Field Guide to Outside Style: Design and Plant Your Perfect Outdoor Space

Make your outdoor space as comfortable and personal as the inside of your home with garden design and planting guidance from Field Guide to Outside Style.

Maybe you’ve just purchased your first home, or you have an existing outdoor space that’s overgrown and old-fashioned, and you want to turn it into a place that blends perfectly with your sense of style and your life. But where should you start? How can you be sure to create a space you can sustain? Field Guide to Outside Style leads the way. You’ll learn to personalize your outdoor living space with the right plants, furnishings, and other design elements to create a space that reflects YOU perfectly, even if you’ve never sunk a shovel into the soil before.

The word “gardening” can be intimidating if you aren’t used to digging in the dirt, yet you want a gorgeous outdoor living area you feel proud of. Author and outdoor living pro Ryan McEnaney helps you make it happen by meeting you where you are. He cuts out the intimidating stuff, doesn’t use scary terms, and supports you through the entire process.

• Start with what you already love. Learn how to translate your choices in clothing, colors, furniture, and architecture into an understanding of how to design your outdoor areas.
• Next, set parameters and expectations. Learn how to plan smartly so you don’t get in over your head. 
• Then, select your aesthetic. Decide which of three primary outdoor design styles—the classic, the modernist, and the naturalist—suit you best and use easy-to-digest, mix-and-match design suggestions and recipes to create an outdoor living area of your dreams.
• Plus, see your options in action. Through case studies accompanied by before-and-after illustrations of outdoor rehab projects, you’ll walk away with a clear understanding of the options for you and your space.

Close the book confident in your ability to select plants and design concepts that work in your region, fit within your abilities, and ultimately match the rest of your life perfectly. And to sweeten the deal, the long-term success of your new outdoor space is supported by information on seasonality, sticking to a budget, and creating a balanced space to ensure your newly discovered outside style shines for many years to come.

Ryan McEnaney is a fifth-generation family member and owner at Bailey Nurseries, a 115-year-old nursery headquartered outside of St. Paul, Minnesota. The company has grown to be one of the largest producers of shrubs and trees in the United States. McEnaney oversees public relations and social media for the brands and serves as their national consumer spokesperson. To support this, he has been quoted in publications such as Real Simple, Better Homes & Gardens, and Martha Stewart Living; has appeared on television throughout the United States; and travels the country educating homeowners on how to be successful in the garden. His approach revolves around fun, breaking down barriers to gardening, and creating a welcoming space to collaborate. 
 
McEnaney currently serves on the Board of Directors for the National Garden Bureau, as well as multiple committees for GardenComm: The Association for Garden Communicators, Seed Your Future, AmericanHort, and the Minnesota Nursery & Landscape Association.