From the Heart

A California designer puts her personal stamp on a classic garden

Written by William Weathersby Jr. • Photographed by David Duncan Livingston

Garden Profile
Location: Lafayette, California
Type of Garden: European style with a West Coast twist
Size: 5 1⁄2 acres
Site Specifics: Varied sun and
shade; hilly and flat
Hardiness Zone: 8b
Age: 13 years

Designer Dena Fishbein's world is filled with flowers. Host of the DIY Network series Embellish This!, Dena has parlayed her talent for transforming everyday objects into a range of stationery, fabrics and decorative accessories sold in stores nationwide. Many of her designs begin with stylized flowers and botanical patterns she hand paints herself. "There's something about a colorful bloom on a pillow or drapery that immediately lifts the spirit," she says.

Dena's designs often are inspired by the lush gardens that surround her Lafayette, California, home where she lives with her husband/business manager, Danny, and three children. Over the past 13 years, they have worked on the 75-year-old house while transforming the 5 1⁄2-acre grounds into a showcase of "outdoor rooms."

Bringing the Indoors Out
Dena Fishbein embellishes furniture and fabrics with stylized floral patterns indoors and out. Here are her tips for transforming a yard into enchanting vignettes:

Use antique elements like an iron gate or railing found at a flea market to create outdoor architecture.
Fill a birdbath with ivy or perennials for an offbeat planter and path marker.
Group objects together to make a focal point. A collection of birdhouses mounted to the side of a barn will catch the eye.
For a party or dinner, pull a rug onto the lawn and pile it with pillows for comfortable spots where guests can converse for hours.
Don't forget the garden after dark. Plenty of lanterns, candles and torches can fill the garden with a play of shadow and light.

The Fishbeins really got serious about the design of their gardens about five years ago when planning a wedding. Working with landscape designer Laurie Callaway, a family friend, they created a master plan for their property with a variety of separate gardens they could complete in stages. Edged by antique fencing, stone walls, arbors and shrubbery, separate spaces are dedicated to perennials, vegetables, herbs and more than 100 rose plants.

Since Dena is a scavenger of flea markets, vintage architectural elements define the outdoor spaces as roomlike enclosures. The filigree of wrought-iron fencing encloses a vegetable garden, for example, while antique arbors and pergolas are the focal points for climbing roses. Recently, an old chandelier was hung from the branch of an old tulip magnolia. Beneath it sits an antique table and chairs upon a bed of goldhued gravel, the perfect spot for alfresco dining.

"It's wonderful to create outdoor spaces that family and friends can discover as they meander through the yard," Dena says. "The gardens really are extensions of our indoor rooms."

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