(jazzy music)
- When I found the house, the yard spoke to me.
I was coming from the city where I had no yard
and I actually knew nothing about gardening and I thought,
wow, this would be a creative project
that I'm really excited about.
One of my goals was I wanted to feel like I was on vacation
every night when I came home.
So it has this beach-y, vacation-like feel.
I wanted to create sort of a wild garden,
a more free-flowing garden,
so I tried to just create more space.
I love the front yard 'cause it's a more concentrated area
with lots of flowers.
I wanted to create a space that I would enjoy coming out to
so I removed a tree, put a window box in,
put a nice bench, I took out the bushes that were here
that kind of divided the front yard,
and I put a really nice pathway here,
and then I planted all my favorite flowers
that I would want to look at.
This incredible morning glory
that goes up the telephone pole.
I planted a lot of dahlias.
One of my passions in life is color.
I love wild and bold colors,
so I fell in love with dahlias.
It's probably my primary plant in the garden.
I also have a lot of alstroemeria
that were here beforehand.
I use a lot pinks and a lot of oranges,
yellows, and purples.
Each time of the year, there's something that's showcased.
Early spring, the tulips start coming up and the daffodils.
And then middle of the summer becomes the alstroemeria,
and then throughout the summer,
it's the roses and the dahlias.
In the fall, I've got the persimmon tree.
Color just brings me a lot of joy.
I've created some colorful furniture here and there.
I've used planters which are pops of color.
I love planting in containers
because you can move them around the garden
and create little vignettes everywhere.
So this is a galvonized bucket.
This one is a window box.
Another blue pail, some mason jars for herbs.
You can use terracotta.
When I'm buying the different planters,
I kind of like the look of the old and the new,
and also take into account
that I want to have a lot of different color.
The more color, the better.
A lot of people are afraid of color
and I would just say experiment with it.
If I purchase plants, I'll bring them into the yard
and I'll put them in different places,
and I'll see how it works.
I just garden by my intuition.
I planted these nice planters right at the front of the gate
so that it can kind of greet people when they come in,
and then they walk in and then they see my rosemary here
which is sort of fun 'cause I use this in cooking,
I use it for skewers.
I have a number of edible fruits and vegetables in the yard.
I've got espalier of apples,
so about nine different varieties of apples,
and then I have lemons, limes, persimmons,
and kale and some herbs.
I often use the persimmon on a tablescape
or I will, at a party, I'll have bags of persimmons
or allow people to pick their own persimmon
and have a recipe that they can use
to create a cake at home.
I have a few herbs that I keep close to the kitchen
and sometimes I'll plant them in mason jars,
and that way I can just bring them inside, clip what I need,
and then bring them back outside.
Food inspires me out here.
I'll make pizzas on the grill.
I just created this sort of grilling station
right near my kitchen.
Just put in a little DG patio here
and decorated it with some nice plants.
(jazzy piano music)
I love to entertain.
I like to create sort of a magical canvas
when I'm having a dinner party.
I wanted a space with a lot of different areas
where people can congregate.
Often times, I'll start with creating an outdoor living room
in my driveway where people can come and have a drink.
I'll put down a rug and a couple pieces of furniture
and that way when guests arrive,
they'll have maybe a glass of wine,
I'll have a little bar out here.
Then, I have everybody come into the backyard
and sometimes they'll mill around in this area
and will enjoy another glass of wine.
A lot of times, people will sort of walk
around the garden to different spots.
In each area, there are beautiful plants and outdoor art.
My friend created this beautiful tiled sphere.
This particular piece was a focal point
in my dining room in the city,
and now it's a focal point in my garden.
This piece was my buffet in the dining room
and I just brought it outside
and now it's my outdoor buffet.
And this piece, this Turkish grate,
was a piece of art on my wall in my bedroom
and now it's art in the garden.
I get a lot of ideas from Houzz
or just going to the flea market and gardening stores
and seeing what inspires me.
I've done a lot of fun things
to create nice lighting in the yard.
I've used some string lights which can kind of give it,
you know, one part of the garden almost a feel
of a living room.
I have some hanging lanterns that are hung from a tree
and I got some candles that are battery-operated.
The reason I chose that is then,
they can be hard to light otherwise, and they can blow out.
After dinner, the diehards will congregate at the fire pit
and will make s'mores.
I'll sometimes serve hot chocolate or warm drinks.
It's often hard to get people to leave.
You don't have to spend a lot of money
to create a magical environment.
A lot of my plants, I planted from seeds or bulbs,
so that's a lot less expensive.
You can find bargains online.
I got the lights half-price at the end of the season.
I went to the flea market and got
these beautiful French flower planters
for $10.
My outdoor space, I just love because it's my sanctuary,
and it's my creative canvas.
It's very colorful, whimsical, playful,
and it just brings a lot of joy to me
and I hope to others.