Isa Hendry Eaton - Small Garden Style: A Design Guide for Outdoor Rooms and Containers

Thank Yous!

A big thanks to our husbands, Darryl Eaton and Zack Kramer, who kept our homes running inside while we ran around outside, prepping and shooting in the gardens well before sunrise and long after sunset. Not only were they our number-one supporters from the get-go, but they were our ongoing photo-shoot light hangers, leaf blowers, plant preppers, pot movers, and bartenders. We love you and are so grateful as you really do make our souls blossom!

Thank you to our moms, Cassie Jane Hendry and Janis Blaise, who helped in the garden from planting lavender to lending their very own containers just when we needed them! And thanks to the kiddos (all of you!)Samuel, Otis, Story, Stella, Julia, and Eloisefor your enthusiasm, your willingness to jump in (and your patience to jump out quietly!) while we made this book. To Teddy the miniature poodle, Lucy the black lab, and Hopper the neighborhood cat, you made such great stand-ins.

A huge thank you to our wildly creative photographer, Leela Cyd. We gained not just a talented eye throughout the project, but a lifelong friend.

To our agent, Lindsay Edgecombe, none of this would have been possible without you. Thank you for being our wise sounding board and friendly champion while finding this book a home.

Thank you to Ten Speed Press, including our editor, Lisa Regul, who was encouraging from the beginning and whose edits were always spot on, reminding us to stay small, yet think big; our creative director, Emma Campion, who was nearby for everything from on-set advice to the magical book-making process; and to Kim Keller and Dan Myers.

Merci to Anika Streitfeld for being our editorial compass as we stepped foot into the book world and to Marion Brenner and Siouxie Jennette for your early encouragement.

Thank you to Billy Dole and 7 Day Nursery for all your support for Isa Bird Gardens and for photo shoot details. Everyone should be so lucky to have a neighborhood nursery like you!

To all the wonderful friends and clients who opened up their homes and Isa Bird gardens to make this happen. Thank you, thank you Carolyn Bernstein and Nick Grad, Theresa Chase, Jill and Sam Ellis, Rachel Gaby, Heather Greene, Andrea Ridgell, Susan and Pat Schechter, Jessica Risko Smith, and Shelley and Kenny Van Zant. And to our models: Michelle Beamer; Dana Costello; Rita Donahoe; Darryl and Samuel Eaton; Mary Firestone; Andrew and Carolyn Fitzgerald; Cassie Keister; Eloise and Zack Kramer; Carrie Reilly; Nathan, Kaden, and Kashton Ridgell; and Becky Wilberding.

A special shout out to the help and talent from everyone who helped behind the scenes!

Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.

Marcel Proust

Landscape Lingo: Talk Like a Pro, Think Like a Pro

Learning a few landscape-specific terms will help you communicate better with your local nursery and gardener, get quotes, and order the correct plants. We will spare you our early mistake of ordering a whole row of hedges by their common name, Catalina cherry, which was misread as Carolina cherry, a totally different plant that didnt grow an inch in five years of dry shade. So trust us, a little landscape lingo does the garden good.

Annuals: Disposable flowering plants that bloom for a single season and need to be replanted each year.

Deadheading: Pruning faded blooms to encourage a longer blooming seasoning.

Deciduous: Shrubs and trees that lose their leaves each year.

Drainage : Diverting water away from your home. This is crucial to protect your structures in the wet season. When in doubt, consult a professional.

Drought-tolerant: Sustainable plant choices that dont require a lot of water. But even low-water plants require some wateronly desert-style xeriscape plantings require zero irrigation.

Egress view: The important view as you exit your front door or look out your window. Design for both views, not just for curb appeal.

Evergreen: Forever-green plants that keep their leaves and needles all year.

Focal point: An element that attracts the viewers eye.

Ground cover: Low-growing plants that spread over bare soil. Using ground covers is one of the easiest ways to make the garden feel finished and designed.

Hardscape: All the nonliving features in the garden, such as pathways, stepping stones, patios, decks, wall, fences, fire pits, and fountains.

Mulch: Shredded bark (organic) or pebbles (inorganic) used to cover exposed dirt. Mulch makes a garden feel clean, finished, and camera-ready.

Perennials: Plants that bloom year after year.

Pup: A young offshoot of a plant that breaks away with roots attached for easy transplanting to propagate new plants.

Scientific plant names: Each plant has a Latin name thats crucial to know to ensure accurate orders. The more you start to say them, the more they start to roll off your tongue.

Seasonality: The season in which a plant blooms or looks its best. A well-rounded garden doesnt spend its whole bloomy paycheck during spring or summer.

Setback: The legal distance from the road, sidewalk, or property line where you can start building walls and structures.

Shrub: A multistem woody plant (smaller than a tree and bigger than a breadbox) that is often the overlooked workhorse of the garden.

Tip pruning: Removing the tips (usually 1 to 3 inches) of branches with hand clippers to encourage new growth, desired shape, and fullness.

Underplant: The practice of putting smaller plants close the base of a larger plant to hide a trunk or leggy stem.

Water feature: Any element containing water, such as a fountain, birdbath, trough, or simple bowl.