`Terraced backyard for outdoor living, plus meadowy entry garden

A long steel runnel pours water into a round pool made of steel pipe in this terraced garden by Sitio Design in Austin.… Read More

The post Terraced backyard for outdoor living, plus meadowy entry garden appeared first on Digging.

February 17, 2026

Last fall, landscape architect Curt Arnette and I visited one of his Sitio Design gardens in central Austin. Right away, I was drawn to a long steel runnel pouring water into a round pool made of steel pipe.

Filled to the brim, the little pond offers a shiny dime of a focal point as you enter the backyard.

The next thing I noticed was the dropoff. This garden is built on a steep lot.

What might have been an unusable sloping yard has been transformed through an impressively scaled retaining wall. Above the wall, a lawn connects with a covered porch. The porch cantilevers over the drop, with stairs giving access to the swimming pool and garden below.

Here’s the view from the top of the stairs. At the end of the wall, a rock garden cascades down-slope, connecting the two levels with plants.

At the spa end of the pool, large flat boulders make rugged steps up the side yard. A deep border of bamboo muhly, yuccas, Berkeley sedge, and silver ponyfoot adds privacy while relying largely on foliage. Blue and white mistflower were blooming in fall.

The spa garden