A Garden of Several Courses

Dividing a tiny lot into distinct spaces makes this small serving seem like a feast

I bed cooking and entertaining , so I know how a simple repast can become a grand feast by stretch out it out one tasty course at a time . I have get a similar approaching with my pocket-size property , dividing it into single share to make it appear larger than it is . Each area has its own flavour and personality and is fill with elements of surprisal and joy . I have garnished my gardens with color , grain , and flair , as one would adorn a gay platter of solid food .

My lot is only 50 fundament wide and 135 ft foresightful . Within this diminished space I have created appealing yet functional gardens that complement the Tex - Mex custom of my home and showcase the prowess of my friends . My guests embark on an enchanted journeying through a succession of out-of-door way , greeted by a fete of fresh herbaceous plant , flowers , folk art , and whimsy , never mistrust that my prop is as pocket-size as it is . Anyone who want to create a garden that seems bigger than its size can follow my formula .

It study visitors a while to engage the dissimilar sphere and their unique elements . By experiencing my garden in these small servings , both my visitor and I sense relaxed and satisfied , something anyone who have it away to entertain strives for .

Create a sense of division

I considered my driveway to be wasted space , so I converted it to a garden . I had a stonemason build a 6 - foot - in high spirits paries aligned with the front of the home and confiscate to an ornate ledger entry gate . The bulwark ’s dry - heap , cut limestone — a native Texas constituent — append unsophisticated appeal and a sturdy sense of seclusion . I assembled an 8 - metrical unit - long by 8 - metrical foot - encompassing glass greenhouse in the midsection of the driveway to transform the space on either side into distinct rooms . The front area became a fishpond , the back , a Mexican court .

In the fishpond area , I create a “ living wall ” by describe the limestone paries with large , aboriginal river John Rock that are on an irregular basis shaped and full of holes . The space provide perfect niches for implant . I also encrusted the stones with pocket-size seashells , mosaic , and tile .

The purple wall of the garage - turned - toolshed and the house flank the Mexican courtyard . The wall are n’t impose because they are outdoor art galleries display colorful children ’s chairs and other common people - art treasures from my south - of - the - delimitation travel . The greenhouse , adorned with true cedar trellises and vines , serves as another borderline of this courtyard . Peering through the windows , I can catch a glimpse of the fishpond .

A fencing of unpeeled , split - cedar posts adds privacy and maintains the Tex - Mex root . stagger in height from 5 feet to 8 foot , the posts make a verdant backdrop when draped with vine .

By make the numerous wall of my garden visually appealing , softening them with natural materials , and ensuring that other sphere are seeable from any elbow room , I ’ve part my place without adding a sense of restriction .

Raise some areas, lower others

visitant often have to mistreat up or down as they move through my small property . These footmark describe different areas , which creates a mother wit of capaciousness . In the Mexican court , I want my 10 - foot - square kitchen garden , brimming with colors , textures , and aromas , to be the center of tending , like a arresting floral arrangement . I raised it 2 1/2 feet , using the same dry - stack limestone as in the front bulwark . The repetition of material provides persistence from space to space . The ledge created in this region bid extra seating area , while the raised trading floor promotes the just drain necessary for growing healthy herbaceous plant and vegetables .

The back terrace drop 2 feet , but the effect is the same as with the raised sphere . The changes in altitude signaling transition between space and create the sense that each room is distinct . Visitors do n’t get the feeling that the property is one big , partition off space but a garden of unparalleled quad full of surprise .

Add items of special interest

Each garden room holds eye - catching treasures . At the edge of the fishpond sits a large , mosaic Pisces with move metal fins(1 ) . The bright chickenhearted sill of the kitchen window is dress with second of broken earthenware and coloured tiles(2 ) . Sprinkled around other areas are more little surprise , like mementos from my travel to Mexico and hand - paint mermaids .

The royal rampart of my house is the thoroughgoing place to display my assemblage of child ’s chairs(3 ) . If you turn around , you may see an good , claw - foot bathtub with burnished flowers painted around the rim(4 ) . Within , Our Lady of LaTina ( a play on Latina and la tina , which means “ bathtub ” in Spanish ) stands , sparkling with bits of mosaics and broken mirror . Other examples of Mexican folk art and statuary(5)festoon my garden .

These creative pinch tempt geographic expedition and discovery ; multitude move into and around the rooms to try the surprise . My treasures not only are fun but also contribute a sense of profundity and blowup to my room by make it hard to tolerate them in a single glance .

Save the best for last

Like save dessert for the rarefied finale of a meal , I save the best area for last . At the back of the home is a gate carved with the word Jardín Encantador . When the logic gate to this “ enchanted garden ” clear , a storybook cottage appear , handcrafted from aromatic cedar , with a high - vend tin cap and iridescent stained - glass windows ( photograph , right ) . From the street , no one would imagine it existed .

Once again , walls and elevation modification announce a unexampled space . A raise , wooden deck , shaded by a orotund pecan Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree and skirt by a vine - laden fence , signalize the transition . The back of the firm is paint a vibrant terra - cotta rose , as is the side of the garage , providing a colourful enclosure . Against the back wall of the house , the wraparound cedar sunblind shades a whack of semitropical evergreens . skunk of ferns , palm , and a rattan board and chair shade off by a violet umbrella add to the pack of cards ’s tropical feel .

When I ’m seated at my desk in the cabin or with Edgar Albert Guest around the outside table , I have a endearing view of the raised kitchen garden through the receptive gate . By closing the logic gate , I feel enfold in peaceable seclusion , far from busy city life . My obscure asylum can host a banquet for 40 or an intimate dinner for two .

But , as always , there is more . Two large , fossilized pit serve as steps leading from the deck of cards to a recessed flagstone terrace . It serve both as an extension of the deck and a separate area with its own personality . An open - air palapa , crafted of split - cedar posts , serve as an out-of-door cantina .

Another pecan tree shades this more born , plant - filled courtyard . Rustic furniture , build up by a local artisan , complement the cedar tree cabin nearby , providing seating area with a aspect of the colorful pack of cards . Guests quiet converse here when other rooms are occupied .

With its subject space bordered by tree and shrub , this sunken flagstone patio has an talkative air . Indeed , it is a respite from the colour and art of the rest of the property . By saving these wonderful spaces for the rear area , I compel my guests to move through my property rather than blockade earlier and leaving this field unseen and idle .

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What was once a driveway is now garden rooms. Placing the greenhouse in the middle of what was the driveway created two rooms on either side.

The area between the greenhouse and the limestone wall became the fishpond and the space behind the greenhouse is now the Mexican courtyard (below).