Landscaping at its finest

Spring is finally here and I'm super excited to see green stuff outdoors! Seeing so much dirt and snow and dormant vegetation gets seriously depressing by the end of winter. An email from Jeffrey of Jeffrey Gordon Smith Landscape Architecture could not have come at a better time. I blogged his gorgeous outdoor spaces here and here, and this time he wanted to share his latest project in Shell Beach, California. It's a one-bedroom guest house with a LiveRoof and it's a DREAM. Who cares what the interior looks like when you have this outside? I'd be living outside. Just pitch me a tent somewhere...or I'll claim one of the hammocks. (Photos by Chris Leschinsky)

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Franchesca Watson

A garden is evolving, never really finished as it grows and matures. South African landscape designer Franchesca Watson, who trained in the performing and decorative arts before embarking on her lifelong love affair with plants and gardens, brings drama and beauty, sophistication and casual elegance to her outdoor canvases. She connects owners with their little piece of nature through stylish contemporary and neo-classical designs. A beautiful art form perfected by this artisan landscape designer.

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Escape from winter

It's been quite some time since Jeffrey of Jeffrey Gordon Smith Landscape Architecture sent us photos of his latest work. (See previous post here). He emailed recently with a few projects he has recently completed that had me momentarily transported to a land where the greass is green, plants are thriving and it's not below freezing. Just in time for winter! :-) Oh, to live in the tropics like Jo and enjoy the outdoors year round. Anyhoo, these wonderfully landscaped properties are located in California (Santa Barbaram Nipomo, Cayucos and Montecito).

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Warm weather, garden dreaming

It is the end of the week and a girl's mind turns to gardening. Well this girl's does. As the days grow longer and the temperature rises, the leaves burst forth on the branches and long forgotten bulbs shot "surprise" as they pop out of the soil, my day dreams of a lush and lovely backyard may just come true. They would that is if I left them in the creative hands of Sydney-based Secret Gardens. Perhaps a bright yet shady backyard retreat like this first garden in Randwick? Or a more sophisticated and casually elegant garden that marries contemporary landscape with a traditional home in Kensington? Either would be perfect.

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Craving green

I look out at my garden and I see brown. A long dry winter without a hint of good rain and brutal frosts have seen my garden curl up its roots and almost give up. I cajole and threaten but spring is looking lorn at the new old house. For a little fantasy on a dry brown day I have turned to Sydney landscape designer Anthony Wyer. Verdant green and fantasy shapes. Cloud trees and bamboo, pools and spreading canopies of green. I close my eyes and all is beautiful and lush and green. Aaahhhhhh ......

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