Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Sep 23, 2025

Top 9 Gardens of 2020

Top 9 Gardens of 2020

The verdant spaces nominated for the Dwell Design Awards bring these biophilic homes to life.

From a koi habitat in Vietnam to a living roof in San Francisco, the nine nominees for Best Garden champion indoor/outdoor living in innovative ways. Selected from thousands of projects highlighted by Dwell this year, these lush oases have us looking forward to spring.

Take a virtual stroll through the landscapes below, and then vote for your favorite in the 2020 Dwell Design Awards before December 16.

A Koi-Filled Moat Surrounds This Vietnamese House




Combining neutral tones, natural materials, and indoor/outdoor living, Am House is a reprieve from the bustle of Ho Chi Minh City.



For maximum impact, the three designers sited the home adjacent to a lake, providing expansive views and heat reduction during the day.

A Los Angeles Bungalow Opens to a Gorgeous Garden Oasis




Design, Bitches turns a typical Atwater Village home into a lush hideaway with a new, cedar-clad guesthouse.



California pepper trees, grasses, and sage are low-maintenance, low-water plants that also are low-allergen.

An Introspective Brick Home in Mexico City Wraps Around a Jungle-Like Courtyard




The monolithic Casa Sierra Fría by industrial designer Hector Esrawe conceals a verdant interior with an imposing brick front.



A side patio leads from the front of the home to the courtyard. The same red bricks used for the facade have been used for the paving to create a seamless fabric that wraps the built form and the site.

A Lush Garden Is the Hidden Heart of This Courtyard House




Garden and living spaces blend together in this Australian dwelling which inverts the classic wraparound veranda.



The efficient floor plan eliminates the need for corridors, maintaining seamless connections between and across spaces.

A Stark White Residence Signals the Renaissance of a Brazilian Fishing Town




In a 4,000-person village known for epic windsurfing vacations, Atelier Branco builds a striking courtyard home.



"People here use their verandas for everything, even sleeping," says Pons. "It’s very similar to how people live on the southern Mediterranean coast." The stools on both sides of the table were custom made.

An Architect Couple Handcraft a Rustic Haven at the Edge of a Belgian Forest




Annemie Lathouwers grew up in a forested enclave on the outskirts of Antwerp, Belgium. A nature preserve filled with stately pines, the area lured her back when she and her husband, David D’Hulst, began thinking about trading their house in the city for greener surroundings.



The hanging textile, which is used as a room divider, is by artist Nathalie Van der Massen.

An Art Studio Is Transformed Into a Lush Garden Home for $24K




Nicknamed La Madriguera (The Burrow), this cozy, 538-square-foot home in Madrid is wrapped in lush greenery and mirrors that reflect the surrounding gardens.



Wrapped with an acrylic mirror, the addition essentially disappears into the surrounding greenery. A deep, round, porthole-like window looks out on a small pond that also reflects the garden.

Three Generations Live Under One Green Roof in San Francisco




Aidlin Darling Design recasts an unremarkable midcentury home as a multigenerational retreat crowned by a living roof.



The two monolithic walls on the north and south sides are integrally colored, steel-troweled plaster. They anchor the home in its site as well as provide privacy from neighboring homes.

Wild California Meets Manicured Japan in This Family’s Backyard Garden Oasis




A couple transform their backyard into a botanical children’s playland and an ideal entertaining spot.



A new covered seating area was created on the existing redwood deck, with hanging basket lamps inspired by decorations Sharp created for the couple’s wedding.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
Explosive Email Shows Sarah Ferguson Begged Forgiveness from Jeffrey Epstein After Taking His Money
Corrupt UK Politician Ed Davey Demands Elon Musk’s Arrest for Supporting Democracy
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Alibaba Debuts Open-Source Deep Research Agent with Benchmarks Rivaling OpenAI
Marcos Faces Legacy-Defining Crisis as Flood Projects Scandal Sparks Massive Tide of Protests
China’s Micro-Drama Boom Turns Stalled Real Estate Projects into Lavish Film Sets
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
'Company Got 5,189 H-1B Visas, Then Laid Off 16,000 Americans': US Defends New $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Golf legend tells Omar she should be 'sent back to Somalia' after her Kirk comments
EU Set to Bar Big Tech from New Financial Data Access Scheme
China Bans Livestreaming and AI in Religion Amid Crackdown on Shaolin Temple Scandal
Documents Reveal Mandelson Failed to Declare Epstein-Funded Flights as MP in 2003
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Harris Memoir Sparks Backlash from Democrats for Blunt Critiques in ‘107 Days’
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Japan’s ‘Death-Tainted’ Homes Gain Appeal as Prices Soar in Tokyo
Massive Attack Withdraws from Spotify Over Daniel Ek’s €600M Defence-AI Investment
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders Third Lethal Strike on Drug-Trafficking Vessel as U.S. Expands Maritime Counter-Narcotics Operations
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
Why Google Search Is Fading and AI Is Taking Its Place
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Federal Judge Dismisses Trump’s Fifteen-Billion-Dollar Suit Against New York Times, Orders Refile
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
DeepSeek Claims R1 Model Trained for only $294,000, Sparking Global Debate Over China’s AI Capabilities
SoftBank Vision Fund to Cut Nearly Twenty Percent of Staff in Bold AI Strategy Shift
Intel’s Next-Gen Manufacturing Gets a Lifeline from Nvidia’s Strategic $5B Deal
Erika Kirk Elected CEO of Turning Point USA After Husband Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
Massive Strikes in France Pressure Macron and New PM on Austerity Proposals
Trump Seeks Supreme Court Permission to Remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook
Hillary Clinton’s Reckless Rhetoric Fuels Division After Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
NASDAQ Rises to Record as Intel Soars More Than 20%, Nvidia Gains 3%
Nvidia’s $5 Billion Bet on Intel Reshapes AI Hardware Landscape
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
×