Bali in your backyard
• Build a billowy retreat
• It’s in the details
• Fantasy Island in Los Angeles
• Indonesia and beyond in San Jose
• On a tiki beach in Carlsbad

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Bali in your backyard
Steven Gunther
Fantasy Island in Los Angeles
Bali in your backyard

Create a tropical paradise to bring vacations home

Why wait until you can squeeze a vacation into your schedule to escape to Kauai or Bali?

If you can just walk outdoors and dive into your lagoon-style pool or climb into a hammock and fall asleep listening to the rustle of palm fronds, you're there. Mentally, anyway.

It's not that hard to surround yourself with a garden that feels like your favorite tropical island.

Bali in your backyard
Norm Plate
Indonesia and beyond in San Jose
Luxuriant foliage is usually a major component in an exotic garden — even cold-climate gardeners can substitute hardy look-alikes for subtropicals to get the effect. Architecture and furnishings also convey the mood.

Not quite ready to transport your entire backyard to Bali? Test-drive the idea first: Check out our small do-it-yourself Balinese meditation platform.

Click on the links at left to find inspiration for your own backyard escape.

More great backyard projects

Published: June 2004