Introducing the Best New Outdoor Furniture and Accessories
From urban, lakeside, and subtropical gardens to mountain and desert terrains—we have it covered.
From urban, lakeside, and subtropical gardens to mountain and desert terrains—we have it covered.
As the spring turns to summer, we’re all hoping to spend a little more time outside. If you’re lucky enough to have your own outdoor space, you may be considering ways to freshen it up for a new season. We’ve rounded up advice from five landscape designers from around the United States to help you greet the open air in style—whether it’s a lakeside porch or a desert patio, a lush backyard or a city balcony.
Below, see what these experts have to say about designing in their local climate, and be sure to check out some of the latest outdoor furniture and accessories as well.
Raymond Jungles in Miami, Florida, on Subtropical Gardens
In our region, we have a pronounced dry season, as long as six months, and then we get precipitation when there’s a clash of systems. It can be as much as 60 inches per year—a lot of it from hurricanes and tropical storms. Plants have to be able to make it through both.
Raymond’s team completed an oceanfront project in the Florida Keys using fossilized limestone and native species to surround a garden pond. The site required a landscape that could survive the seasonal dry period, saltwater inundations from storm surges, and the salt air.
Photo by Stephen Dunn Photography
I look primarily to native species and then incorporate complementary plants from other subtropical climates. I believe in botanical interest and also creating a habitat with birds, butterflies, squirrels, and foxes, where humans can live more closely with nature. That’s what gives me joy. For butterflies, you need flowers. For birds, you need insects, seeds, and fruit.
After that, my main goal is to create comfortable spaces for humans. That means bringing in trees and shade, beautiful textures and fragrances. I’m trying to build a grocery store for local flora and fauna that then will give me pleasure.
You need plants that were made for the environment. You don’t want a garden that looks like hell, where everything’s struggling. I do a lot of beach properties, and beach plants have been developed by nature to live in sand, to be able to take airborne salt. That’s a whole particular palette. You’ll start to see a lot of sea oats, bay cedar, thatch palms. Beach gardens should look natural and strong, haphazard and preexistent. They need to be tough.
Another project in the Bahamas utilized the beachfront landscape to create an immersive garden experience. Plantings with low water needs and other indigenous species were selected to fit within the environment and provide a habit for local wildlife.
Photo by Stephen Dunn Photography
I don’t do things purely for the aesthetics. When you make a habitat, there is less maintenance. It’s more laissez-faire. I don’t understand topiary or highly manicured gardens. If you’re always striving for perfection, you won’t generate the beauty that comes from imperfection.
See more at Raymond Jungles’s website or @rjistudio on Instagram.
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