“It was very important to get the integration between the garden and the house right,” Maynard says. The architects worked with Bush Projects to strike that balance, laying down concrete pavers and planting native flora that add to the home’s relaxed feel. Permanent steel awnings protect windows from glare, while retractable fabric ones by Shadefactor offer residents optional shelter when they sit outside.

Entry Approach

Native grasses spill forth from the green roof toward a stairway leading to the main level.

Linden specified a black stain from Cabot for the house’s exterior. The shade draws on Scandinavian and Japanese building traditions and helps the structure blend into the landscape. Native grasses populate the courtyard.

Southwest: Steve Martino The red yucca, brittlebush, and prickly pear at a Palm Springs, California, home also relate to the southwestern climate. “Native plants let your garden tap into the food chain—it becomes a habitat while connecting you to the history of a place.”

For a Los Angeles home, Aoyagi used an IdealMow lawn of native grasses, and Dymondia, Juncus, and Hummingbird Sage.

“[The house] avoids the mass or heaviness of too much timber construction, so with a few hidden steel beams, it seems to float and hover over the site in a delicate way,” Jones says. Salal, a native plant to the Pacific Northwest, and fern act as the site’s groundcover.

For an A. Quincy Jones house in Los Angeles, architect Cory Buckner took on the restoration, while landscape designer Jay Griffith honored the architecture with understated, low-water landscaping.

At the show, tech accessories brand Native Union will release an iPhone case with a back cut from a block of marble.

Houston’s Buffalo Bayou was once so polluted that an annual canoe race was nicknamed the “Reeking Regatta.”

Eagle Round House by Sustainable Native Communities Collaborative Kunkel’s group designed the 1,300-square-foot Eagle Round House, a modified round living room with a central gathering space that encourages community while maintaining flexibility. Clad with straw bale and structurally insulated panels, this design-in-the-round structure also incorporate east-facing windows, so tribal members could rise and greet the sun each morning, a vital cultural imperative.

Here's a view of the island, snapped from Sticotti's ferry on approach.

The tower features a ladder for access to the utilities, and the roof is planted with native shrubs to soften the concrete construction and reflect the approach taken with the landscaping.

"Many cities turned their backs on rivers and water-edge properties but are now discovering through restoration projects that the waterways can tie together distant parts of the community, provide important gathering and mixing places for different groups, and reinvigorate a strong sense of civic pride."―Kevin Shanley, landscape architect.

The Buffalo Bayou could serve as a model for other cities looking to revive neglected waterways, such as Los Angeles.

These days, it flows through a tree-lined landscape of trails and native plants. Kevin Shanley, a principal at SWA Group, says the project has restored severed connections binding the river to the city and its residents.

The fire-resistant structure is clad in corrugated Cor-Ten steel that has been left to rust for easy maintenance. Instead of fussy landscaping, the family spread seed for native grasses and wildflowers that they let fill in naturally.

“The original home was in a state of disrepair, had a series of dark, small rooms that were disjointed, and it had very little connection to the outdoors,” Montalba said. The exterior’s wood siding was replaced with concrete board, and native plants grow in the front and backyards.

The outside steps of the Zulaikha–Laurence house in Sydney’s suburb of Balmain Point present an effective transition from the solid rock underfoot to the delicate structure of the house beyond. This approach helps to define the singular space of the residence.

The landscaping appears to be based on the mullet principle: business in the front, as seen here (manicured grid lawn, with native vegetation sprouting in careful symmetry), party in the back (sunflowers and wild mountain grass growing in harmonious chaos).

The 510 Cabin is one of Leggitt's designs, executed with the help of student apprentices.

A cobblestone courtyard lined with palm trees and native plants welcomes visitors to the home.

The fireplace that anchors the living space features native rock plucked from the site.

In an industrial neighborhood in Brooklyn, a verdant green roof of native grasses, wildflowers, and fruits creates an oasis.

A landscape of native grasses designed by GSLA Studio complements the raw textures of the concrete-and-ipe front facade.

According to Philip Roth's twitter, he's a "Novelist, Newark Native, HUUUUUUUUUGE fan of The Apprentice."

The largest beams in the home are made of cenizaro—a native tree that's larger than teak but has a similar grain.

The expansive grassy lawns features several ponds, fountains, native greenery, and even a tea house.

Husband-and-wife team Elaine and Stanley Yang of real estate and development firm Mini Inno discovered this 2,000-square-foot ranch home, and set about transforming it into an idyllic weekend retreat. Built in 1966, the home sits on 3.6 acres and, while the bones were good, it was a bit outdated in terms of style. The revitalized, Moroccan-inspired retreat is a sanctuary worthy of its soothing surroundings.

The cover of Murakami Versailles.

At the heart of the home is a large, open-air courtyard that brings the wild landscape into the home with native landscaping. The greenery continues on the home's flat roofs.

Photo Credit: Mini Inno

Photo Credit: Mini Inno

Photo Credit: Mini Inno