Take It Outside: Backyard Design That Transforms Your Space into the Best on the Block

From the hosts of Bravo's Backyard Envy comes a beautifully photographed guide to converting your outdoor space into an enviable oasis, whether you have a backyard, brownstone patio, or three-season porch.

Dubbed the "plantfluencers" by the New York Times, Mel Brasier, Garrett Magee, and James DeSantis, owners of the Manscapers landscaping company, do more than plant, mulch, and manicure a garden; they look at the space just as interior designers do a room, considering the aesthetics and the way people live in it. Now they show you how to apply familiar interior design principles to your outdoors, including:

• Deciding on a concept to help direct the mood of your space
• "Zoning" your space into functional areas, such as for lounging, cooking, or entertaining
• Defining the areas with furniture and hardscaping like fencing, decking, pools, planters, pergolas, and pathways
• Bringing in the green, including plants that are both functional (privacy shrubs and shade trees) and decorative (pretty perennials, climbers, and textural grasses)
• Adding the finishing touches: the pillows, throws, hurricane lanterns, and other details that will make you want to linger long after sunset