In business for more than 15 years, Green Guys specializes in personalized landscape and hardscape design, installation and maintenance, as well as home construction and remodeling, pool design and property management.

Ten years ago, when they built their stately, brick, European-style home, the owners of this Ladue residence may not have moved heaven, but they certainly moved a lot of earth to do so. A backyard pool and a large space to entertain family and friends was a priority. “We had a long, sloping yard, and we had to push back a hillside to create a flat space,” the homeowner explains.

It’s the season for outdoor entertaining, and we’ve got your primer for creating the perfect outdoor space to enjoy with your family and friends this summer.

When creating your outdoor oasis, consider how the space will be used. Dinners alfresco? S’mores by a cozy fire pit? Or, pool parties with seating for a crowd? “Comfort and style are king, but the space has to function the way you need it to,” says Peggy Pond, outdoor furniture manager with Amini's Home, Rugs, Game Room and Jaffe Lighting.

If it weren't for the patch of blue overhead, you might not realize you were sitting in Mary Tramelli’s garden and not her home. Colors, textures and ambience flow so perfectly from the inside to the outside, it’s hard to tell the difference.

It was the stucco walls, tile roof and Mediterranean feeling of the residence that drew Mary and her husband, Dan, to their Richmond Heights home 30 years ago.  Through the years they’ve added on and raised three sons within the walls, all the while keeping the rustic, Italian ambience of the home intact.

“The tomato nicknamed 'love-apple' becomes reality with the heartbreaker tomato, a cherry tomato with heart-shaped fruit. Heartbreaker has excellent vigor and produces rich-tasting hearts. The skin is soft, plus the fruit is juicy with the perfect sweet/sour content. Heartbreaker can be used as a snack, for cooking and salads or to decorate your dish for a fun and unique look.” ~ Ann Lapides, Sugar Creek Gardens.
 

Chuck Beard is a man who practices what he preaches. A horticulturist and garden designer, he has spent nearly 27 years creating beautiful gardens throughout St. Louis. But perhaps the most beautiful testimonial to his talent has been in his own yard.