What do A-List celebrities know about gardens? Lena Dunham just bought a sweetly suburban Hollywood bungalow with a front yard to mow. Sting grows organic vegetables. Julianne Moore hangs outdoor art. And at her former ranch in Ojai, Reese Witherspoon was practically a poster child for permeable pavement.
Here are 10 of our favorite ideas to steal from celebrities' gardens:
Ellen DeGeneres: Take Cover
Above: At Greystone, a 26-acre ranch in Thousand Oaks built in the 1920s for the actor William Powell (and which DeGeneres and and Portia de Rossi sold for $10.85 million in 2013), lounge chairs are clustered under the natural canopy of a mature tree to take advantage of shade and cool breezes. Photograph via NY Times.
Sting: Grow Organic
Above: Musician Sting and wife Trudie Styler's 900-acre Tuscan vineyard estate Il Palagio produces organic grapes, and olive oil. Says Sting, "When I came here, I wanted first of all to feed my family with genuine foods...grown in a healthy environment." Another priority is to use agricultural practices to "nourish, rather than deplete, the land." Photograph (L) via Il Poggiolo and (R) via Tuscan Dream.
Lena Dunham: Love Your Shrubs
Above: At Lena Dunham's new three-bedroom bungalow in Hollywood, shrubs and hedges provide a backdrop for the white-on-white facade. Photograph via Architectural Digest.
Julianne Moore: Hang Outdoor Art
Above: In her Greenwich Village townhouse garden, actress Julianne Moore displays mounted staghorn ferns on a brick wall. For more, see Design Sleuth: Julianne Moore's Staghorn Ferns.
Reese Witherspoon: Go Barefoot
Above: At her 7-acre ranch in Ojai, CA (which she sold recently for $5 million), Reese Witherspoon paved courtyards and paths with decomposed granite, a permeable surface that prevents water runoff and feels good underfoot. For more ideas, see Low-Cost Luxury: 9 Ways to Use Decomposed Granite in a Landscape.
Patrick Dempsey: Cook with Fire
Above: Actor Patrick Dempsey's Malibu garden has a full outdoor kitchen and adjacent outdoor living room. For more of this garden, see Before & After: A Malibu Retreat for Grey's Anatomy Star Patrick Dempsey. Photographs via Architectural Digest.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie: Use One Color
Above: At their chateau in Provence, Pitt and Jolie limit the planting scheme to shades of green—from grape leaves in the vineyard to the pencil-thin cypresses that punctuate the skyline—to keep the garden looking cool even in brutally hot summer months. Photograph via USQ.
Mark Ruffalo: Keep It Simple
Above: At his upstate New York farm, actor Mark Ruffalo has rigged up the simplest outdoor shower. For more, see In the Garden with Mark Ruffalo.
Vincent Kartheiser: Get a Rollaway Wall
Above: In Hollywood, Mad Man actor Vincent Kartheiser had rolling barn doors to connect the indoors to the courtyard garden in the hideaway house he sold last year. For more, see Designer Visit: A Mad Man's $800K Hollywood Hideaway.
Adrian Grenier: Make the Most of Small Spaces
Above: In a narrow strip of front garden that separates Grenier's Clinton Hill house from the sidewalk, a path is bordered by garden beds. Photograph (L) via Brook Landscape. For more, see Adrian Grenier's Garden in Brooklyn.
For more celebrity gardens, see:
- 11 Garden Ideas to Steal from Martha Stewart.
- At Home with Barefoot Contessa Ina Garden in East Hampton.
- Steal This Look: Michelle Obama's White House Garden.
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