BC Home & Garden

NAMASTE (Opposite) Landscape designer Ruth Olde sees a trend toward garden spaces designed for yoga and meditation. (Above) Water features in the front yard can be used to block out traffic. [PHOTO Bob Young] STRIKING STEEL (Above, left) Ron Rule's weathered steel garden boxes add a crisp and modern design element to the garden. [PHOTO COURTESY Ron Rule] central kale plant with basil or rosemary to add scent. She also suggests looking out for the new heirloom vegetable varieties such as Brandywine, Purple Russian or Green Zebra tomatoes featuring unusual colours or flavours. Resort style Resort living increasingly inspires gardens and outdoor spaces. "People want to maintain a connection with places that they have been and recreate that relaxing environment in their own gardens," says landscape architect and garden designer Ron Rule. "This can include incorporating fire elements with outdoor hearths, fire pits and fire bowls, as well as selecting plants such as bamboo or palm, banana and Catalpa trees." Although outdoor living spaces are often for entertaining, landscape designer Ruth Olde is now seeing a trend toward creating Zen spaces for yoga and meditation. These spaces can include a covered deck, patio or lawn. "Location is key when creating an outdoor space, especially a Zen space," says Olde. "The location of the sun during the day and at different times of the year needs to be considered." Olde adds that covering and heating outdoor spaces with infrared lights and electric heaters can make outdoor garden February 2013 BC HOME & garden | 51 p46-53_Home+GarTrends.indd 51 13-01-23 11:14 AM

• Cover