Visual arts

  • Article

    15 Ideas to Steal for Your Garden

    Pablo Picasso said something to the effect of, “Bad artists imitate. Great artists steal.” The same quote is often attributed to Igor Stravinsky and T. S. Eliot. Whoever said it,…

  • Design

    A Gentle Approach to Planting on a Slope

    When creating a new garden design, I first analyze existing elements, deciding what works, what doesn’t, and why. Architectural and hardscaping elements are a good place to begin. When my…

  • Article

    Veggie Garden Design Ideas: Make Your Vegetable Garden Beautiful

    Whether you grow just a few tomatoes or a yard full of vegetables, edibles can be a beautiful part of your landscape. For design inspiration, I visited two great vegetable…

  • A mature-looking garden full of plants with an umbrella, stone wall and small stone patio
    Design

    A Garden That’s Younger Than It Looks

    They never weeded a bed or planted a seed, but our four teenagers were heartbroken to leave the big garden of their childhood. Why couldn’t we wait 10 years? Where…

  • Viewing some flowers through the camera lens
    How-To

    How to Take Photos Like a Pro

    Over the past 30 years, I have been hired to photograph all kinds of things: over-the-top advertising images, breathtaking wild landscapes, and far-away city streets. But as a passionate lifelong…

  • View of the front of the house with curved beds embracing the front walk
    Design

    Curve Appeal

    When Catherine Feldman first moved to her home in Shaker Heights, Ohio, the garden was essentially a blank slate. She dreamed of bringing the neglected landscape back to life and…

  • low brick wall surrounding an elegant yet relaxed garden
    Design

    Where Formal and Natural Meet

    Everyone has been to a house that has a “do-not-touch” room in it. It might be a living room with plastic covers on the couches or a dining room with…

  • Design

    One Peak, Four Seasons of Interest

    Most of us want our gardens to look fabulous all the time—no matter the season. That’s great if you are willing to put in the time and money required to…

  • Beautiful edibles intermingle with useful ornamentals and a yellow ladder trellis
    Design

    How to Spruce Up Your Veggie Garden

    Edible gardens are, too often, purely utilitarian spaces relegated to the outer reaches of an overall garden design. But they can be so much more with just a few design…

  • A fence surrounded by soft plantings
    Design

    Designing an Intimate Space

    Many people like to have a garden for entertaining, but most of us also want our gardens to be a spot where we relax and get away from it all.…