Being outside is more important than ever in an increasingly connected world where our attention is focused on screens for most of the day. Outdoor Spaces will inspire you to beautify your yard, porch or patio. Whether you are focused on peace and serenity, looking for gardening ideas, want to build a “fun zone,” plant a space for pollinators or spruce up your deck, you will find ideas and images to motivate and encourage you to get to work! Getting outside is good for the soul—let’s get started.
Finding Inspiration in Pompeii • In the way that we now think of gardens—as spaces outside our homes that serve purposes both practical and ornamental—the earliest gardens may have existed in the ancient city of Pompeii.
Above All • That balcony is more than an oversized windowsill—it’s a living space, a spot for soaking up sunshine or relaxing in the shade, entertaining or chatting with best buds. Make it shine with your individual style.
Adaptable Sedge for Low-Profile Containers • With more than 2,000 wild species growing in varied environments around the world, sedge is a humble star of the plant world, ready to play the luminary in dry shade or support more showy actors in low-profile, tabletop containers.
Black-and-White Chic • Glamorous as a tuxedo, chic black-and-white style fits every personality and every outdoor space.
Enchanting Reading Nooks • First-century BCE Roman orator and statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero believed that “If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”
From Stale to Stunning • In a garden room, a focal point is the reason to look, a place for the eye to settle, an edgy difference.
Elegant Approaches to Privacy • Privacy is such a luxury! We spend so much time working in busy offices and driving on hectic streets that we treasure our solitary moments.
Splendiferous Courtyards • We struggle to find a word to describe the courtyard designed at the turn of the 20th century by architect William T. Sears for the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Splendiferous, maybe. Or pulchritudinous. This courtyard deserves a minimum of four syllables.
Five Ways That Courtyards Reward Us • A courtyard, whether it stands in the middle of a home, behind it or as a forecourt,
Simple & Sophisticated—Cacti & Succulents • Showy containers of desert plants dish out drama—even in cold climates where cacti and succulents aren’t hardy.
Illusions of Space • Make your pint-sized outdoor spaces seem larger than they are. Even the pokiest of gardens may hint at aspects unseen, leaving a bit of ambiguity about where boundaries actually lie.
MEDITATIVE MEDITE RRANEAN • Mediterranean-style outdoor living spaces honor the organic, referencing a leisurely way of life and a relaxed point of view.
Featuring Water • There is nothing in the world quite so refreshing as cool, clean water—even listening to the sounds of its movement feels curative. The presence of water diminishes stress, boosts our mood and helps us unwind at the end of the day.
Creating a Certified Wildlife Habitat
Dining Out! • The phrase al fresco dining conjures thoughts of summer picnics, breakfast on the balcony, barbecue suppers with neighbors.
Five Outdoor Dining Tips from Entertaining Experts
Cooking Up Something Good • Outdoor kitchens are hot, hot, hot! As an expression of our 21st-century love of open-air living, contractors include outdoor cooking areas in spec homes at every price point.
Herb Pots & Planters • Have a sprig of mint in your five o’clock cocktail. Drop a bouquet of rosemary into the sauce as it boils. Shave fresh ginger root over the pork chops on the grill. Fresh herbs add a flavor dimension to foods and fragrant allure to outdoor kitchens.
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