Stuck at home fretting about coronavirus? Luckily we gardeners have our gardens to occupy us, soothe our minds, and even feed us during times like these. But reading about beautiful gardens and learning design from a master is also a great way to while away the hours, especially if it’s not quite spring where you live. For all these reasons, I urge you, especially if you garden in the arid West and Southwest, to pick up a copy of Private Gardens of Santa Barbara: The Art of Outdoor Living by Margie Grace (Gibbs Smith, 2020).

Don’t be misled by the title: although the featured gardens are located in tony Santa Barbara, California, the design lessons are powerful for gardeners in any similarly water-challenged or wildfire-threatened region. Hello, Central Texas! In fact, far from being just a coffee-table book of “secret” or “hidden” gardens, the book is really a monograph of the work of Margie Grace, an award-winning designer and principal of Santa Barbara-based Grace Design. In conversational first-person voice, she narrates the story of each garden’s design, from the owner’s wish list to her initial impression of the property to the smart design moves that make each space functional and beautiful, not to mention as eco-friendly as possible.

You won’t find emerald-green, water-hogging lawns featured here. Instead, Grace plants light-catching native grasses and waterwise succulents to embroider and beautify fire-defensible spaces of gravel or stone patios around the homes. Catering to Southern California’s indoor-outdoor climate, she layers her gardens with comfortable seating, rustic tub-style spas, propane-burning fire pits, and glorious, glorious plants — all reasons to spend as much time as possible outdoors. These are gardens for people to live in.

Her designs run playful at times, like this “Purple Rain” garden at her own home. Two eggplant-colored, circular arbors (the Gracie Modern Arbor by TerraTrellis), sparkling with strands of light-reflecting mirrors, act as portals through a meadowy sedge lawn and frame a quirky pair of leaf-shaped metal chairs.

I pored over each photo of the 18 private gardens featured in this book, taking mental notes on how to blend rock and plants, make inviting patios, plant up gorgeous pots of succulents, and visually extend indoor living spaces and porches out into the garden. So you and I don’t have eye-popping Pacific Ocean views from our own gardens? That’s OK. We each make our own garden views, and this book offers lots of inspiration for any gardener.

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Digging Deeper

Come learn about gardening and design at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, authors, and gardeners a few times a year in Austin. These are limited-attendance events that sell out quickly, so join the Garden Spark email list to be notified in advance; simply click this link and ask to be added. Season 8 kicks off in fall 2024. Stay tuned for more info!

All material © 2024 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.