DIY Yard Makeover: Front to Back

Photo by Thomas J. Story, styling by Emma Star Jensen

The front yard

Traversed by a concrete stairway—that sleekhandrail is ipe wood—the yard is now home to veggie beds, water-wise plants, and “endlessmulch”—all of it built, planted, or spread by Lisa Wong Jackson and Nick Jackson.

Photo by Thomas J. Story, styling by Emma Star Jensen

Front yard before

The house had no proper entryway— just three wooden steps—and almost no plants at all.

Photo by Thomas J. Story, styling by Emma Star Jensen

Leave it to the pros

Though they did the landscaping themselves, Lisa and Nick knew they needed pros to pour the stairs.

Photo by Thomas J. Story, styling by Emma Star Jensen

Edibles on show

Following plans from sunset.com/raised-bed, Nick built the frames with wood salvaged from old decking. The thriving vegetables, which Lisa started from seed on a windowsill, are the talk of the street. (The netting keeps the deer out.)

Photo by Thomas J. Story, styling by Emma Star Jensen

Bringing the outside in

The house’s family and living rooms have glass walls to, respectively, the back and front yards. While decorating, Lisa and Nick emphasized natural materials and motifs.

Photo by Thomas J. Story, styling by Emma Star Jensen

Nature-inspired art

In the dining room, a bouquet print (by Wayne Pate, $55; waynepate.com) sits on a top shelf; Log Bowls (by Loyal Loot Collective, from $68 each; loyalloot.com) and breadboards (from Lola, from $12 each; lolahome.com) adorn the table; Nick sits in a Green Leaf chair ($407; arper.com).

Photo by Thomas J. Story, styling by Emma Star Jensen

Organic forms

The period-looking biomorphic lamp in the family room actually came from West Elm.

Photo by Thomas J. Story, styling by Emma Star Jensen

Back yard before

The yard was plagued with weeds, invasive bamboo, and a not-so-retaining wall that was rotting away.

Photo by Thomas J. Story, styling by Emma Star Jensen

Help with heavy concrete

After spending their weekends excavating and moving five truck -loads of dirt out of the yard—and with rains threatening—the Jacksons realized they needed help with the concrete work in the backyard too. “One day Nick emailed me at work saying, ‘Forget it. Let’s hire back the professionals,’” recalls Lisa. “It was the best decision ever.”

Photo by Thomas J. Story, styling by Emma Star Jensen

Backyard after

The re-landscaped backyard now contains a patio for entertaining, a potting area, a raised bed for vegetables and herbs, a patch of Eco-Lawn, loads of native and low-water plants, and the house’s old mailbox (now a bird feeder).

Photo by Thomas J. Story, styling by Emma Star Jensen

Maintaining the dream

Having replaced the retaining walls, built the beds, and done the planting themselves motivates the Jacksons to keep it all looking good. “And if we hadn’t done it ourselves, we wouldn’t know how to take care of it,” says Nick.

Once a week, Nick hand-waters everything, using what’s stored in their four rain barrels (and sometimes Lucas’s bathwater).

They’ve learned through trial and error what they’ll plant again—and what issues they still face. “The kangaroo paws didn’t last, the wallflowers really thrived, and the gophers have been a problem,” says Lisa.

DIY yard makeover: front to back

The front yard

Front yard before

Leave it to the pros

Edibles on show

Bringing the outside in

Nature-inspired art

Organic forms

Back yard before

Help with heavy concrete

Backyard after

Maintaining the dream