lined fence makes the space feel cozy. Bring on the s’mores! BAMBOO SHINES like the rising sun on a garden gate, shielding a short variety of bamboo growing behind the gate. Bamboo fences and gates break down in the elements, but some bamboo varieties are more durable than others. Consider covering or storing bamboo items during inclement weather. YES, YOU CAN use cans, not only to serve as mini containers but to edge a path. Using cans of the…

SIMPLICITY sometimes trumps complexity, as evidenced by this welcoming firepit flanked by informal chairs. Using the same stone for the firepit walls and the patio makes the space feel cohesive. Surrounding plantings soften the hardscaping and add height, dimension, color, and texture. A ROW OF LARGE, colorful containers anchors the edge of this patio and gives it the sense of enclosure and scale it demands. The lush clusters of shrubs make the patio feel like it’s always been there—part of the landscape, not something imposed on it. CASUAL AND ELEGANT may seem a bit mutually exclusive, but they figuratively shake hands in this rustic setting. A living wall of greenery brings a sense of warmth and texture that contrasts sharply with the house wall, while the chunky wood-plank table and…

CLIMBING ROSES, clematis, honeysuckle, climbing hydrangeas, and other perennial vines soften the harsh edges of a doorway even when they’re not in bloom. To avoid damaging your home’s siding, train vines to grow on a trellis that’s placed a couple of feet away from the house. Some vines, such as clematis, can twine around a support; others, such as roses, must be gently tied. A GRAVEL PATH lined with plants that leads to the front door gives visitors the impression that they’ve been walking through the woods and have just stumbled upon an enchanted cottage. Plant only perennials, and diligently weed until their foliage shades out weeds. Or use a preemergent weed-control product in early spring. TRELLISES AS PART of a portico are perfect supports for climbing roses. Choose a…

Light traffic is the norm in Friday Harbor, a rural community on San Juan Island in the Pacific Northwest. But what’s there is only yards away from a newly built Craftsman home designed to include a garden. So when designer Steve Schramm of Garden Islands consulted with the home’s architect, they decided on a sunken garden to ensure privacy for the homeowners. Rectilinear poured-concrete walls would fuse a gray clean-lined appearance (great foil for the plants) with long-term durability. Schramm made sure the Zone 7 garden is worth experiencing every month of the year. “I chose things that bloom or reach peak color at different times for full season effects,” he says. “There’s always something interesting, whether they want to look down from their front porch or visit the garden…

BEFORE Too bad about the basketball hoop, but it just had to go to make way for one seriously upscale backyard makeover. The ho-hum shed got to stay, overlaid with an arbor in a design similar to that of an airy new fence that runs along three sides. But bye-bye, concrete: A new brick pavement instantly upped the friendliness factor and inspired the russet stain for the fence and arbor as well as the cushion color for the comfy new outdoor seating. Brick paving didn’t overtake everything, though: Garden beds along the fence and next to arbor posts allowed plants to enliven and soften the hard angles. Containers filled with tropicals, more furniture, lighting, and a grill added the final touches. brighten up with lights LIGHTING IS ESSENTIAL for extending…

Like a well-cut diamond, a small garden can sparkle even when it’s in shade. Start by managing trees, judiciously pruning them to allow sunlight in at various angles. Narrow, columnar evergreen trees and evergreen shrubs add height and screening while casting smaller shadows. Maximize the planting and growing areas by going vertical with climbing plants on walls, fences, and trees. Though most plants bloom best if they get some sun, count on shadetolerant ferns, euphorbias, coral bells, lady’s mantle, and hostas in a wide range of foliage colors and textures to add glitz and glam. Red roses add the rubies to your jewel box garden, and blue-flowered penstemons or salvias add sapphires. But the best color of all in a garden like this? Emerald green. Like a well-cut diamond, a…