Category Archives: Outdoor Living

Prepare Your Home for Trick-or-Treaters

“Is your house ready for Trick or Treaters? You can make your home spooky, but don’t forget they still need to be able to make it to the door without a lot a trouble.”

Denise Buck & Ed Johnson – DC Metro Realty Team

Your home might not need a costume on Halloween, but it does need to be ready for any neighborhood ghosts, goblins or witches who drop by for a treat. If you plan to participate in the festivities, here are a few helpful tips from the American Academy of Pediatrics and National Fire Protection Association to help ensure that trick-or-treaters have a safe, yet haunted, night.

Paul Moon Design

Turn on the light. A front porch light signals to trick-or-treaters that you’re ready for them to knock on the door. If you run out of candy or don’t wish to participate in Halloween, you can let people know by turning off the porch light.

JS Interiors LLC

Display holiday decor. A pumpkin here or a floating ghost there lets people know that you’re excited about the holiday.

JH Designs

Clear a path. If you put out Halloween decor, leave a clear path for anyone coming to knock on the front door. Extra personal objects like bikes, potted plants or children’s toys should also be removed from the sidewalk and porch so that no one trips on them.

Rikki Snyder

Sweep the sidewalk. Fall means leaves littering the ground, which fits the season but could be a slipping hazard. Before trick-or-treaters arrive, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends sweeping away any debris or moisture from the sidewalk or driveway.

Richard Leggin Architects

Check lightbulbs. Once you flip on the front porch light switch, check to see if you have any burned-out bulbs. Replace them so that your front door and steps are well-lit.

Artistic Designs for Living, Tineke Triggs

Turn on extra lights. You may not normally turn on every light in the front of your home, but doing so will assist infrequent visitors who are coming to see you. To make their journey a little easier, switch on any additional lights, such as garage or stair lights. This gesture will help make sure that everyone can safely get to the front door.

Grandin Road

Add safe and festive lighting. A few lanterns along the path put light right at trick-or-treaters’ feet. Battery-operated lights offer illumination without the hazards that come with an open flame, says Judy Comoletti, division manager for public education at the National Fire Protection Association. If you use a real candle, she says, a trick-or-treater’s costume could drape onto it and catch on fire. “If you absolutely need to use a real candle, you have to be more vigilant,” she says.

Homeowners who choose to have open flames need to watch them at all times, keep them 1 foot away from anything that can burn, and sit them on a sturdy, level surface.

Banks Design Associates, LTD & Simply Home

Put away pets. Your family pet may be the nicest on the block, but not everyone knows that or likes animals. You also don’t want your pet to inadvertently hurt any candy-seeking visitors. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that homeowners keep pets inside and away from the door for everyone’s benefit, including the pets’.

Flea Market Sunday

Greet guests. If you plan to spend the whole night passing out treats, sit on your front porch swing or create a seating area for yourself. This lets visitors know that you’re ready for them to stop. Plus you can watch the parade of costumes.

Creole Design

Save Photo

Prepare for a spooktacular evening. Once you have the lights on, decor out and hazards put away, you can enjoy a safe, spooky night in the neighborhood.

By Brenna Malmberg, originally appearing on HOUZZ

7 Drought-Tolerant Perennials for Your Home Garden

“Ever noticed that during the hottest part of the Summer, some plants look better than others? Well, here are some that really don’t need a lot of care or watering.”

Denise Buck & Ed Johnson – DC Metro Realty Team

During the summer, when your lawn and garden is in danger of drying up in the sun, plant these resilient flowers to liven up your yard.

Garden plants need water to survive, but some plants need less than others. Plants that require less water are often referred to as drought-tolerant or drought-resistant varieties and are good choices for gardeners. Keep in mind that just because something is labeled as drought tolerant doesn’t mean that it can get by without any water at all; all plants need adequate moisture to grow. Additionally, not all plants will thrive in all areas, so be sure to choose plants that are suited for your particular growing zone and soil type. Here’s a list of some drought resistant choices that you might want to consider for your area.

Hosta is a perennial that can grow in sun or shade. Known for their easy care, hostas have showy leaves and come in a variety of sizes with white or lavender flowers. When choosing a spot, remember that hosta plants prefer well-drained soil.

• Rosemary is a drought resistant perennial and herb with spiky leaves that adds interesting texture as well as a nice fragrance to the garden. Fresh rosemary leaves are especially good in potato, pork, chicken, and soup recipes. Other drought-tolerant herbs that grow perennially in some parts of the country are thyme, sage, and oregano.

• After they’ve bloomed in the spring, daylilies are another perennial that appear to be high maintenance but actually require minimal water and care. Daylilies come in many of colors and go dormant in the winter.

• After Lantana plants are established, they don’t require much water when compared to many other blooming plants. Lantana can grow in gardens or in containers, and are classified as annuals or perennials, depending on the region. The flower clusters of Lantana are often shades of yellow, light purple, and pink, and may change as the plant matures.

• Oakleaf and Panicle are two hydrangea varieties that are considered to be relatively hardy, drought tolerant plants. Both produce large blossoms that add beauty outdoors or when cut and brought inside.

• Salvia is a drought tolerant annual that produces long-lasting blooms in shades of red, blue, violet, pink, and white. Salvia is actually related to the herb sage. These plants work well in garden beds, borders, or in containers.

• Black-eyed Susan is a classic, popular flower that doesn’t require a great deal of water. It’s ray-like petals contrast with a dark center for an intriguing color combination.

Easy Way to Take Care of Your Perennials

Even if you choose drought resistant plants and shrubs, they will still require some maintenance and it’s important to care for them properly. It’s usually best to water plants and shrubs consistently for the first few weeks after planting to make sure they have enough moisture to get established and to make sure they don’t dry out during the fragile post-planting period. After that, it’s generally best to water perennial plants deeply as needed, instead of frequent shallow watering, during their first summer season to help the plants develop a deep root system, which aid plants in tolerating extended dry periods. It’s also helpful to mulch around the bases of plants and shrubs each year to help lock in moisture. Check with your local garden center to see which drought tolerant varieties grow best in your zone, and how to care for them.

Originally published on American Home Shield

Lounge Spaces That Keep the Party Going Outside

“There is just something about relaxing outdoors that makes it even better. And with these ideas, it’s really not that hard or expensive.”

Denise Buck & Ed Johnson – DC Metro Realty Team

August is a time to savor the last precious drops of summer with alfresco meals and laid-back afternoons before the start of fall. These 10 homeowners know how to enjoy lounging outdoors and have created their own resort-like spaces for spending lazy weekends, making it hard to ever leave their backyards, patios, porches, decks and courtyards. Get inspired by these fun and fresh design ideas to create an outstanding outdoor room of your own.

Alexandra Crafton

1. Farmhouse-Inspired DIY Style in a Suburban Kentucky Home

Travis and Amanda Hervey of Georgetown, Kentucky, spend much of their time outside on the patio under their deck with their two young kids, Ada, 5, and Eli, 2. Each family member enjoys the pair of woven outdoor swings, and this outdoor space has become an additional room of the house, filled with Amanda’s thrift-store furniture and eclectic decor. Almost everything is hand-me-down, homemade or thrifted. “I might have a few dumpster-dive treasures too,” Amanda says.

Alexandra Crafton

“Another unusual thing about houses in this region is a big backyard,” Amanda says. “Our yard backs up to a real thoroughbred horse farm and the Elkhorn Creek. Our neighbors have a zipline through their yard, and we often hike down to the creek to play. It’s very whimsical and beautiful.”

The family of four loves being right on the banks of Elkhorn Creek, which Walt Whitman wrote about in Song of Myself.

Alexandra Crafton

The Herveys added personality to their basic builder house with paint and some DIY projects. Amanda painted the porch floor with wide stripes and the ceiling in a Haint Blue, which is a popular practice in the South.

Outdoor lighting: Lowe’s; floor paint: Valspar Porch Paint; door paint: Web Gray, Sherwin Williams

Alexandra Crafton

The doily dreamcatcher panel was one of Amanda’s DIY projects using embroidery hoops, and it also gives the family a little privacy from the neighbors. She also made the side-by-side porch swings out of repurposed kitchen chairs.

Read more about this home

Sarah Greenman

2. Contemporary Farmhouse Country Vibe in Texas

Jeff Jones and Shauna Glenn built their family’s custom home in Fort Worth from the ground up on an empty 2-acre lot with a deer-friendly pond. Their bright, color-happy interior palette carries through to their outdoor patio where they enjoy lounging on a sectional with their six kids and watching TV.

Patio furniture: Frontgate; outdoor rug: Pottery Barn

Sarah Greenman

The couple knew that the views out the back and the phenomenal pool area were always going to be major focal points of their backyard. Jones oversaw the installation of low-water plants all around the house, including native grasses and agave plants. The pool and hot tub were also in his purview.

A pair of white loungers, anchored in the shallow end of the pool, make the perfect place to observe the surrounding wildlife.

White lounge chairs: Ledge Loungers

Sarah Greenman

Glenn’s favorite thing to do at home is “chill out by the pool.” After a trip to Cancun, the couple were inspired to find a wooden four-poster bed suited for outdoor use. This replica was created for them in Mexico. “Jeff drove all the way to Mexico to pick it up and bring it home. That’s love,” Glenn says.

Watch: Walk through this home and property on Houzz TV

Laura Garner

3. Rooftop Terrace With a Montreal City View

Journalist and therapist Lies Ouwerkerk spends her winters exploring the world and her summers in a renovated condo in a converted sewing machine factory in the trendy St. Henri neighborhood of Montreal. A private rooftop terrace and garden located off the dining room on the main floor was built at her request. Vertical walls separate her space from the common terrace shared among other homeowners on that floor and give her complete privacy.

“I used the services of Urban Seedling to build the wooden structures on my little balcony and deck, but the designs are mine,” she says. She made the pillowcases from fabrics that she picked up in Guatemala and India.

Laura Garner

Ouwerkerk grows kale, lettuce, peppers, tomatoes and herbs in a planter box on her rooftop garden. This private green space is a welcome retreat after a long day of therapy sessions — a place where she can, in her words, “fuss about [her] plants and vegetables.”

Laura Garner

Ouwerkerk loves that the custom-built rooftop pergola also gives her a sense of coziness and privacy despite living in a busy area near downtown. The wall trellis was a vintage find from her travels to Tunisia.

Read more about this home

Kayla Stark

4. Eclectic Charm in a Louisiana Live-Work Cottage

Madeline and Dawson Ellis, owners of Mimosa Handcrafted Jewelry, enjoy a short walking commute from their charming 1,350-square-foot Baton Rouge home to their backyard work studio. The couple constructed a large wraparound porch along the side of the house that nearly doubled the size of their living space, and this space is now one of the most-used parts of the home.

The couple added a wall built of shutters along one side of the covered outdoor seating area to create more private space. It’s great for cookouts and outdoor entertaining. Dawson salvaged the red vintage fireplace from a neighbor from his childhood home.

“We all enjoy spending time outside, so the porch is very much an extension of the indoor living space. With the big table, we’re able to easily have meals outside and even enjoy it when it’s raining,” Madeline says. They use this space often to host parties and impromptu gatherings.

The Westdale modern steel porch swing, Handsome Industries

Kayla Stark

The vintage Eero Saarinen Tulip chairs go well with a large tree stump repurposed as a table.

Read more about this home

Bonnie McCarthy

5. Outdoor Entertaining Paradise in Southern California

Entertaining enthusiasts Carin Jacobs and Teresa Elston live in a 1929 Spanish-style home in the historic California Heights neighborhood of Long Beach. “This is such a party house,” Jacobs says. “We love all of these little outdoor entertaining areas.” The couple often host parties of 80 people or more, and they took advantage of each of their outdoor spaces. They set the yard up so that their guests can flow from the front to the back and utilized the open-concept design of the home and exterior courtyards to keep guests circulating.

Bonnie McCarthy

In the center courtyard, the couple ripped out a tacky 1970s fountain and completely renovated the space. Now pavers, a heat lamp, an umbrella, lanterns, couches, a Mexican chimenea and twinkle lights overhead define this alfresco living space, which is enjoyed year-round.

Bonnie McCarthy

A gently bubbling fountain on vivid tile provides a focal point for the front courtyard and additional seating around the edge. The homeowners brought in Spanish and Moroccan design influences to create a vibrant and personalized space.

Read more about this home

Kimberley Bryan

6. Farmhouse Meant for Entertaining in Wenatchee, Washington

Celebratory occasions such as dinner parties, casual gatherings and weddings have taken place on the idyllic patio of Melanie and Andrew Doubroff’s 1908 farmhouse. They are pictured here with their two Australian shepherds, Abby and Buckley.The expansive outdoor umbrellas, outfitted with retro-inspired outdoor lights, create an intimate, magical space at nighttime.

The existing Trex deck was replaced with a newer version and now holds two 8-foot-long farm tables plus a 4-foot insert, built by Andrew’s twin brother and finished by Andrew to add a patina.

Kimberley Bryan

On this side of the yard, casual seating and vintage school-themed accessories surround an outdoor fire pit. The shed is not original to the home but is big enough to sleep a few visiting nephews and act as the perfect spot for playing school.

Kimberley Bryan

A narrow side yard between the south exterior wall and driveway is used as another dining and seating area, as well as a place to display container gardens.

Kimberley Bryan

To the side of the dining area is a lounge space. An eclectic collection of flea market tables, a wicker settee and a metal glider are arranged for easy conversation.

Blue metal glider: Apple Annie Antique Gallery

Read more about this home

Heather Banks

8. Modern Industrial Style for a DIY Update in Austin

The backyard of this 1967 home in Texas had an above-ground pool when Bill Symon and Jason Kays moved in. It was fun for a while, but it eventually started to leak. They replaced it with a bench-height deck and a low-maintenance xeriscape landscape.

The homeowners did a lot of the rock and granite installation themselves to save money, then left the steel edging, deck and plantings to the landscaper. The total cost, including removal of the leaking pool, was about $15,000. Kays and Simon set up a vintage projection screen for outdoor movie nights.

Heather Banks

Save Photo

Kays, left, and Symon love to entertain and spend a lot of time outside hosting friends. They are pictured here relaxing with their two dogs. Symon describes a typical fall Saturday afternoon: “Windows and French doors to the screened porch open, the dogs playing out back and music playing on the Sonos whole-house sound system. We’d probably be getting ready to host a group of people for dinner and an evening by the fire pit out back.”

Read more about this home

Carolyn Reyes

9. A Treehouse-Like Dwelling in Los Angeles

Beatrice Valenzuela and Ramsey Conder live in a 1924 Craftsman bungalow in Echo Parkwrapped in lush trees overlooking peaceful views of Elysian Park. With fragrant breezes, chirping birds and glorious sunsets, their home provides a beautiful live-work setting for the artisan couple to design and create for their line of handcrafted shoes, jewelry, bags, furniture and lighting. Their deck serves multiple purposes for the family, from workspace to brunch space.

Carolyn Reyes

Valenzuela, Conder and son Dimitri are shown relaxing on their lush terrace. “Siestas here are amazing with the birds chirping, and at the end of the day we like to admire the sunsets,” Valenzuela says. “We keep the Dutch door in the kitchen and the French doors in the living room open most of the day, so there’s a great circular airflow that comes through the house, and sometimes a bird or two will fly through,” she says. The deck is surrounded by mature Chinese plum, jacaranda, fig and orange trees. “The orange tree is full of blooms at the moment. It’s the most intoxicating fragrance,” Valenzuela says.

Read more about this home

Ellie Lillstrom Photography

10. An Outdoor Sanctuary With Bohemian Flair in the Pacific Northwest

Laura Burkhart and Jake Michael’s Rhodesian ridgeback, Phinney, loves to take advantage of their backyard and outdoor area in Lake Forest Park, Washington. The couple often entertain in this space during mild Pacific Northwest summers and installed a fire pit area themselves. It gets plenty of use in the warmer months, and it’s a tradition to toast marshmallows for s’mores and stargaze late into the night. Tree stumps are repurposed as seating around the fire pit.

To ensure maximum play space for their beloved dog, the couple added a gate between their yard and Burkhart’s parents’ yard so he can enjoy running free with their dog.

The couple also built a small container garden that they enjoy tending in the spring and summer.

Originally published on HOUZZ by Janet Paik

7 Ways to Rethink the Shrub

“If you have any type of yard to maintain, shrubs are a great option. But why not get a little creative for a change and do something interesting.”

Denise Buck & Ed Johnson – DC Metro Realty Team

Shrubs are ubiquitous throughout our landscapes, many times making up a significant bulk of greenery in the garden. Often used as low-maintenance and long-term plantings around a home’s foundation or as a low walkway edge, these woody plants can do so much more.

Whether you utilize their unusual characteristics, prune them into tight forms or design with them for wildlife, you can get creative with shrubs for a more interesting and unusual garden. Here are ideas for rethinking the basic shrub.

Westover Landscape Design, Inc.

Save Photo

Variegated Ivory Halo dogwood grows in a garden in New York.

1. Use variegated cultivars. Variegation can make a ho-hum shrub more visually interesting because it adds a white or creamy yellow coloration to the leaves. Variegated leaves can be highly contrasting, and the whiteness brings splashes of light to a dark shade garden.

Example species: Variegated Tatarian dogwood (Cornus alba ‘Elegantissima’, USDA zones 2 to 8; find your zone), Ivory Halo dogwood (C. a. ‘Bailhalo’, zones 3 to 7) andvariegated wayfaring tree (Viburnum lantana ‘Variegatum’, zones 4 to 8)

Paintbox Garden

Winterberry (Ilex verticillata, zones 3 to 9) sports bright red berries in winter.

2. Create bird habitat. Many bird species love shrubs because the birds can hunt for bugs and lizards in them while hiding from predators. Smaller birds will nest in woody shrubs, and many shrubs produce berries that are delectable to birds. (But not to other animals; be aware of plants that are toxic to kids or pets.)

The idea of using shrubs for bird habitat isn’t new, but you may want to ask yourself how you can specifically design with shrubs to create a robust habitat for birds. Look for ways to plant near water sources, and pair shrubs with other plants that support wildlife.

See 13 North American native birds and how to attract them to your yard

Charlotte Rowe Garden Design

3. Group together different sizes. Shown here is a grouping of the same species of small broadleaf evergreen shrubs planted at different sizes and pruned into spheres. Yes, this planting is higher-maintenance because it requires a regular pruning schedule. However, it makes for a fun and whimsical look in the garden, with textures and spheres set into a modern paving design with clean lines.

Example species: Littleleaf boxwood (Buxus microphylla, zones 5 to 9) and ‘Golden Gem’ Japanese holly (Ilex crenata ‘Golden Gem’, zones 5 to 8)

The Todd Group

4. Channel the French parterre. A parterre garden features flowers growing in patterns and often a low shaped hedge. The parterre is useful in garden design because it creates a formal, finished look while allowing for other more loosely planted flowering or edible plants to be included.

The traditional French potager garden often uses the idea of the parterre, but with edible plants. You can also use the parterre as a border for annuals that change seasonally.

Urban Angles

5. Create symmetry. Shrubs can be particularly useful for adding symmetrical elements to a rectilinear space. They can be minimalist, as in this example with low clipped boxwoods, or they can be looser.

Create symmetry with plantings that fit the space well by precisely planning out the spacing and pruning requirements. You can do this yourself with some simple measurements. It’s also helpful to place the shrubs while they are still in their containers. Move them around, making sure you have the spacing and alignment perfect.

Mary-Liz Campbell Landscape Design

6. Mix it up. On the other end of the pruning, shaping and symmetrical spectrum is a wilder-looking garden, with flowing perennials flanked by woody shrubs. Woody plants are an important element of the perennial and meadow garden because they provide structure and interest year-round. Additionally, there are many understory and woodland shrubs that can grow with a spreading form to create a naturalistic planting design.

Learn about the reasons for bringing shrubs into the flower garden

Proven Winners

7. Offer seasonal interest. Shrubs, like trees, can provide structure to the garden design — especially in winter. Shown here is the very popular redtwig dogwood (Cornus sericea, zones 2 to 7), with bright red twigs in stark contrast to the white snow. Some deciduous shrubs have a flaming red or bright yellow autumn color as well.

10 Small-Scale Agaves Just Right for Containers

“Small containers and only a little watering, what’s not to love about this idea?”

Denise Buck & Ed Johnson – DC Metro Realty Team

There are more than 200 species of agave, ranging in size from 6 inches to more than 12 feet wide. Due to their modest size and compact root systems, smaller agave species make an excellent choice for growing in containers. They require only infrequent watering and do well in summer, even in the heat. Their spiky shapes add dramatic interest to many garden spaces, big or small, along with patios, poolsides and entryways and as outdoor table centerpieces.

Here are 10 agave species that are perfect for smaller areas, with varying cold tolerances, exposure requirements and sizes to ensure there is one right for you.

Share this:

Easy Way to Take Care of Your Perennials

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: