During our too-short summers, the glory of gardens goes beyond the vibrancy of their colours or the fragrance of their blooms. They also salve the soul. According to numerous studies, puttering in some soil, planting flowers and picking vegetables improves physical and mental health. No green thumb? No worries. Simply spending time around nature can lower stress and lighten the mood. Even better: a Versailles-sized landscape isn’t necessary. Small spaces are just as adept at providing a stunning place to escape. Here, five designers and homeowners explain how they enjoy the great outdoors in a diminutive footprint
For her pretty-in-pink front porch in Halifax, singer-songwriter and TV host Rebekah Higgs wants an outdoor room she can enjoy year round
“I live in Halifax. The houses on the East Coast tend to be bright and colourful. After I bought my house, I knew I shouldn’t do beige. I love pink, and I’ve incorporated it in some way into every place I’ve ever owned. It gives me a certain pep in my step. And there was no pink house in my neighbourhood. So I decided to paint the house Rose Petal by Dulux. I applied it on the porch, too, including the ceiling. To keep it looking good, I usually do touch-ups in the spring.
“In terms of the furniture, the porch had hooks in the ceiling for a swinging chair. I didn’t think that a swing would be good for socializing, so instead, I used a sofa and chairs – better for people to face one another and have a conversation. The porch is great for year-round get-togethers. There’s a heat lamp. Even at my Christmas party, people hang out on the porch, staying toasty under blankets.
“I have some plants out there, too, but many are synthetic from a Canadian company called Décors Véronneau. I usually put them away in the winter but hang them again around March. I like looking at the green, especially before the real greenery comes out. Plus, it’s nice not having to water them.”
Rebekah Higgs's porch, painted Rose Petal by Dulux, is great for year-round get-togethers, with a heat lamp and seating that promotes easy conversation.,Supplied
To create a serene solarium in Montreal’s harbour, Maria Varvarikos, who owns a PR agency, and Dexter Peart, co-founder of the GOODEE design marketplace, embrace greenery that reminds them of their Jamaican escapes
Maria: “Our bright solarium, which overlooks Montreal’s Old Port, is our cherished escape. We call it our ‘Jamaica Room,’ inspired by Dexter’s native land and reminiscent of all of our yearly family trips to Jamaica. When our girls were young, it was their playroom. During the pandemic, it became Dexter’s office (on Zoom, because of the plants, everyone thought he was actually working from Jamaica!).
“Now, it’s back to our serene lounge, a space that I love and go to unwind and escape, with souvenirs from our travels, as well as books that inspire us. The space is 150 square feet and enclosed in glass. It includes tropical plants large and small in size. All homes need these types of rooms.”
Dexter: “There are 27 plant varieties in all, including calatheas, orchids, jade, rubber plants, ficus rubies, peace lilies and more. The vintage furniture was sourced by the wonderful vintage seller Galt7Vintage at Southworks Antiques, then reupholstered using Svenskt Tenn ‘Window’ fabric. I love the unobstructed, sweeping views of the harbour, as well as the city skyline and the mountain.”
Maria Varvarikos and Dexter Peart's solarium is inspired by Peart's native land and reminiscent of the family's annual trips to Jamaica.Maria Varvarikos/Supplied
In a new Vancouver home, architect Michael Leckie of Leckie Studio Architecture + Design carves out space for a calm inner courtyard
“Cities can be noisy places. Cars honking, lawn mowers, sirens. It’s wonderful to be able to create a space that’s peaceful, like a courtyard. The one in this house was designed in collaboration with Dave Demers of CYAN Horticulture. We chose the plants because they change through the seasons, flowering at different times of the year. To me, it’s a beautiful way to mark the passage of time.
“The space has operable glass doors on either side. It makes the adjacent kitchen and living areas feel much larger, as though those spaces extend to the outside, right through the courtyard. Some people would not want to give up interior space for a courtyard. I wouldn’t necessarily describe the homeowners of this place as minimalist so much as essentialist. The first time I visited their previous house, I opened the cabinets and was shocked. A lot of them were empty. They only own what they need, nothing more.
“When we set out to design them a new house, that’s why we didn’t need to build something particularly large. No basement, three bedrooms – one each for the owners and their kids. That left room for the central courtyard. It has a simplicity that adds a lot to their lives.”
Architect Michael Leckie of Leckie Studio Architecture selected plants for the Vancouver courtyard that flower throughout the year, marking the change of time.Ema Peter/Supplied
A small-but-mighty Toronto greenhouse by STACKLAB founder Jeff Forrest uses curves to expand its volume
“In Toronto, structures with a footprint smaller than 100 square feet are considered temporary and therefore don’t need a building permit. We designed this greenhouse to be 88 square feet at the base. With the curved walls, we were trying to increase the usable area. We did that by expanding the shape at the counter height to about 130 square feet, bending thin polycarbonate sheets, keeping them at their full length wherever possible to limit waste.
“We optimized the form in collaboration with fabricators MCM and Plas-Tech using computer-aided design. The wooden structure, which looks like a series of ribs, was milled using a computer-guided cutting tool and craned into place. The bent polycarbonate sheets were literally taken out of a box and riveted to the ‘ribs.’ Assembly took two days. The system is modular, so it can be installed with a minimum of two ‘ribs’ in another location.
“It works well as a greenhouse. The concrete slab is a thermal mass that radiates heat from below. The polycarbonate’s cellular makeup insulates the structure, trapping heat within. During colder months, we’ve been able to maintain temperatures of 10 to 12 degrees – suitable for most tropical plants.”
The Toronto greenhouse by STACKLAB founder Jeff Forrest has a footprint measuring 88 square feet and curved walls.PATRICK BILLER/Supplied
Author Rosie Daykin’s Vancouver side yard produces a bounty of produce – and inspires a cookbook
“After my husband, Paul, and I bought our house over 15 years ago, we let the side yard sit for a long time. I was busy running Butter Baked Goods and writing cookbooks. I always knew the side yard had potential. It’s not huge, just about 12 feet wide. But it’s south facing and very private. The only vantage is from the neighbour’s house, if someone looks down from their second storey.
“The pandemic changed things. Butter was closed to the public and I needed a project. I put all my energy into the side garden, working with a fence builder, a painter and a handyman. I have a background as an interior designer, and in a way, I treated the vegetables as though they were my clients. I asked myself what kind of space they would need, what would make them happy, including the raised planter beds, the pea gravel and the climbing trellises for vines.
“I was definitely inspired by English gardens, where things are less manicured, less formal. In the summer, it’s all a bit of a jungle. There are radishes and zucchinis and butter lettuce and tons and tons of herbs. The project inspired my latest cookbook, The Side Gardener. More importantly, it’s produced the most wonderful food, to the delight of myself, my husband and anyone who visits us. No one goes away hungry.”
Author Rosie Daykin’s bountiful Vancouver side yard was inspired by less manicured English gardens.Supplied