In this home’s meandering gardens, there is a surprise around every corner. By Lauren Tyda | Photography by Melissa Valladares It’s like a scene from a fairytale. Deep in the heart of Paradise Valley, a mountain-framed estate is studded with a mélange of vibrant plantings. Mesquite and paloverde trees burst upwards from terraces, their tousled branches obscuring this hillside haven.  Blazing bougainvillea spills over walls like splashes of paint. A meandering wash wraps around the front of the property and, during heavy rains, guides water like a river. The descent into this warm and ..read more

Homeowner Aimee Josette-Dwyer relaxes in a Nanna Ditzel Egg Chair. During a renovation, the living room’s original brick wall was left exposed. An updated Coronado Neighborhood home gets a garden to match. By Nora Burba Trulsson | Photography by Mark Lipczynski For Aimee Josette-Dwyer and David Dwyer, the house appeared to be a perfect fit.  The 1940s ranch-style cottage had been expanded and thoroughly modernized but kept its vintage scale and appeal. It had plenty of light and access to the outdoors thanks to new windows and sliding glass walls. The location was idyllic—the historic ..read more

A breezeway between the main house and guest quarters frames a view of the entry courtyard. Landscape designer Peggy De La Garza expanded the upper brick pathway and created a grouping that includes a specimen Yucca gloriosa and seasonal color from red geraniums. Totem pole cactus in pots add a sculptural note. Landscape designer Peggy De La Garza re-imagines a North Scottsdale landscape. By Nora Burba Trulsson | Photography by David B. Moore Since its inception in the early 1980s, the Desert Highlands community set a precedent in North Scottsdale. Anchored by a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf ..read more

Native to the Sonoran desert, a cluster of agave parryi sits nestled by a stream in the backyard of an Estancia home. Landscape designer Chad Norris chose a plant palette that celebrates the true beauty of the desert. A home is transformed by the desert’s design. By Michelle Jacoby | Photography by Melissa Valladares Ask any California-to-Arizona transplant: The prospect of trading dewy sea breezes and glistening ocean views for endless desert skies and an expanse of wild, rugged terrain is drastic a change.  But for one adventurous couple, moving from an idyllic coastal abode in San D ..read more

Stucco, limestone and copper-colored roof trim all nod to the nature that surrounds the Fountain Hills home. Taking cues from its environs, a Fountain Hills home nestles into a site that gives its owners both privacy and knockout views. By Paula M. Bodah | Photography by Austin Larue Baker When a husband makes a  promise to his wife, he will move—well, if not heaven, certainly a lot of earth, to keep it. “I promised I’d give her a view of Four Peaks,” says the owner of this home in the Firerock Country Club community of Fountain Hills.  And that’s just what he did. No matter ..read more

A sign guides visitors to the Desert Botanical Garden in the Papago Buttes. The stone entry was built in 1941 by the garden’s second director, Charles Flemming with help from eight National Youth Administration workers. Eighty-five years ago, the Desert Botanical Garden forever changed the world’s perception of desert plants. By Douglas C. Towne | Photography courtesy of Desert Botanical Garden There wasn’t much local love for the cactus-studded landscape when Phoenix was a young city. Many residents were downright disdainful of the native vegetation and launched a “Do Away With the Desert ..read more

2024 MASTERS of the SOUTHWEST Award Winner - Mary Estes “You start out thinking about changing the density of a plot of land and end up realizing that you impacted a lot of lives in a great way.” Mary Estes Landscape Architect By Robrt L. Pela | Portrait Photography by Melissa Valladares Many of landscape architect Mary Estes’s clients have gone on to become her good friends. “When I first work with someone, I like to tell them, ‘We’re going to date for a few months,” Estes says, “and then we’re going to break up and be friends.’” Befriending former clients means Estes, a principal at Norr ..read more

2024 MASTERS of the SOUTHWEST Award Winner - Phil Shelton “Mexican tile’s popularity cycles over the years, but it never goes out of style. It’s classic.” Phil Shelton Tile Pioneer By Nora Burba Trulsson | Portrait Photography by Melissa Valladares Phil Shelton is not someone given to bouts of philosophizing or growing sentimental over his life’s work. Trained as an engineer, he’s instead linear and matter-of-fact when explaining his history. But trailing him through the warren of rooms and seemingly acres of storage units that hold products at his Phoenix company, Handcrafted Tile Inc., y ..read more

Growing your own pollinator garden that attracts birds, bees and butterflies can be as simple as picking a card from “The Pollinator Garden Planning Deck.” The 109-card stack ($20, thatsaplentyfarm.com), which will be released on Feb. 27, provides details for gardeners of any level on selecting and planting an assortment of wildflowers, shrubs, trees and grasses that beautify yards and provide a habitat for wildlife. This is the first edition of the deck from Cathy, Michael and Jenny Katz of That’s a Plenty Farm in Hadley, Massachusetts. The impact of pollinators cannot be overstated, co-aut ..read more

Tranquil outdoor spaces create a healing haven for a couple and their guests. By Lauren Tyda | Photography by Michael Duerinckx It is both a destination for quiet contemplation and conversation, of shared laughs met with meditative moments.  This Paradise Valley home’s outdoor spaces are a delight for the senses. The trickle of the fountain, the glint of the sunlight through the trees, the dulcet murmur of wind chimes, the gentle breezes stroking the leaves as their branches bow and nod in reverence—it’s a symphony of whispers, a lullaby composed by nature. All of this was expertly ..read more