A Bare City Garden Becomes A Resort-Like Escape With À La Carte Options

By Wendy Jacob On July 4th, 2023

Toronto’s East End Beaches neighborhood has always had a Cali vibe, with its old-school boardwalk and beach volleyball players.

When homeowners Liz O’Neil Meurehg and Claude Meurehg were contemplating their North Beaches backyard, they wanted to channel those summer vibes into the fall with a covered cabana and firepit. That meant transforming a boring swathe of grass (with little privacy) into an oasis that could be enjoyed from sunup to late in the evening. The backyard’s blank canvas provided an opportunity to check off the family’s long list of wants. “The pool was a priority, but we didn’t want it to take up the whole yard,” says Liz. Other wish list items included a grassy patch where their two kids could play, a sheltered seating area, a large deck and dining space for entertaining, an herb and vegetable garden, and somewhere the family dog could find a spot. It was a tall order for landscape designer Leigh Gravenor, who was charged with the task. “When you put pen to paper and start designing, the client sees that some areas need to be prioritized in terms of allotment of space,” says Leigh. With her expertise, they were able to scale down some requests (instead of a large veggie garden, Liz uses planters near the pool), and the result is almost everything Liz wanted.

The new 35-foot-long insulated concrete pool (it’s great for heat retention) maxes out the backyard space and serves as a lap pool. To make the regulation pool enclosure seem less intrusive, Leigh opted for a glass divider camouflaged by birch trees underplanted with ‘Little Bunny’ fountain grass and Mexican feather grass and ferns.

The cabana has ipê wood slats on the walls, a recurring element that gives the garden a tropical holiday feel. “The wood connects the cabana to the deck near the house for an indoor-outdoor feel. At night, the cabana lighting is very subtle, and with all the lush greenery around it, it feels like you’re on vacation.”

Leigh complemented easy-care grasses including astilbe, ferns and Hakone, which help create a layered green space, with French lilacs and English lavender for color and also to attract bees. “Having a monochromatic palette with different shades of green helps create a more cohesive space, and the colors that you do add feel more dramatic, but not busy,” says Leigh. If Liz wants to experiment down the line, she can plant more colorful specimens in containers. “The mix of super-modern architecture and informal plantings makes it feel like a naturalized garden,” says Leigh.

A bench is cut into the pool coping, so Liz and Claude can lounge in the water with a glass of wine. Columnar Kindred Spirit hybrid oaks against the fence keep their leaves all winter for year-round interest.

Now the kids can turn cartwheels on the grassy spot in front of the chic ipê and stucco cabana, undoubtedly the star of the garden. “We wanted the backyard to feel like a series of rooms that were interconnected,” says Leigh.

A door leads to the changeroom at the back of the cabana, and a shower is located behind the slatted wall. The graven parterre portion of this garden serves as a “puppy pad” for their dog.

Even though Liz didn’t get her walk-in vegetable garden, she’s proud of the veggies that thrive in Corten steel planters near the pool, and she can easily snap off some basil or snip a sprig of rosemary from the planters next to the dining table. “The backyard has become an extension of our home and living space,” says Liz. “Our kids have learned to swim, and spending time in the pool has become a favourite part of almost every day. There are so many activities we now do outside — working, reading, relaxing, cooking and eating meals, and sharing the space with family and friends.”

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