CasaSugar

Do You Landscape With Tropical Foliage?

CasaSugar — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 06:15:00 -0700

This moody koi pond, from Josh Schwartz's former home in Los Feliz, benefits from lush, tropical foliage. Do you have any around your home?

Before and After: A Brooklyn Backyard Gets Beautified

CasaSugar — Wed, 27 May 2009 08:00:54 -0700

When homeowners David and Vivian bought their brownstone, the backyard wasn't attractive in the least. A decrepit deck, falling-down retaining walls, and exposed soil made the whole space unappealing and uninhabitable. But with some gumption and planning, the husband-and-wife team took the yard from desolate to delightful. To see what they did, read more.

The couple terraced the yard, added stepstones, flowerbed borders, and a variety of foliage to the area. They created multiple "mini gardens" to break up the space, and for privacy and aesthetic purposes, covered an ugly chain link fence with a cedar fence. All in all, they saved about $10,000 thanks to their DIYs. Want to do something similar at your house? Get all of the details and instructions at This Old House.

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Casa Verde: Google Rents Goats For Lawn Mowing Alternative

CasaSugar — Fri, 01 May 2009 15:00:02 -0700

Lately, I've been showing you ways to go green without spending money, since being eco-friendly isn't always about dollar bills. Sometimes, though, all it takes to get into the earth's circle of friends is to spend your money differently.
Google knows what I'm talking about. The Internet monster has switched up its lawn maintenance routine by abandoning a lawn-mowing service for a more holistic approach - the service of goats. To trim the fields at its Mountain View, CA, headquarters, Google has hired the folks at California Grazing to bring about 200 goats and goat-herding border collies to the office for a week to clear weeds and eliminate brush-fire hazards. The service costs about the same as mowing, curbs air and noise pollution (except a few bahhhhs), and eliminates gas usage. Would you consider doing the same at your home?
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Casa Verde: Attention-Grabbing Explanation of Water Conservation

CasaSugar — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:00:21 -0700

As I've mentioned before, the shows and hosts of the DIY Network always bring a smile to my face, and that's definitely true with Desperate Landscapes host Jason Cameron, who transforms scrappy-looking lawns into things of beauty, often while wearing a tight t-shirt. I don't know about you, but there's no better way to have mathematics explained to me than by a cute, congenial guy. To find out how much water you can save by using rainbarrels, check out the clip below.

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Cool Idea: Topiary Clock

CasaSugar — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 11:00:56 -0700

I've shown you a horse topiary outside of Stella McCartney's Beverly Hills store, but I've never shown you a topiary clock.

Who would settle for a sundial when they could clip their shrubbery into numbers? This reminds me of something you might see in a children's park, though in reality it was found on the campus of a major university. I love any example of playful landscaping, and this definitely fits the bill. Would you ever attempt something similar?

Coveted Crib: Gwen Stefani's Old Digs (Part II)

CasaSugar — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 06:15:11 -0700

I recently took you on a house tour of Gwen Stefani's former home in Los Feliz, and I promised there would be more to come — the exterior, specifically. Well, since I am a woman of my word, and since it's Good to Grow month, I'm back to show you the exterior of the magnificent Mediterranean, which has equally wonderful landscaping. So check out this slideshow for a sneak peek, while I sit here and contemplate why anyone would ever want to leave this house.

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Coveted Crib: A Lush LA Garden

CasaSugar — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 08:45:13 -0800

Actors Brenda Wehle and John Carroll Lynch recently shared their backyard garden retreat with the LA Times.The Sherman Oaks, Calif., home's garden features a lovely pool, grapevines that form a canopy over a breakfast patio, an infinity pool, and native plants.

When Wehle and Lynch moved into the home four years ago, they were confronted with a less than thrilling prospect for outdoor living, including a leaky, outdated pool that was surrounded by concrete, a tall wall along the property line, and a monoculture, water-heavy lawn. Working with Marilee Kuhlmann of Los Angeles-based Comfort Zones Garden Design, the couple transformed an uninspiring lawn and pool into a serenity-filled lush garden. Ornamental grasses, Mediterranean olive trees, native shrubs and perennials, and low-water, low-maintenance ground covers replaced the lawn, while an infinity swimming pool took the place of the leaky old one.

Check out a few of the pictures below, and then read the whole article here.

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Before and After: Landscape Makeovers From SB Garden Design

CasaSugar — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:00:04 -0800

For over 10 years, Stephanie Bartron and her team at SB Garden Design have been transforming West Coast outdoor spots into livable, lush spaces. With a focus on sustainable residential design, the firm also offers design consulting and garden coaching. See some of the dramatic before and after photos from the firm's portfolio.

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Cool Idea: Another Way to Work With a Landscape

CasaSugar — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 05:30:20 -0700

Instead of melting into the landscape, the Bridge House, as it's been dubbed, holds its own, literally bridging the ravine it sits above.
This long, sleek home is built on 15 acres of Marin grassland in Northern California. Only 22 feet wide, the two-story, 5,500-square-foot two-level home's innovative design won it an Excellence in Architecture award from the San Francisco chapter of the American Institute of Architects last year.

Constructed of steel and glass, the Bridge House was designed by architect Stanley Saitowitz, whose initial design for the home, say the owners of the Bridge House, was different from that of other architects. The owners noted, in an article in Marin magazine, “Previous plans for the property had placed the house high on the hillside to capture the Mount Tam views, but by building on a low point of the property we preserved the rest of the valley for us to look up into.”

For more photos of this home, read more.

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Casa Verde: A Coveted California Garden

CasaSugar — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 07:45:43 -0700

Lou Dixon, owner of Bio-Friendly Gardens, a landscape architecture firm in Berkeley, CA, creates gardens that are both beautiful and eco-friendly. A trained horticulturist, forester, and entomologist, as well as a landscape architect, Lou works in garden styles ranging from modern to Craftsman to traditional Japanese. No matter what garden style Lou works in, however, each of his projects is marked by beauty and consideration for location. Lou recently showed me around his latest project. Check out the slideshow for more photos.

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