You don't need a large space to create a convincing tropical retreat, as Bud Stuckey, our test garden coordinator, demonstrates. He brought to life this Balinese fantasy in a 10- by 10-foot corner of Sunset's test garden.

First, Stuckey built a small rectangular deck from ipé wood, securing it to a redwood frame. He angled the deck to face the best view out into the garden. Then, to filter the sunlight that reaches the deck, he built a palapa of bamboo poles and draped the crossbars with mosquito netting (available at REI and sporting-goods stores).

In a crescent of fertile soil adjacent to the deck, Stuckey planted a tree fern and summer bulbs with vibrant, tropical- looking blooms, such as cannas, dahlias, and Oriental lilies. He edged the bed with a ruff of lime green 'Angelina' sedum.

Between the deck and the planting is a creek bed of black La Paz stone (Stuckey mixed two bags of 1/4-in. pebbles with one bag of 1 1/2-in. stones). The stones cover a soaker hose that winds through the planting area to water the plants and periodically douse the space with a jungly mist.

Sit on the deck and pull the netting around you, and you'll feel almost like you're floating in a cloud above a jungle of exotic flowers. "Zen meets the tropics," said one visitor who tried out the space.