Eleven Denver gardens, designed and kept by Stonegate.

The owners were renovating a new home and wanted the back patio to read like the contemporary work going on inside, with something to look at in every season.

Large rectangles and squares form a grid that makes the space feel bigger. Huge round boxwoods anchor the plan and hold their color through winter. Elfin thyme fills each box: it is drought tolerant, semi-evergreen, blooms purple and takes foot traffic.

The courtyard won a 2010 Excellence in Landscaping Award from the Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado.

The crew pulled out the old harvest, added compost and worked the soil, then redrew every bed line with new steel edging framed in buff flagstone. Breeze replaced the loose pea gravel so paths stay firm underfoot.

Symmetry matters in a potager because produce is picked and flowers are cut all season. When carrots, radishes and lettuce come out, they are replanted in fall for a second round. Heirloom tomatoes, squash, potatoes, spinach, jalapeños, strawberries, cherries and apples share the space, and planters keep mint and alyssum from spreading.

The Potager Garden won a 2010 Excellence in Landscaping Award from the Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado.

The owners came back from a trip to Savannah, Georgia, wanting a warm courtyard for family and friends. With several dogs in the house, it also had to be pet-proof.

The first stage was a two-story deck in Brazilian hardwood with wrapped stairs and white columns that match the house. The garden itself is about 90 percent hardscape: raised beds veneered in real stone, patios, walkways, synthetic turf and wrought iron that keeps paws out of the planting.

A reflecting pond is the focal point, with ledges at sitting height for watching the koi and water lilies. A stainless steel backsplash catches the light at night, and a custom arbor over the pond is there for vines to climb.

Stonegate took over maintenance of this property in 2002 and has reshaped it through care and design ever since. The biggest change came after a pool went in.

A flagstone patio sits a few steps from the water, with ground covers to soften the edges and cut reflected heat. A curved raised bed of moss rock encloses the space, evergreens behind it add privacy, and flagstone set in the grass leads from the pool to the new seating area.

Perennials are massed in large groups so the color reads from the main-floor terrace, and boldly planted pots around the pool pick up the same colors.

The owner wanted a front yard that suited the bungalow and never needed mowing on its steep incline.

Three beds were carved out of the hillside, each tier wider than the one above to fit more plants. Every piece of Colorado buff stone was hand-chiseled for a tight fit. A clump crabapple stands in a curved bed of fragrant tea roses, a shade tree balances the opposite bed, and a grape vine covers the third wall of the house.

The house is the focal point of its cul-de-sac, and the owners wanted it more colorful and welcoming. The old beds were straight, and much of the yard sat in shade.

Two Vanderwolf pines that crowded the front door were moved elsewhere in the garden. The bed lines were pulled out into a curve that follows the driveway and planted with shade perennials and impatiens. Two large frost-proof planters frame the door, the window box was replanted in layers, and pyramidal boxwoods, dwarf Alberta spruces and a saucer magnolia give it structure all year.

One owner loved modern architecture and the other loved cottage gardens. The design had to satisfy both without losing what set the house apart from its neighbors.

Custom-colored cement planters sit around the pool, along the steps and at the entrances, two of them placed for the view from the living room. Huge round boxwoods work as living sculpture against the straight lines of the house, and clump Japanese maples along the drive wall add deep burgundy and screen the dining patio.

The owners of this Denver Square wanted a memorable garden for their upcoming wedding.

A custom iron gate was made to match the existing fence. The old planting came out except for the boxwood hedge, which was shaped to frame the new sections. Existing flagstone was cut into squares for a mosaic threshold, and flagstone paths balance both sides of the yard.

A stone bird bath is the focal point. Tea roses and a row of lavender fill one side, and the planters hold herbs and summer annuals in the colors of the wedding.

The owners needed shade for their patio and a relaxed place to entertain.

A custom pergola now covers the patio, stained chocolate brown to match the house. The existing concrete pad was stained dark brown to cut reflected heat. Two raised beds of natural brown stone add height, and a water feature on square-cut flagstone sits in a half-moon bed off the patio, close enough to hear from inside.

The homeowner wanted a natural mountain look. It reads as carefree, but every boulder was chosen for its color, width, depth and height.

A recently planted pine was moved away from the house so it could grow to full size, which also framed the path to the side gate. Shrubs and evergreens anchor the design, and the perennials were picked for bloom time and for the butterflies and songbirds they bring.

Small gardens have to use every inch. This Cherry Creek townhouse has a very long, narrow front yard and a patio tucked around the corner off the alley.

The hand-carved front door and the colors of the house set the style. Stone pedestals with deep brown planters flank the tall entry stairs, square-cut Colorado buff flagstone gives the narrow yard a clear direction, and a custom arbor adds height and privacy to the patio around an antique bench.