Join me for cocktails – book review & giveaway!

We have recently purchased a fancy new propane fire pit. It is one of those lovely ones with a tile surround large enough to function as a table for your wine glass and snacks and pretty reflective glass through which the flames dance and flicker. Being propane it is a great option for instant ambience…

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Designing with Water

In my last post A Change in Perspective, I showed you how I had taken advantage of the diagonal line across a rectangular lot to improve the function and make a small garden feel larger. Understanding how to use the line of sight – or axis – is a fundamental design principle no matter how large or…

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A Change in Perspective

It wasn't so much a patio as an apology. I  mean seriously, what are you supposed to do with an 8' x 13'-10" space? Sure you can fit a BBQ on there plus two or three people standing, providing you play doh-si-doh to get in and out of the house. But sitting on a comfy chair?…

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Reclaiming the Garden

I was recently invited to redesign a back garden in Kirkland, WA.   To the homeowners the main priority was a need for privacy from neighboring homes yet to me the biggest challenge was function. How would this couple use their new space and how would they get into it? Before – the challenges   A…

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Enhance your Garden Structures with Foliage

Most gardens contain structures of some sort. Whether a humble garden shed, a child's playhouse, an archway that leads to the vegetable garden or an old weathered bench these are existing garden elements which we may have to work around since they are too awkward or heavy to move. Make the most of them by…

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