Mahnoor Mahdi
There’s a moment — usually sometime in late spring when the thermometer pushes past 100°F — when a backyard pool stops being a luxury and starts being a lifeline. But if you live in the desert Southwest, you already know that. What you might not know yet is just how spectacular desert pool landscaping can … Read more
Standing in your backyard staring at a slope that swallows every landscaping idea you had? You’re not alone. So many homeowners look at uneven ground and see a problem — when really, what they have is one of the most unique opportunities in outdoor design. Sloped backyard landscaping takes more thought than a flat yard, … Read more
There’s something about stepping out the back door and onto a deck that leads straight to the water that makes a backyard feel genuinely complete. That connected, resort-style flow used to feel like it belonged only to homes with inground pools — but an above ground pool with deck off house setups has completely changed … Read more
There’s something almost impossible to describe about swimming in water that’s actually alive. Not the flat, chemical blue of a chlorine pool — real water, with dragonflies skimming the surface and frogs hopping in beside you, and a clarity that comes entirely from plants and gravel and millions of beneficial microbes doing their quiet work. … Read more