When it comes to Father's Day gifts, something unusual and homemade—with a little science thrown in—always wins. Just explain to your dad all about epiphytes, which grow non-parasitically on another plant, getting moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, and debris. What dad wouldn't be intrigued? 

See below for step-by-step instructions and a list of materials:

Photography by Sophia Moreno-Bunge for Gardenista.

Above: Start with a medium-size Oncidium orchid (pronounced on-SID-ee-um) in a pot. 

Above: Gather everything before you start.

• Orchid, such as an Oncidium Sharry Baby ($15.95 from Royal Orchid Club)
• A branch about 1 foot long and 2 or 3 inches thick (or driftwood, or Cork Bark available for $22.66 from Amazon)
• A handful of New Zealand Sphagnum Moss (a 5-quart bag is $24.64 from Repot Me)
• Clear fishing line
• Twine
• An eyelet screw

Above: First, remove the orchid from the pot and soak the roots in water for about five minutes to make them more flexible (so they won't break when you attach them to the branch). But don't fret if a root does break; it will grow back.

Next, rinse off the remaining dirt. 

Above: Wrap the orchid's roots around the branch and tie them with fishing line. I used one piece of fishing line around the bottom of the roots and another around the base of the plant. As the orchid grows, its roots will attach to the bark and the fishing line no longer will be needed. 

Above: Tuck clumps of moss between the roots and the fishing line. The moss will help the roots retain moisture; whenever it feels dry, the plant needs water. 

Above: If you like, you can cover the fishing line on the back of the branch with more moss.

Above: Last, put an eyelet screw in the top of the branch and thread a piece of thick twine through it to hang the orchid. 

Above: The finished product. If you want to keep the orchid indoors, place it in a well-lit spot, but not in harsh direct sun. I keep mine in the bathroom, the most humid room in my house, and near a window where it gets just enough light. 

Above: The Sharry Baby has small, delicate blossoms and an amazing scent.

Above: A hanging orchid should be watered and fertilized more often than a potted orchid, because its roots are exposed. Every two days, spray the roots directly with a mister to soak them thoroughly. I spray the blooms and leaves almost daily, because many orchids love humidity. Experts suggest fertilizing once or twice a month, using special orchid fertilizer; the water-soluble type is easiest. You also can fertilize every week, at about a quarter strength.

Follow Sophia on her visit to her uncle's spectacular garden in A Hanging Orchid Garden in San Isidro, Buenos Aires. And for Amanda's warning tale about how easy it is to become an obsessive orchid owner, read The Orchid That Owned Me.

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When a warm summer night calls for s'mores, who steps in to ignite the backyard fire? Our guess is Dad. To show our admiration for the man and his lighter fluid, we've rounded up our favorite fire pits and outdoor fireplaces from members of the Remodelista Architect/Designer Directory. 

Above: Andrea Cochran Landscape Architecture added a minimalist fireplace to complement the refined landscaping at this outdoor space in Pebble Beach, CA. 

Above: A fire pit sits beside a swimming pool; ground cover softens the look of concrete pavers in this Healdsburg, CA, backyard designed by San Anselmo-based Blasen Landscape Architecture.  

Above: In a redesign for the backyard of a mid-century LA home, landscape designer Judy Kameon of Elysian Landscapes turned the back wall into "a generous banquette with matching fire pit." Photograph by Erik Otesa. 

Above: San Francisco-based Arterra Landscape Architects took "inspiration from the agrarian site and a rustic architectural vernacular" to design this Woodside, CA, garden. Photograph by Michelle Lee Wilson. 

Above: Coen + Partners, based in Minneapolis, anchored the backyard with an outdoor fireplace to accommodate a client's request for an outdoor entertaining space. Photograph by Paul Crosby. 

Above: The backyard of a house in California's Carmel Valley gets a revamp from Arterra Landscape Architects. The space, neatly laid into the landscape, gives way to a stunning view. 

For more fire pits, check out 10 Easy Pieces: Fire Pits and Bowls. See another roundup from the Remodelista Architect/Designer Directory in 10 Favorites: Minimalist Fireplaces. 

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• Garden Visit: A Hanging Orchid Garden in San Isidro, Buenos Aires
• Landscape Architect Visit: Jacqueline Morabito on the French Riviera

Just as good fences make good neighbors, the traditional British laid hedge (in which branches are forced to grow horizontally) can have the same effect. And to lay a hedge properly, it turns out, requires a billhook. It wasn't until we read the Royal Horticultural Society's recently published Tales from the Tool Shed ($18.21 from Amazon), by Bill Laws, that we realized: This little-known pruning tool is exactly what we need. Read on to find out about more tools you didn't think you needed—until now.

Photographs by Kendra Wilson.

Above: Subtitled "The History and Use of Fifty Garden Tools," this neat volume is not restricted to the goings-on inside the toolshed, but extends its scope over the flower garden, kitchen garden, lawn, and orchard.

A section on hoses reveals that an early rubber version was modeled after the way pasta was manufactured. Still, the rubber hose did not replace the earlier hand-stitched leather hose as quickly as you'd imagine, because the rubber was prone to cracking and splitting. Even now, the author advises that hoses are ideally stored flat, running alongside a bed. If you must roll up your hose, as most of us do, keep it loose.

Above: A multipurpose knife is always useful in the garden, for sharpening stakes, cutting raffia, and harvesting produce. Some swear by their Classic Swiss Army Knife ($20), while others prefer the Opinel Garden Folding Knife ($14.95). As the author notes, the knife is one tool in which choice has proliferated over the last century.

Above: The soil sieve is a leftover from the days when all compost was homemade; gardeners used the sieve to sift fine loam for sowing seeds and potting. Mixing your own has become more popular again, and no one has improved on this classic circular sieve, designed thousands of years ago. (For more about sieves, see Garden Riddles: What's Round, and Sifts?)

Above: "Every culture has its own style of garden basket," writes Bill Laws. Sussex has its trug, made of strips of chestnut; Catalonia its carriers of woven esparto grass. The oak swill basket with hazel handle, shown here, is native to England's Lake District. Its wide, shallow bottom is ideal for holding the harvest from the kitchen garden.

Above: During a quick tour of topiary, we learn that the Japanese art of cloud pruning has been influencing us for more than a century. And we're told how sheep shears could be treated better than the rusty ones shown here: "Clean the blades on a regular basis with wire wool and then wipe down with an oily rag."

Above: It's fascinating how many of the tools in this book have remained unchanged for years—going from indispensable to discarded to appreciated all over again. Such is the case with jute, the vegetable fiber that can be twined into string, turned into hessian for sacking, and woven into the soles of espadrilles. Plastic string brought the era of the "jute baron" to an end, but modest purveyors such as Nutscene, in Scotland, are doing well against the odds with products like Natural Jute Twine String (prices range from £8 to £10).

Above: A section of Tales from the Toolshed is dedicated to hats and gloves as essential kit. In the days when everyone wore hats, a gardener's cap told you that his status was lowly, whereas the head gardener was recognized by his bowler. Though hats are now optional, they shouldn't be. To keep the sun off the face, neck, and ears, Laws recommends a hat with a 3-inch brim. Ideally, the inside of the brim will be dark to absorb reflected UV light.

Love vintage tools? See Shopper's Diary: Vintage Tools from Garden & Wood. And check out our Photo Gallery for more beautiful tools.

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How did pea gravel get its name? We'll give you one guess.

As gravel goes, it doesn't get any better. These rounded fragments of pea-size stone crunch underfoot as satisfyingly as crispy cereal. Good for covering driveways and paths, and for filling spaces between stone pavers, pea gravel is inexpensive and versatile.

Yet sometimes we overlook this humble standby, especially with all the sexier hardscaping materials around. (Why, hello limestone. New in town?) But its natural appearance, permeability, and versatility often make pea gravel the best choice. If you're wondering how to build a weed- and mud-free garden path, edge a tidy vegetable plot, or put in a driveway without breaking the budget, pea gravel offers a lot of advantages. 

Here's everything you need to know about this easy-to-install and inexpensive friend:

Above: Pea gravel covers the ground in a low-water-use garden in Ojai, CA, by Paul Hendershot Design.

What is pea gravel?

These small, fluid stones found near bodies of water have an appealingly smooth texture, the result of natural weathering. Pea gravel comes in sizes from 1/8 inch to 3/8 inch, about the size of a pea, and in a range of natural colors like buff, rust brown, shades of gray, white, and translucent.

Above: This geometric garden in a Brooklyn backyard, designed by Susan Welti of Foras Studio, features bluestone pavers and pea gravel. 

What are the best uses for pea gravel?

Paths, patios, driveways, and playgrounds are a few candidates. Pea gravel is often overlooked as mulch material around containers or garden plants: It suppresses weed growth, retains moisture, and doesn't decompose like organic mulch.  

Above: A pea-gravel path abuts a bed of mulch and bluestone pavers, neatly separated by a strip of metal edging. Photograph by Nicole Franzen for Gardenista.

Because of its tendency to travel, pea gravel must be contained by some type of edging material, such as brick, stones, Bender Board, or metal edging (as shown above). I found it worked well for the path in the narrow yard beside my house, providing both excellent drainage and a rodent barrier (big plus: rodents can't dig through pea gravel). We embedded flagstones in the gravel as the path approached the lawn, gradually phasing out the gravel—since gravel and lawn do not mix.

Above: Pea gravel seems to flow like a river at Perch Hill, Sarah Raven's garden in East Sussex, England. Photograph by Ngoc Minh Ngo.

Another consideration is that pea gravel shifts underfoot. As much as we love the crunching sound of footsteps on gravel, it can be hard to drag any wheeled conveyance (say, a suitcase or stroller) over pea gravel, and the surface may not be stable enough to support outdoor furniture. 

Above: A gravel path with paving stones is flanked by globe boxwoods in a Bridgehampton, Long Island, garden designed by Deborah Nevins & Associates.

How do you install pea gravel?

Compared to other hardscaping materials, installing pea gravel is relatively easy. Generally, you work the soil about 6 inches deep, remove any weeds, lay down 2 inches of coarsely textured base rock (also called crushed rock), and cover that with a 3-inch-deep layer of pea gravel. The base rock stabilizes the pea gravel to provide a firm surface.

Depending on the persistence of the weeds in your area, you may wish to add a barrier of landscape cloth between the base rock and pea gravel. However, landscape cloth can have its own issues, deteriorating or becoming visible over time.

If you're bothered by an existing pea gravel area that behaves like a pile of marbles, it was probably installed without base rock. Mixing in stone dust may help stabilize it.

Above: Regularly spaced vegetable beds outlined with brick and pea gravel, designed by Susan Cohan of Susan Cohan Gardens.

How do you keep pea gravel looking good? 

You'll probably need to tidy the surface with a rake every now and then. Luckily, pea gravel doesn't decompose, but it does sink into the soil (which improves drainage if you have clay soil). So you may need to replenish the gravel every four years or so. Most landscape material companies will deliver 50-pound bags, and you can spread the gravel with a mud rake. Snow removal is the biggest challenge: to avoid disturbing the gravel, you have to shovel off most of the snow but leave behind a thin layer, then melt the rest with salt.

How much does pea gravel cost?

A pea gravel walkway or patio costs about $5 per square foot, installed, including a layer of base rock. If you'd like to install it yourself, it will cost half as much. Add in the cost of a header or Bender Board. A wood header is about $5 per linear foot; a metal header is $6 (black metal disappears well). You won't need a header if you're installing gravel against a house, fence, or raised bed.

Above: At a garden in Malmö, Sweden, raised beds and stone walkways complement a base of light-colored pea gravel. Photograph by Maria Manning. 

Pea Gravel Recap 

Pros:

• Inexpensive
• Versatile: can be used for paths, patios, driveways, or as a base for paving stones
• Easy to install
• Serves as rodent barrier if used around base of house
• Prevents weeds
• Prevents erosion
• Improves drainage
• Easily maintained by raking stones into place

Cons:

• Travels: needs to be contained with edging material
• Difficult to remove from soil if you decide to change landscape
• Shifts underfoot; base rock must be added underneath to prevent this
• Can be uncomfortable on bare feet (compared to flagstones or concrete)
• Does not provide a solid base for dining furniture
• Needs to be replenished every four years or so
• Difficult for snow removal

Planning a walkway? See Ellen's advice for designing a front path in Hardscaping 101: Front Paths. Ellen has also investigated the pros and cons of Decomposed Granite, Limestone Pavers, and Bluestone. And you can explore more ideas for patios, roofs, and fences in our Hardscaping 101 archive.

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There are at least 50 million shades of gray. Which one will look best on your house? We asked members of our Architect/Designer Directory to reveal their favorites. Here are the 10 exterior gray paints that they most often turn to:

Deciding between gray and white? See 10 Easy Pieces: Architects' White Exterior Paint Picks, also chosen by members of our Architect/Designer Directory. 

Swatch photographs by Katie Newburn for Gardenista. 

Above: Top row, left to right: Benjamin Moore Sag Harbor Gray; ICI Grey Hearth; Dunn-Edwards Vulcan; Benjamin Moore Graphite; Benjamin Moore Bear Creek. Bottom row: Benjamin Moore Iron Mountain; Benjamin Moore Gravel Grey; Sherwin-Williams Peppercorn; Farrow & Ball Down Pipe; and Benjamin Moore Graystone.

Above: Los Angeles-based SIMO Design painted this house in Dunn-Edwards Vulcan, a cool blue-gray. It's the bluest of the shades in our top 10.

Above: LA designers Nickey Kehoe Inc. had this house painted in Benjamin Moore Iron Mountain, a dark gray with a rich brown undertone. The same shade is also a favorite of Geremia Design and Klopf Architecture, both based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Photograph by Amy Neunsinger.

Above: Chatham, NY-based architect James Dixon chose Benjamin Moore's Sag Harbor Gray for this Hudson Valley farmhouse. A light green-gray, it's part of Benjamin Moore's Historic Color collection.

Above: Ana Williamson Architect, based in Menlo Park, CA, used Benjamin Moore Graphite on the siding of this modern house. The color is a true dark gray with just a hint of blue. For the trim, Williamson chose Benjamin Moore Gunmetal; the stucco was integrally colored to match Benjamin Moore Timber Wolf.

Above: SF Bay Area-based interior designer Kriste Michelini chose Benjamin Moore Bear Creek as her favorite gray. Rich in brown tones, it's lighter than Iron Mountain but darker than Grey Hearth. Photograph via Pinterest.

Above: Both LA-based DISC Interiors and SF-based Nicole Hollis picked Farrow & Ball Down Pipe as their top exterior gray. The popular color is a complex mix with hints of blue-green. Photograph via Farrow & Ball.

Above: NYC-based architect Alex Scott Porter has used Benjamin Moore Gravel Gray on several projects, including this cabin on a Maine island. Gravel Gray is the darkest of the shades recommended here.

Above: LA's Kevin Oreck Architect painted this new house in ICI Grey Hearth. 

Above: Interior designer Laura Clayton Baker of LA-based The Uplifters Inc. used Sherwin-Williams Peppercorn on this Washington, D.C., house. The truest gray of those listed here, Peppercorn pairs well with the other shades Clayton Baker used on this exterior: Sherwin-Williams Pure White and Tricorn Black for the trim, and Benjamin Moore Vermilion in a high-gloss finish for the door.

Above: SF-based Klopf Architecture has used Benjamin Moore Graystone on several house exteriors; the shade is appealing in all kinds of light.

Find lots more designer-approved outdoor paint picks for your house at Palette & Paints. Trying to get up the nerve to paint it black? Read 10 Modern Houses Gone to the Dark Side.

This is an update of a post originally published September 16, 2013.

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The RHS are the people who host the Chelsea Flower Show and give out medals there. Visitors arriving at the RHS headquarters at Wisley, in Surrey, naturally expect a very fine nursery (which they get) and also a garden that is the top tier of the wedding cake, horticulturally speaking.

For some, roses are the bride and groom in this arrangement: Perfection is a given. So, why on earth did Wisley's curator decide that the only thing to do with the popular rose garden was to bulldoze it?

Photography by Allan Pollok-Morris.

Above: At Wisley, the garden came before the buildings. The Laboratory, shown here, was built to look "in keeping" with its surroundings, in 1916. It's still the workplace of botanists, scientists, and horticulture students.

For decades, the roses at Wisley grew in neat rectangular beds. The old rose garden was a classic, with island beds ablaze all summer. In winter, however, it became only "a collection of sticks," as rose gardens are sometimes disparagingly known. 

When a 21st-century master plan called for change at Wisley, the 172-acre garden was scrutinized to determine how to improve visitor flow and accommodate new theories about growing roses. The result? The roses went modern.

Above: Wisley's curator at the time, Jim Gardiner, commissioned Robert Myers Associates to make better use of the space. Myers, whose experience includes redesigning London's Sloane Square, wanted to keep some mature trees and this Sixties building, the Bowes-Lyon Pavilion. He anchored the pavilion to the landscape by means of a series of steps and a path that cuts through the length of the garden. Terracing enhances the views looking down over the rose collections.

Above: The new rose garden opened in 2011, and welcomed perennials, shrubs, and trees into the roses' domain. Garden beds, now curving and terraced, are home to more than 4,000 herbaceous plants that complement the roses: daylilies, salvias, geraniums, Joe Pye weed, and rudbeckia. These extend the blooming period and create interest at varying heights. More-or-less circular rooms were designed around existing trees like this walnut, while yew and Magnolia grandiflora create dark backdrops for the roses. Pergolas and obelisks added new height. 

Above: Most rose gardens are a throwback to an earlier gardening style, the site of vicious battles against the typical afflictions of greenfly and blackspot. Planting roses with herbaceous perennials is now known to create greater biodiversity and a healthier growing environment. Suddenly, we're seeing roses in such unexpected combinations as the scenario shown here, where peachy Rosa 'Perdita' meets tangerine-colored Ligularia 'Britt Marie Crawford' and fiery spikes of Kniphofia 'Prince Igor.' 

Above: This area showcases a combination of pale pinks: Rosa 'The Generous Gardener' and R. 'Mortimer Sackler.' Leaving plenty of space between the plants allows for good air circulation.

Above: Piet Oudolf's "New Perennial" style, mainly associated with prairie-like drifts of flowers, influenced this planting. Combining roses with oversized grasses like the Stipa gigantea shown here is as experimental as anything carried out in the Wisley Laboratory. The white roses are Rosa 'Carpet White' and R. x alba 'Alba Semiplena.'

Above: What do purple roses go with? Green, of course, and darker perennials like Agastache mexicana, Eupatorium maculatum, salvias, sedum, and geranium.

Above: The rose circle shown here is about as traditional as you'll get with this garden. Shades of yellow and deep peach are provided by 'Golden Beauty,' 'You Are My Sunshine,' and 'Lady Emma Hamilton' roses.

For more unusual roses, see Endangered Roses: Are Any Hiding in Your Garden? And if you're as obsessed with English roses as we are, you'll love this DIY: Braided Rose Pillars.

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After coming into possession of his grandfather's workbench and tools, London-based architect Ben Davidson of Rodić Davidson Architects designed a perfectly proportioned shed for them in his garden.

We spotted the workshop via Dezeen, where Davidson described how he designed and built the shed four years after moving to his home in Cambridge.

Photography courtesy of Ben Davidson and Rodić Davidson Architects.

Above: The shed's exterior is clad in plywood siding, stained black. The windows are Velfac panels that Davidson was given for free by a contractor who had ordered the wrong size.

Above: Davidson inherited his grandfather's workbench and tools after his father died in 2012. As he told Dezeen: "My grandfather was a carpenter by trade, and extraordinarily talented; he should have been a cabinet maker. I recall many summers in my early teens, being packed off for two weeks to stay with my grandparents in Norfolk. I'd spend the entire time with my grandfather in his workshop."

Above: Davidson's grandfather's workbench has stood the test of time. The shed floor is concrete; the walls are lined with lacquered pegboard. 

Above: The pegboard wall panels allow Davidson to display (rather than merely store) his grandfather's tools. In addition to windows, the shed has two skylights. 

Above: A new maple workbench runs the length of one wall.

Above: A Meddings pillar drill sits on a lowered platform.

Above: More tools are displayed on a birch plywood shelving unit.

Above: The workshop is one of two sheds Davidson built in his garden; a second is a home office.

For more sheds, studios, and tool storage ideas, see our Outbuilding of the Week archive. And see more images of beautiful garden sheds in our Photo Gallery.

N.B.: This is an update of a post originally published Feb. 3, 2014.

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Not long ago, I finally decided to part with the ugly plastic box of tools that I'd been carting around since college. I'd keep the tools, but their carrier needed an upgrade. I have a limited budget and I'm partial to anything that shows its age, so when I found a vintage turquoise toolbox I snapped it up. When my dad came to visit a few weeks later, he laughed and told me he had two just like it sitting empty in his workshop. And I could have them.

Photographs by Erin Boyle.

Above: Garden tools needing a home. What do the contents of your toolbox look like? Show us by uploading a photo in the comment section below.

Above: The vintage toolbox I found. After my dad gave me two more, I started using them to store not just tools but all sorts of things, since our tiny apartment has so little cabinet and closet space. I recently gave the boxes a major overhaul, taking everything out and rearranging the contents. By the time I finished, I'd designated one as my gardening toolbox.

Above: I keep it under the couch, in easy reach for whenever I embark on a garden or flower project. Having all my gardening supplies in one place means I spend less time searching for the proper tools.

Above: The newest additions to my collection: a Dewit Garden Hand Shovel (bottom right; $25.90 from Kaufmann Mercantile), a major step up from the soup spoon I'd been using; and Gardener's Goat Skin Work Gloves ($32 from Womanswork). The gloves are soft and supple, and most important, they fit my small hands.

The contents of my tool box are particular to my urban gardening needs. Besides the gloves and the trusty trowel, I packed in a canvas bag for foraging finds, Japanese scissors, pruners, hand drills, and various bits of wire, tape, and twine. My Victorinox SwissTool ($127.50 from Swiss Army) is invaluable in a small apartment—or anywhere, really.

Above: The smaller tools go in the top tray, and each one has a story. I bought the pruning shears at a hardware store in Providence, Rhode Island. The historic building where I did my graduate work has a garden designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, and when I got permission to take clippings from its flowering quince, I knew kitchen scissors wouldn't do the trick. One day I might upgrade to one of these beautiful options, but for now, this is my best tool for clipping branches.

Above: I have another box for craft supplies, but I keep some paper scraps and a pen and pencil in the upper tray of this box for making labels or jotting down notes as I work.

Above: Below deck, I keep larger tools like my trowel and scissors for flower arranging. Seed packets and garden gloves also make their home here.

Above: Finally, I tucked the dram vials I use as wall vases safely away in the bottom of the box.

The rest of you urban gardeners out there: What are your must-have tools?

Explore more: See 125 more posts about Garden Tools and one of our favorite tool boxes, The "It" Tool Box.

This is an update of a post originally published March 7, 2013.

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• DIY: A Hanging Orchid, Father's Day Edition
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This week, the editors at Remodelista joined us (and, indeed, the rest of the Western World) in celebrating dads. Their angle: manly design. Believing every room benefits from a balance of yin and yang, we appreciate the male aesthetic.

Above: In The New Pioneers: An Architect's One-Room Family House, read how Takaaki Kawabata turned a modest, mountain-view cabin in upstate New York into a one-room open-plan house for his family. You may be surprised to hear that those kids roll up their own futons every morning. 

Above: Napper's delight: The Eames lounge chair. This week's Object Lesson delves into the history of this iconic furnishing. Who knew that it all began with director Billy Wilder, who was looking for the "warm, receptive look of a well-worn first baseman's mitt"?

Above: A work table (that becomes a dining table) in the trendsetting kitchen of London chef Alastair Hendy. Credit Hendy with today's use of stainless steel, concrete floors, and industrial lighting. And it still works. Read more in Revolution Road: A Ground-Breaking Kitchen in London.

Above: Here's an unexpected way to achieve a low-key masculine vibe: A well-worn pommel horse gains new life as a hallway bench. For more ideas like this, see 10 Favorites: Vintage Gym Equipment as Decor.

Above: Julie may have uncovered the world's most handsome kitchen utensils. Designed by Hagino Mitsunobu, they're made of rustproof stainless steel with a black matte finish—and built to last. Find out where to get them in Kitchen Tools with a Masculine Edge.

Above: You might not expect an LA.actor to know his way around a tool belt. But Corbin Bernsen and his wife, the interior designer (and former actor) Amanda Pays, have been renovating and flipping houses for decades now. Learn some of Corbin's remodeling tips in Ask the Expert: Corbin Bernsen, Star Handyman.

And that's only a small part of Remodelista's Cool Dads posts for this week. Find out more here. 

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• Required Reading: Tales From the Tool Shed
• Trend Alert: GROW London, The Contemporary Garden Fair
• Table of Contents: Cool Dads

Take a look at what's on our radar. Spoiler: We can't help it, we're having a London moment. 

• Above: Spending the summer in London? This sounds like something out of a dream: a roving gin garden. Photograph by Olivia Rae James. 
• Fire pits come in many shapes and sizes, and they're all beautiful. 
• What you'll think when you see this wildflower eye candy: There'll always be an England.  

• Above: We're craving this teak indoor/outdoor bench from our new favorite UK-based retailer, Rowen & Wren. And we know just where we'll put it.
• A handy gardener's guide to June, whatever your zone. 
• The best part of a summer wedding: the blooms. Here, eight gorgeous centerpieces. 

• Above: If you're reading this in London, and can tear yourself away from the gin garden (see above), get to Open Squares now.
• And next weekend: Look for us at GROW London! We're offering ticket discounts for Gardenista readers.  

• Above: Lilac Pruning 101. Don't wait; prune now for the best bloom next year. Photograph by Justine Hand. 
• Party-ready outdoor rooms for entertaining.  

See how we lead up to Father's Day by celebrating the gentleman gardener in this week's Cool Dads issue, and how Remodelista celebrates the male aesthetic in their Cool Dads issue. 

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• Current Obsessions: Hello, Peonies
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• Current Obsessions: Going Outdoors

When garden designer Andrea Filippone was studying architecture at Harvard, she focused on modern style: She loved clean lines and rectangular shapes, and lots of steel, concrete, and glass. She fully expected to make her career following the innovations of Le Corbusier, Gropius, and van der Rohe. Then, in the early 1990s, she fell in love with an abandoned 19th-century dairy farm in New Jersey.  

The farm had four ramshackle barns and acres of land, including a sunny, flat area that looked just right for growing vegetables. Filippone (who is president of the New Jersey-based firm AJF Design) decided to build an edible garden the size of a mini football field on the 60-by-200-foot rectangle. It took her two years to improve the soil—a mixture of clay and silt—with liberal additions of compost, manure, and sand. Then she planted her vegetables.

And then came the deer. Giant herds of them, with hearty appetites and the superhero ability to leap tall fences. The deer were frequently joined by their friends the groundhogs, vegetable lovers who were experts at tunneling under fences.

But all was not lost. Filippone devised an ingenious solution for thwarting the jumpers and the tunnelers. And she did it without sacrificing style, symmetry, or a single bed of salad greens.

Are you designing a new edible garden this summer—or hoping to improve on last year's plan? For the next 48 hours, Filippone is here to answer any and all reader questions posted in the comment section below. Fire away!

Photography by Andrea Filippone, except where noted. 

Above: Deer will leap a fence only if they can spot a clear landing on the other side. Armed with that knowledge, Filippone devised a deer-proof double enclosure. The first line of defense: an 8-foot-high privet hedge. The second: a 7-foot-high wooden fence, a few feet inside the hedge.

Above: Towards the bottom, the fence is lined with wire mesh that extends to a depth of 3 feet below ground, a barrier to ward off groundhogs.  

Above: One of the four antique French tree guards that enhance Filippone's vegetable garden, providing height and visual interest.

Above: When Filippone first saw the property more than 20 years ago, the four barns may have been eyesores—but she spotted their potential to become a beautiful house. Now restored, the barns are ingeniously linked with innovative passageways, creating a structure that accommodates both living and business. Photo by Jeanne Rostaing.

Restoring the barns was only the beginning. Filippone had always been interested in growing things, but she was very much a novice when she began designing and building the gardens that would surround the barns. 

Above: Squash vines and espaliered apple trees line and soften the vegetable garden's fence. 

Above: French garden design has clearly influenced Filippone. Early in the growing season, the vegetable garden looks formal: perfect squares laid in a grid and edged with boxwood. But, as Filippone points out, by summer's end the symmetry disappears, obscured by the disorder of crops allowed to bolt, go to seed, and basically run wild. "I need the structure because I let the vegetables take over," she says.  

Above: A squash vine breaks through the grid. 

To most of us, companion planting means combining different plants simply to discourage insect pests. To Filippone, with her architect's sensibility, companion planting also provides opportunities to create patterns and textures. She likes to mix plants of different sizes, shapes, and colors to create pleasing contrasts. She grows late-harvest and early-harvest plants together for continued interest. For insect control, she adds parsley, lavender, oregano, and mint. 

Above: Filippone is the primary worker in her vegetable garden, but she gets help from her 10-year-old twins, Isabella and Tessa. Together, they choose which vegetables and varieties to plant. They like to buy locally, getting their seed packets from nearby grocery stores and seedlings from area nurseries and farmers' markets.  

Above: The vegetable garden seems even larger when you realize that other gardens on the 35 acres also require Filippone's care. There's a kitchen garden next to the house and even a test nursery for boxwood, which Filippone became interested in when she was researching plants that deer avoid. Now she's studying the organic management of the shrubs as a way of eliminating problems caused by Cylindrocladium buxicola, boxwood blight. (For boxwood alternatives, see How to Eliminate Boxwood Blight.)

Above: Filippone grows lettuce for color as well as nourishment. Photograph by Jeanne Rostaing.

To care for her vegetable garden, Filippone relies on a number of labor-saving techniques. She uses drip irrigation, loosens the soil and adds compost only in the spring, and mulches with chopped leaves. She limits herself to organic gardening methods. Because she herself is mainly a self-taught gardener, she urges beginners not to be afraid to experiment.

For tips on your own garden, just ask a question below. Andrea Filippone is available all weekend to advise you. 

For another approach to thwarting deer, see Elegant Deer Fencing, Hamptons Edition. Read about smaller edible gardens at DIY: Small Space Vegetable Garden on Remodelista and DIY: A Family Friendly Vegetable Garden. 

More Stories from Gardenista

• Outbuilding of the Week: Garden Workshop by Rodic Davidson Architecture
• Garden Visit: The Latest Word on Roses, from the Royal Horticultural Society
• Architects' Roundup: Fire Pits and Outdoor Fireplaces

Table of Contents:

• Prize
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Official Rules 

Prize

Winning projects will be covered with full posts on Remodelista or Gardenista, and winning entrants will receive a Jielde SI333 Signal Desk Lamp in bronze, designed exclusively for Remodelista and Gardenista.

Above: The Jielde SI333 Signal Desk Lamp in bronze, at the home of Remodelista editor-in-chief Julie Carlson.

Frequently Asked Questions 

Who is eligible to enter the contest? 

Individuals located in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom are welcome to enter. We regret that we cannot open the contest to projects from all countries at this time. Designers and owners/tenants are invited to submit their spaces. Entrants need not be design professionals; gardeners, homeowners, architects, DIYers, interior designers, and landscape architects are all invited to submit. See our Official Rules for exceptions.

What are the 10 Remodelista contest categories?

Best Kitchen Space — Designed by Professionals

Best Living/Dining Space — Designed by Professionals

Best Bedroom Space — Designed by Professionals

Best Office Space — Designed by Professionals

Best Bath Space — Designed by Professionals

Best Kitchen Space — Designed by Amateurs

Best Living/Dining Space — Designed by Amateurs

Best Bedroom Space — Designed by Amateurs

Best Office Space — Designed by Amateurs

Best Bath Space — Designed by Amateurs

What are the seven Gardenista contest categories?

Best Garden — Designed by Amateurs

Best Small Garden — Designed by Amateurs

Best Outdoor Living Space — Open to Everyone

Best Edible Garden — Open to Everyone

Best Hardscape Project — Open to Everyone

Best Professional Landscape — Designed by Professionals

Best Garden Shed or Outbuilding — Designed by Professionals

Will you explain the Gardenista categories in greater detail?

Best Garden: Best overall outdoor garden designed by an amateur.

Best Small Garden: Houseplants, indoor gardens, window boxes, fire escape gardens, container gardens, vertical gardens, etc. designed by an amateur.

Best Outdoor Living Space: Outdoor sitting rooms and lounge spaces, outdoor kitchens, outdoor dining rooms, outdoor showers and baths, etc. open to both professionals and amateurs.

Best Edible Garden: Kitchen gardens, vegetable patches, raised beds, outdoor herb gardens, etc. open to both professionals and amateurs.

Best Hardscape Project: Stairways, decks and patios, driveways, pathways, fences, swimming pools, garden gates, trellises, etc. open to both professionals and amateurs.

Best Professional Landscape: Best overall outdoor garden or landscape designed by a professional.

Best Garden Shed or Outbuilding: Garden sheds, storage sheds, barns, garages, carports, greenhouses, pool houses, backyard studios, outhouses, guest houses, etc. designed by a professional. Though an outbuilding is typically detached from a main house, it's not required here.

What if my project has been covered on Remodelista or Gardenista before? What if I am a member of your Architect/Designer Directory?

If we have featured your project on our site(s) before, please do not submit that project for consideration. All are welcome to submit new projects, including members of our Architect/Designer Directory.

Can I submit more than one entry?

Yes, you may submit one entry into each category for which you qualify. You must complete an entry form for each submission. Please use the same email address for all of your submissions, as well as the same public-facing name. 

Can I submit a project for more than one category?

One project may be submitted for more than one category, but a single photo may not be submitted twice. For example, if you would like to submit two spaces from a single project—say a kitchen and a bedroom in the same home—choose up to six photos of the kitchen and submit them as a single entry. Choose up to six different photos of the bedroom and submit them as a single entry. Entries will be excluded if the same photo is submitted for more than one category.

When are entries due?

Monday, July 7 by midnight PDT.

What kinds of photos are you looking for?

Please upload a maximum of six photos per entry. Look through our sites to get a sense for the kinds of photos we like. Consider the way we cover any single room or space, and follow suit if you can. We need to be able to see the space you want us to consider, but we also enjoy detail shots.

Photos must be a minimum of 700 pixels wide (whether the photo is displayed horizontally or vertically does not matter). Photos can be in JPG or PNG format and may have a maximum file size of 5 MB each. Photos cannot feature any identifiable person. Please note that we cannot provide individual help with photography or image sizing.

Do I need to have professional photos taken of my space?

No. We use both professional and amateur photography on our sites, and we will evaluate contest images in the same way we review images for our sites. 

What is the Design Statement?

Please prepare a brief statement describing your project and what you were aiming to achieve. The form will accept a maximum of 250 words. Your project will not be judged on your design statement but it can help us understand your project. If you are a contest finalist, your project will be judged by reader vote. Your design statement can help readers understand and vote for your project. 

How will you choose the winners?

A guest judge has been assigned to each category, and the guest judge will review projects alongside Remodelista and Gardenista judges to choose up to five finalists in each category. Remodelista and Gardenista judges will review every contest submission. We will announce the finalists on our sites and the eventual winners will be chosen by public voting. There will be 17 winners total: one winner for each of the 10 Remodelista and seven Gardenista categories.

Who are the judges?

The competition will be judged by a panel of Remodelista and Gardenista editors, plus one guest judge in each category. 

When will finalists be announced, and when is the public voting period?

Finalists will be announced on Wednesday, July 16 and public voting will begin. Voting ends on Friday, August 8 at midnight PDT.

If I am a finalist, can I publicize my project and ask people to vote for me?

Yes! We will share some tips with all finalists about publicizing your project to maximize your votes. We will share a contest logo with you to post on your blog, Facebook page, etc.

When will winners be announced?

Winners will be announced on Saturday, August 9.

Even if I don’t win, is there a chance you will publish my project on Remodelista or Gardenista?

Yes. By sending your photos and project details to us, you give us permission to use them. We may publish some images to publicize the competition, and we may publish your images on our site at a future date, always with proper credit.

If my entry wins, who will be credited for the design?

On the entry form, you will be asked to list the contributors to the project. Listed contributors will be named if your project wins. By submitting a project, we assume that you are entitled to do so. See our Official Rules (below) for details.

How do I enter?

Enter online here.

What if my question isn’t answered here?

If not answered in our Official Rules, please email feedback<at>remodelista.com with "Design Awards" in the subject line. We cannot guarantee a response, especially if you are requesting individual assistance with your submission.

Official Rules of the Remodelista/Gardenista 2014 Considered Design Awards

Remodelista.com/Gardenista.com 2014 Considered Design Awards

Official Rules

NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID IN QUEBEC AND WHERE PROHIBITED.

The Remodelista.com/Gardenista.com Considered Design Awards (“Contest”) starts on Monday, June 16, 2014 at 12:01 am Eastern Time (“ET”) and ends at 11:59 pm PT on Friday, August 8, 2014 (“Contest Period”).  

All Contest entry submissions should be received between Monday, June 16, 2014 at 12:01 am ET and at 11:59 pm PT on Monday, July 7, 2014 (“Submission Period”)

Public voting will take place between 12:01 a.m. ET on Wednesday, July 16, 2014 and 11:59 pm PT on Friday, August 8, 2014 (“Voting Period”).

ELIGIBILITY: Contest is open to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and District of Columbia, Canada (excluding Quebec), and the United Kingdom who are 21 years of age or older at time of entry.  Employees, officers, directors, agents and representatives of SAY Media, Inc. (“Sponsor”), its parent, subsidiaries, affiliates and advertising and promotion agencies, and members of their immediate family (spouse and parent, children and siblings and their respective spouses, regardless of where they reside) and persons living in the same household, whether or not related, of such employees, officers, directors, agents and representatives, are not eligible to enter or win. Void in Quebec and where prohibited by law. Contest is subject to all applicable federal, state provincial and local laws. By participating, each entrant agrees to abide by these Official Rules and decisions of Sponsor and judges, which shall be final and binding in all respects relating to this Contest.

HOW TO ENTER:  During the Submission Period, you may enter in one or more of the following categories (each, a “Category”):

(7) Best Garden Shed or Outbuilding by a Professional (Garden sheds, storage sheds, barns, garages, carports, greenhouses, pool houses, backyard studios, outhouses, guest houses, etc. Though an outbuilding is typically detached from a main house, it's not required to be detached for this Category.)

Each Remodelista.com Category will have a Professional and Amateur Sub-Category (each, a “Sub-Category”). Gardenista.com has two categories open only to Amateurs (Best Garden and Best Small Garden), two Categories open only to Professionals (Best Professional Landscape and Best Garden Shed or Outbuilding), and three Categories that are open to all types of entrants (Best Outdoor Living Space, Best Edible Garden, and Best Hardscape Project). Enter your project into the Professional Sub-Category if:  (a) you are currently employed as a home or garden design professional, or (b) if you received payment for the project you are submitting.  All other projects should be entered into the Amateur Sub-Category. 

To enter a particular category, visit (as applicable) either Remodelista.com or Gardenista.com (each a “Website” and collectively, the “Websites”) and (1) follow the directions to upload up to six (6) photos (each a “Photo” and collectively, the “Photos”) of an indoor and/or outdoor space (as applicable) that you designed and/or you own or rent and that reflects the selected Category, and (2) provide all requested information  (including your first and last name, country/state/province/territory of residence, email address, and description of the project).  You will also be required to confirm that you have read, understood and agree to abide by these Official Rules and are older than 21 years old.  For the purposes of this Contest and these Official Rules an “Entry” shall include the “Photo”.  

Limit one (1) Entry per person/email address for each Category for which you qualify.  Each Entry must feature a different indoor and/or outdoor space (as applicable) in Sponsor’s sole discretion.  

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

• Any Photo must be submitted in one of the following formats: JPG or PNG, and cannot exceed 5 MB.  

• The Photo Entries should only show the space and must not contain any reference to, or the image or likeness of, any identifiable person.

Entries generated by script, macro or other automated means or by any means which subvert the entry process are void.  Entrant may only use one (1) email account in connection with this Contest. Entries received from any person or email address in excess of this limitation will be void. Entries will not be returned.  

PROHIBITED CONTENT:  Each Entry may not contain, as determined by the Sponsor, in its sole discretion, any content that:

• is derogatory of any ethnic, racial, gender, sexual orientation, religious, professional or age or other protected group or individual(s);

• is profane or pornographic;

• contains nudity;

• is obscene or offensive; endorses any form of hate or hate group;

• appears to duplicate any other submitted Entries;  

• defames, misrepresents or contains disparaging remarks about Sponsor, its products or services, any person or any other entity;

• contains trademarks, logos, or trade dress owned by others, without permission, to the extent permission is necessary;

• contains copyrighted materials owned by others (such as music, photographs, footage, sculptures, paintings, texts and other works of art or images), without permission, to the extent permission is necessary;

• contains materials embodying the names, likenesses, voices, or other indicia identifying any person (living or dead), such as license plate numbers, personal names, e-mail addresses or street addresses, including, without limitation, celebrities and/or other public or private figures, living or dead, without permission, to the extent permission is necessary;

• communicates messages or images inconsistent with Sponsor and/or its reputation; and/or

• violates any law.

Entrant represents and warrants that he/she has all necessary rights, title and interest, including copyright, in each Entry, and that each Entry does not infringe upon the copyrights, trademarks, rights of privacy, publicity or other intellectual property or other rights of any person, living or deceased, or entity.  If an Entry contains any material or elements that are not owned by the entrant, and/or which are subject to the rights of third parties, the entrant is responsible for obtaining, prior to submission of the Entry, any and all releases, permissions and consents necessary to permit the use and exhibition of the Entry by Sponsor in the manner set forth in these Official Rules, including, without limitation, permissions from any person who took the Photo(s) submitted as an Entry. Sponsor reserves the right to request proof of these permissions in a form acceptable to Sponsor from any entrant at any time. Failure to provide such proof may, if requested, render Entry null and void.  By submitting an Entry, entrant warrants and represents that (a) he/she has the right to submit the Photo, (b) he/she consents to the submission and use of the Photo in the Contest and to its use as otherwise set forth herein, and (c) the use of the Photo by Sponsor as contemplated herein will not violate or infringe upon the rights of any third party.

By submitting an Entry, entrant represents and warrants that the Entry conforms to these Official Rules and understands that Sponsor, in its sole discretion, may disqualify the Entry for any reason, including if it determines, in its sole discretion, that the Entry fails to conform to these Official Rules in any way or otherwise contains unacceptable content as determined by Sponsor, in its sole discretion.

USE OF PHOTOS:By submitting a Photo, entrant hereby grants to Sponsor, its licensees, successors and assigns a non-exclusive license to use, adapt, edit, modify, reproduce, distribute, display, perform, create derivative works based upon, or otherwise exploit the Photo in any manner or media now known or hereafter devised throughout the world in perpetuity for advertising, promotional and other purposes (including, without limitation, displaying the Photo on the Websites and/or Sponsor’s websites and social media sites as part of a library of Entries) and waives all his/her rights, including moral rights, in and to the Photo, without further compensation, notification or permission. Entrant agrees that Released Parties (as defined below) are not responsible for any unauthorized use of Photos by third parties.  Sponsor has no obligation to make use of the rights granted herein and may take down any Photo at any time and for any reason, in its sole discretion.  

JUDGING:  All eligible Entries received by Sponsor will be judged by a panel of qualified judges based on the following criteria, with each criterion being weighted equally: (a) simplicity of the design, and (b) compatibility with the overall theme and aesthetic of the Remodelista.com or Gardenista.com website for the applicable Category (“Judging Criteria”), to determine up to five (5) potential finalists in each Category or Sub-Category on each Website, for a total of up to eighty-five (85) potential finalists (up to fifty (50) per Remodelista.com and up to thirty-five (35) per Gardenista.com) (each, a “Finalist”).  The same individual can be selected as a Finalist in more than one Category. In the event of a tie, an additional, “tie-breaking” judge will determine the Finalist(s) based on the Judging Criteria. Sponsor will not reveal the judging scores for any Entry.

PUBLIC VOTING: Each Finalist Photo will be featured on each Website during the Voting Period. Visitors to the Websites can select their favorite design. Limit one (1) vote per person per IP address and per Category per day during the Voting Period. For the Categories with Sub-Categories, a person can submit one (1) vote each day in each Sub-Category. The Finalist receiving the highest number of valid votes in a Category (or Sub-Category, as applicable) at the end of the Voting Period, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion, will be deemed a potential winner. One (1) potential winner per Category (or Sub-Category) will be determined by public voting, for a total of up to seventeen (17) potential winners. The same individual may be selected as a potential winner for multiple Categories (or Sub-Categories). Votes received from any person/email address in excess of the stated limitation will be void. Votes obtained or suspected to be obtained by any fraudulent or inappropriate means, including, without limitation, trading votes or offering prizes or other inducements to members of the public, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion, will be disqualified and all associated entrants will be void. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, if the Sponsor has grounds to suspect any entrant or third party of cheating, deception or fraudulent or unsportsman-like conduct of any kind (including, without limitation, manipulating the Contest, choice of prize winner(s) or any Entry) the Sponsor reserves the right (in its sole discretion) to disqualify any entrant, vote or person it reasonably believes to be responsible for, or associated with, such activity. In the event of a tie, a “tie-breaking” judge will determine the winner based on the judging criteria set forth above. Use of script, macro or any automated system to vote or with the intent to impair the integrity of the voting process is prohibited and all such votes will be void. Sponsor reserves the right to not award any or all prizes (except where prohibited) if, in its sole discretion, it does not receive a sufficient number of eligible and qualified Entries.

The odds of being selected as eligible to win will depend on a combination of: (i) the total number of eligible Entries received in each Category (or Sub-Category, as applicable) during the Contest Period and (ii) the total number of eligible “votes” the entrant’s Photo receives from the Voting Period and (iii) the score the Photo receives by the judges in accordance with the Judging Criteria outlined above.

For the purposes of submitting a vote in this Contest in accordance with these Official Rules, a “day” shall mean  twenty-four (24) hours from the time a participant submits a vote during the Voting Period.

WINNER NOTIFICATION: Potential winners will be notified by email within three (3) days of selection at the email address provided at time of entry and may be required to execute an Affidavit of Eligibility and a Liability and Publicity Release or for residents of Canada, a Declaration and Release (collectively, the “Release”) (unless prohibited by law), which must be returned within five (5) days of the date appearing on prize notification. Return of prize or prize notification as undeliverable, failure to sign and return requested documentation within the specified time period, the inability of Sponsor to contact a potential winner within a reasonable time period or noncompliance with these Official Rules by any potential winner will result in disqualification and, at Sponsor’s sole discretion, the prize may be awarded to a runner-up (who received the next highest number of valid votes in the same Category during the Voting Period), who will be subject to disqualification in the same manner.

Prizes: There are a total of seventeen (17) prizes available to be won (one (1) per Category or Sub-Category). Each winner will receive one (1) Jielde Signal Lamp in a color to be determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion. Approximate Retail Value (“ARV”): $500 U.S. Dollars (“USD”) each.  Total ARV of all prizes: $8500 USD. All applicable federal, state, provincial and local taxes are the sole responsibility of the winners. Winner may not substitute, assign or transfer prize, but Sponsor reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to substitute prize with one of comparable or greater monetary value.  All prize details are at Sponsor’s sole discretion.

RELEASE OF LIABILITY:  By participating, each entrant agrees to release, indemnify, discharge and hold harmless Sponsor and its parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, and advertising and promotion agencies, and the respective officers, directors, shareholders, employees, agents and representatives of the forgoing (collectively, “Released Parties”) from any and all injuries, liability, losses and damages of any kind to persons, including death, or property resulting, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from entrant’s participation in the Contest or any Contest-related activity, the use of entrant’s Entry, the acceptance, possession, use or misuse of any prize and/or Sponsor’s use of the rights granted herein.

PUBLICITY GRANT: By participating, each entrant agrees to the use by Sponsor and its designees, of his/her name, voice, performance, biographical information, image and/or likeness for advertising, publicity, promotional and other purposes, in any and all media now or hereafter known, worldwide in perpetuity, without compensation (unless prohibited by law) or additional consents from entrant or any third party and without prior notice, approval or inspection, and to execute specific consent to such use if asked to do so.  

PERSONAL INFORMATION:  Sponsor and its authorized agents will collect, use, and disclose the personal information you provide when you enter the Contest for the purposes of administering the Contest and prize fulfillment. By entering this Contest, you consent to such collection, use, and disclosure of your personal information. Residents of Canada: The Websites may be hosted on servers in the United States, and the personal information you provide may therefore also be subject to the laws of the United States.For further information about Sponsor's privacy practices, please see Sponsor's Privacy Policy at: http://www.remodelista.com/privacy-policy.

GENERAL CONDITIONS Released Parties are not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, damaged, inaccurate, stolen, delayed, misdirected, undelivered, or garbled Entries, email or mail; or for lost, interrupted or unavailable network, server, Internet Service Provider (ISP), website, or other connections, availability or accessibility or miscommunications or failed computer, satellite, telephone or cable transmissions, lines, or technical failure or jumbled, scrambled, delayed, or misdirected transmissions or computer hardware or software malfunctions, failures or difficulties, or other errors or difficulties of any kind whether human, mechanical, electronic, computer, network, typographical, printing or otherwise relating to or in connection with the Contest, including, without limitation, errors or difficulties which may occur in connection with the administration of the Contest, the processing or judging of Entries, the announcement of the prize or in any Contest-related materials.  Proof of Entry submission does not constitute proof of receipt. Sponsor reserves the right to correct any typographical, printing, computer programming or operator errors.  Released Parties are also not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by site users, tampering, hacking, or by any equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Contest.  Released Parties are not responsible for injury or damage to any person's computer related to or resulting from participating in this Contest or downloading materials from or use of the Websites.  Persons who tamper with or abuse any aspect of the Contest or Websites, who act in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner or who are in violation of these Official Rules, as solely determined by Sponsor, will be disqualified and all associated Entries will be void. Should any portion of the Contest be, in Sponsor’s sole opinion, compromised by virus, worms, bugs, non-authorized human intervention or other causes which, in the sole opinion of the Sponsor, corrupt or impair the administration, security, fairness or proper play, or submission of Entries, Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to suspend, modify or terminate the Contest or these Official Rules, in whole or in part, at any time and without notice or obligation and, if terminated, at its discretion, select the potential winner from all eligible, non-suspect Entries received prior to action taken who will be subject to disqualification in the same manner using the judging procedure outlined above or as otherwise deemed fair and appropriate by Sponsor. CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE THE WEBSITES OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES AND OTHER REMEDIES (INCLUDING ATTORNEYS’ FEES) FROM ANY SUCH INDIVIDUAL TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW, INCLUDING CRIMINAL PROSECUTION.  If and to the extent English law applies to these Official Rules or any claim relating to it, nothing in these Official Rules will in any way limit or exclude any party’s liability for death or personal injury caused by its negligence, or for fraud.  Sponsor's failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of these Official Rules shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision.  If any provision of the Official Rules is determined to be invalid or otherwise unenforceable, then the Official Rules shall be construed in accordance with their terms as if the invalid or unenforceable provision was not contained therein.  In the event of a dispute as to the identity of the person who submitted any Entry, the authorized account holder of the e-mail address submitted at entry will be deemed to be the entrant and he/she must comply with these Official Rules. The "authorized account holder" is the natural person assigned an e-mail address by an access provider, service provider, or other person or organization responsible for assigning e-mail addresses for the account associated with the submitted address. The potential winner may be required to show proof of being the authorized account holder.

Request for Winners LIST: For the winners list (available after Saturday, August 9, 2014), visit remodelista.com or gardenista.com.

Sponsor: SAY Media, Inc., 180 Townsend Street, San Francisco, CA 94107

More Stories from Gardenista

• Announcing the Gardenista 2014 Considered Design Awards
• 10 Easy Pieces: Etsy's Best Canvas Carry-Alls
• Coming Soon: The 2014 Gardenista Considered Design Awards

As summer solstice approaches, we'll spend the week preparing for Midsummer. We'll be exploring Scandinavian gardens, summer homes, and cocktails. Elderflower cordial, anyone?

Monday

Above: In this week's Architect Visit, Danish architectural firm Lykke + Nielsen launch a side business creating modular cottages for summer living. We just need a US architect to riff off this, and we'll be all set.

Tuesday 

Above: Photograph via Bo Bedre.

A summer house north of Copenhagen has it all: an outdoor shower, a sunny patio, and simplicity. Plus, a dog who could be the identical twin of Michelle's papillon Larry. Dalilah recreates the look in this week's Steal This Look.

Wednesday

Above: Photograph via The Balcony Gardener.

Portable and collapsible are two of our favorite words to describe seasonal furniture. This week's 10 Easy Pieces is devoted to stylish outdoor chairs you can fold up and tuck away come winter. Not that we have to worry about that for a while.

Thursday

Above: Photograph by Nicole Franzen.

A hog wire fence can be the height of elegance; trust us on this one (and see this week's Hardscaping 101).

Friday

Above: Photograph by Nicole Franzen for Gardenista.

What makes a garage a home? Scandi style from Ikea, of course. We explore budget options for summer guest quarters in this week's Outbuilding of the Week.

More Stories from Gardenista

• Trending on Remodelista: Cool Dads
• Required Reading: Tales From the Tool Shed
• Trend Alert: GROW London, The Contemporary Garden Fair

The Danish architectural firm Lykke + Nielsen has launched a side business building modular summer cottages. Created from a simple modular template, the houses can be in place within six months of ordering, configured to fit the buyer's needs. Mix and match room modules—a bedroom, a kitchen/bath, a living room—and join them by adding a breezeway module.

Here are two examples from the Lykke + Nielsen portfolio that caught our eye. To learn more, go to Moen Huset. Now we just need an architect in the US to riff off this idea, and we'll be all set.

Photography via Small House Bliss.

Above: A breezeway connects two living areas in the Længehus modular house, located in the countryside south of Copenhagen. We like the way the exterior door props open to create a windbreak.

 Above: The cottage with the door closed. The siding is tar-treated larch.

Above: This larger cabin was built in a forest an hour north of Copenhagen. It's made of two modules that sit at right angles; the deck extends the length of the living area.

Above: Black metal window frames and an iron wood-burning stove provide visual contrast with the all-white interior.

Above: Floor-to-ceiling windows run the length of the living room, allowing plenty of light in.

Above: The living room seen from the sleeping loft.

Above: The streamlined kitchen, white with black accents.

Above: The downstairs bedroom is easily opened up to the outdoors.

Above: A wall-mounted vanity gives the small bathroom a spacious feel.

Above: The sleeping loft has skylight windows and is reached by a ladder.

More Stories from Gardenista

• Garden Visit: An Enchanted Garden in Sweden
• The Garden Designer Is In: A Deer-Proof Edible Garden, East Coast Edition
• Outbuilding of the Week: Garden Workshop by Rodic Davidson Architecture

Pelargonium: "The Stork's Head"

Please don't call them "geraniums." We have to get past that.
 
They're actually pelargoniums, flowering plants indigenous to South Africa. In Sweden, where gardeners have a soft spot for these warm-weather natives, pelargoniums commonly spend the long winter indoors—in greenhouses or on windowsills, generally being coddled. There's even a name for Sweden's national addiction: pelargonsjukan, which translates to "pelargonic disease." We prefer to think of it as a hobby.

Above: For more images, see Pelargoniums in our Photo Gallery.

These members of the family Geraniaceae are often misidentified as "geraniums." Don't they deserve better? With as many as 300 species, pelargoniums play a lot of useful roles in the garden: shrub, scented herb, container plant, and cheerful window box companion.

Above: Photograph by Erin Boyle.

You say geranium, I say pelargonium . . . but where did the confusion start? You can blame the 18th-century Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus; he included them under the genus Geranium and the name stuck—despite the efforts of French botanist Charles L’Héritier to reclassify them a few decades later.

Cheat Sheet

• Hardy and happy in window boxes and planters, pelargoniums are the backbone of many container gardens.
• Variegated leaves and a wide range of flower colors—from white to ruby red to fuchsia pink—make pelargoniums a flexible companion to other summer annuals.
• Varieties with scented leaves perfume the air with lemon, mint, rose, and coconut.

Keep It Alive

• If you're growing pelargoniums in pots, water sparingly and let the surface of the soil dry out.
• Hardy in growing zones 4-8.
• In other zones, you can root soft cuttings and keep them indoors as winter houseplants.

Above: Photograph by Kendra Wilson.

The 19th-century American poet Frances Sargent Osgood had a soft spot for so-called scented geraniums. Of the flowers, she wrote, "Your heart is a rose, and your soul is a star!" 

Above: The plant's nickname, the Stork's Head, comes from the notion that the seed resembles a stork's bill. The first known variety to be cultivated was Pelargonium 'Triste' (not shown, by the way), which is still available today (a packet of seeds is £2.99 from Chiltern Seeds). Pale pink with purple-striped petals and a yellow center, it can grow to a height of 18 inches.

Above: Photograph by Justine Hand.

To find out where you can see one of the finest collections of pelargoniums in the US, read The Scented Geranium: Spring's Must-Have Plant (see, we do it too).

Planting your patio pots? See our guides to Alyssum and Boxwood and browse our full Field Guide archive.

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We're thrilled to announce the second annual Gardenista Considered Design Awards, which give us the chance to honor our readers' gardens and outdoor spaces. Read on to learn more about the contest—and the custom lamp from Jielde you stand to win.

Every day, we show you the gardens we love; now it's your turn to share. Do you have a kitchen garden that's in its summertime prime? An amazing deck you built yourself? A window box that's the envy of the block? We want to know about it!

Our competition is open to all readers and all sorts of gardens and outdoor spaces, from tiny fire-escape plantings to spacious pool houses. We have separate categories for amateur and professional designers, and a covetable prize: Winners will receive a Jielde SI333 Signal Desk Lamp in bronze (shown above), in a color designed exclusively for us. And all the winning projects will be fully profiled on the site.

This year, we're excited to have a panel of guest judges, including many garden design luminaries whose names will already be familiar to you. Stay tuned; we'll announce the roster on Tuesday. 

Contest Categories:

Best Overall Garden (Amateur): The best overall outdoor garden designed by a non-professional.

Best Small Garden (Amateur): Indoor gardens, houseplants, window boxes, fire-escape gardens, container gardens, vertical gardens, and more.

Best Outdoor Living Space (Everyone): Outdoor sitting rooms and lounge spaces, outdoor kitchens, outdoor dining rooms, outdoor showers and baths, and more.

Best Edible Garden (Everyone): Kitchen gardens, vegetable patches, raised beds, outdoor herb gardens, etc.

Best Hardscape Project (Everyone): Stairways, decks and patios, driveways, paths, fences, swimming pools, garden gates, trellises, and more.

Best Professional Landscape (Professional): The best overall outdoor garden or landscape designed by a professional.

Best Garden Shed or Outbuilding (Professional): Garden sheds, storage sheds, barns, garages, carports, greenhouses, pool houses, backyard studios, outhouses, guest houses, and more. (Note: Though an outbuilding is typically detached from a main house, that's not a requirement here.)

Interiors enthusiasts, there's a competition for you, too: The Remodelista Considered Design Awards has 10 total categories this year, also open to amateur designers and professionals. Head to Remodelista for details. 

Important 2014 Dates:

Submission Deadline: Monday, July 7, by Midnight PDT
Finalists Announced and Reader Voting Begins: Wednesday, July 16
Reader Voting Ends: Friday, August 8 
Winners Announced: Saturday, August 9

How to Enter:

We've simplified the entry process. Write an overall design statement describing your project and submit up to six photos of the project, along with a separate caption for each photo. You may submit one project in each category for which you qualify. All projects will be published in the Gallery tab of the contest site within a few minutes of submitting. For each category, a guest judge will work with Gardenista editors to review all the entries and choose up to five finalists. After we announce our finalists, we will invite friends, family, and fellow Gardenista readers to cast their votes.  

See our contest Terms & Conditions and FAQ for more information. 

Enter the contest here. And readers, don't forget to come back and weigh in during the voting period. 

Good luck!

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One would expect to find lavish gardens surrounding the stone castle-turned-hotel called Häringe Slott, near Stockholm. And one would not be disappointed:

Photography via Ingalls Photography.

Above: Located on the edge of a nature preserve a half-hour drive from Stockholm, the Häringe estate's sprawling gardens date to the 1930s. A succession of wealthy and eccentric industrialists-turned-collectors owned the property, and each put his idiosyncratic mark on it.

Above: The interior design brings the outdoors in. To see the interiors, go to An Enchanted Castle in Sweden.

Above: It was banker Torsten Kreuger who built the gardens in the early 1930s.

Above: After Kreuger went bankrupt in the 1930s, Häringe Slott was bought by Axel Wenner-Gren, a vacuum-cleaner magnate who owned Electrolux. 

Above: Summer wildflowers and fruit from the property.

Above: An inveterate collector, Wenner-Gren entertained celebrity acquaintances such as Greta Garbo and Josephine Baker at his palace.

Above: Disconsolate at his failure to broker diplomatic relations between Germany and England that would have prevented World War II, Wenner-Gren and his wife left Sweden on their yacht. They returned to Häringe Slott only after the war ended.

Above: After Wenner-Gren's death in 1961, the castle's furnishings were sold off. The property's subsequent owner, Olle Hartwig, painstakingly reacquired the collection.

Above: The castle is set by the sea in the Häringe-Hammersta Nature Reserve, which has farmlands and pastures.

Above: The landscape is varied, including a pond and coastal bays.

Above: Twilight at the end of the dock.

Above: Wenner-Gren and his wife, Marguerite, are buried near the castle's East Wing.

For more Swedish garden design, see "Outdoors: Ulf Nordfjell Garden Design."

This is an update of a post originally published July 6, 2012.

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When you live in a climate where winter is the longest season, you have to cram a lot of outdoor living into the rest of the year. Just north of Copenhagen, we discovered a summer house that's designed to keep you outside from May to August. We've rounded up everything you need to recreate the look:

Above: We first spotted this outdoor space via Delikatessan. We love the terrace's simple color palette: the black exterior, white window frames, and the furniture and flooring in shades of gray. Photograph courtesy of Delikatessan. 

Above: The outdoor shower is our favorite part. You'll get a similar look with the Barber Wilsons Mastercraft Exposed Deck/Wall Mounted Tub and Shower Set, available in polished chrome with a 5-inch rain-shower head; $3,040 from Quality Bath. For other ways to bathe alfresco, see 10 Favorites: Outdoor Showers.

Above: The teak lounge chairs at the Danish summer house have a nice weathered look. After some time, Thos. Baker's Classic Teak Steamer Chair (from $645 to $995, depending on cushions) will have the same appearance. To get the look in a hurry, refinish your chairs with Behr's Weatherproofing Wood Stain in Cape Cod Gray. See more stains in Palette & Paints: 8 Colorful Exterior Stains.

Above: A 20-inch square Charcoal Ticking Stripe Outdoor Pillow made from weather-resistant Sunbrella fabric is currently on sale for $29.95 from Crate & Barrel.

Above: A 12-inch Rattan Pot Cover (a slightly smaller version of the one seen against the wall) can be found for about $20 on Amazon. 

Above: Plop a pelargonium into the pot (but Please Don't Call It a Geranium). A packet of 10 seeds of Nano White is $3.99 from Swallowtail Gardens. For UK gardeners, a potted white Pelargonium Zonale is £3.99 from the Vernon Geranium Nursery.

Above: Create an instant stoop in front of the door by simply laying a few Concrete Blocks end to end; $1.28 each from Home Depot.

Above: The exterior paint is a close match to Benjamin Moore's Gravel Gray (second from left on the bottom); $68 per gallon. For more gray swatches, see Shades of Gray: Architects Pick the 10 Best Exterior Gray Paints. 

Visit our archives for more from our Steal This Look series. And for an interior upgrade, see Remodelista's Steal This Look: A Scandi-Inspired Bedroom, Small Space Edition. 

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We're thrilled to announce a new addition to our awards program this year: a roster of garden- and design-world luminaries as guest judges. 

Each judge will review one contest category alongside the Gardenista editors and will choose up to five finalists for his or her category. After that, the winner will be chosen by you!

See below for instructions for how to enter:

Above: Bob Vila, America's Handyman, is judging our Best Garden Shed or Outbuilding (Professional) category. Read more about Bob. 

Above: Landscape designer Judy Kameon is judge of our Best Outdoor Living Space category. Read more about Judy. 

Above: Writer and organic gardener Margaret Roach is judging our Best Edible Garden category. Read more about Margaret. 

Above: San Francisco nurserywoman Flora Grubb is judge of our Best Overall Garden (Amateur) category. Read more about Flora. 

Above: Textile designer Neisha Crosland is judging our Best Hardscape Project category. Read more about Neisha. 

Above: Isabelle Palmer, the Balcony Gardener, is judging our Best Small Garden (Amateur) category. Read more about Isabelle.

Above: Interior designer and T Magazine European editor Rita Konig is judging our Best Professional Landscape category. Read more about Rita. 

How to Enter:

We've simplified the entry process. Write an overall design statement describing your project and submit up to six photos of the project, along with a separate caption for each photo. You may submit one project in each category for which you qualify. All projects will be published in the Gallery tab of the contest site within a few minutes of submitting. For each category, a guest judge will work with Gardenista editors to review all the entries and choose up to five finalists. After we announce our finalists, we will invite friends, family, and fellow Gardenista readers to cast their votes.  

See our contest Terms & Conditions and FAQ for more information. 

Enter the contest here.

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If there's one day a year when a person should be permitted to parade around like a faerie queen, it's your birthday. But let's not discriminate. Like watermelon and marshmallows, flower crowns belong at summertime picnics. And Midsummer parties. When I recently took Chelsea Fuss's online flower class (more about my exploits here and here), one assignment was to make a flower crown. 

So let the flower crowning begin:

Photography by Erin Boyle, except where noted.

Above: Photograph by James Casey.

My previous experience with flower crowns consisted of the countless dandelion crowns I strung as a child. Those versions have their proper place in flower crown history, of course, and the technique used there will not be criticized by me. But those braided dandelions have long stems and floppy flowers; they're not right for a faerie queen. 

For this crown, you'll need feathery flowers. And start with a frame. To begin, I chose three flowers that looked as close to wild as I could find in New York City. From the bodega down the street, I bought goldenrod and sea lavender, and from the garden I've been trying to maintain in front of my building, I plucked gooseneck loosestrife. It's not often that I get to snip from a city garden, and I relished the opportunity.

Above: If you have the space and want to grow plants from seed, you can find packets of Goldenrod Seeds and Sea Lavender Flower Seed for $2.49 each at Outside Pride. White Flower Farm sells potted Gooseneck Loosestrife (shown here) seasonally.

Above: When I tried making flower crowns in the past, I wanted them lush and leafy, so I left most leaves attached. Chelsea taught us that less is more in the leaf department, so this time I stripped the stems. (See below for details on how to sign up for Chelsea's class.)

Above: From Chelsea, I learned that a flower crown starts with a frame of light wire, sized to fit your head and covered with green Floral Tape ($5.73 from Amazon). Then you make a series of tiny bouquets, wrapping the stems of each with tape.

Above: Next, attach the bouquets to the frame with more tape. I wanted the loosestrife to hang down in a decorative way, so I left some of those sprigs longer.

Above: My biggest challenge was adding the final miniature bouquet. Luckily I was able to email Chelsea for emergency advice.

Above: Photograph by James Casey.

Here's a closeup of my crown in action, loosey-goosey gooseneck loosestrife and all. 

Chelsea's Floral Arranging 101 is offered online through Nicole's Classes. The four-week course costs $125 plus the cost of floral supplies. For more beautiful examples of student work, see Chelsea's blog, Frolic. 

For more of our favorite DIY Bouquets, see our Floral Arrangements archive. And for my other adventures in floral arranging, see our Bouquet of the Week posts.

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