Table of Contents: The Summer Kitchen

It always feels exotic to prepare food outdoors, whether you’re cooking on a gas grill, roasting skewers over a campfire, or arranging a platter of vegetables picked from the garden. Maybe one reason it feels liberating: In summer, we keep it simple. (Plus there’s the fact that men like to grill.) Here are some ideas to help you keep it simple.

Monday

• When the owners of a townhouse in Brooklyn’s Clinton Hill neighborhood hired New Eco Landscapes to overhaul their backyard, they asked for “a showstopper.” See what they got in this week’s Landscape Architect Visit.

Tuesday

• Kendra pays a Garden Visit to illustrator Celia Hart in Suffolk, England, and finds flowers that reach to the sky and chickens living in a rather stately henhouse (along with Cheep, the rooster).

Wednesday

•  In Bouquet of the Week: Hydrangeas Gone Wild, Justine accepts an assignment that turns her opinion around.

Thursday

•  “For me,” says Michelle, “the perfect summer kitchen is one I barely see.” She’s rounded up five of her favorite garden-to-table recipes for summer salads; no cooking allowed.

Friday

• Could this kitchen look any more summery? It’s tucked into our Outbuilding of the Week, a summerhouse in the backyard of a grand brick house in South London. The doors open wide onto a dining deck surrounded by flowers. Heaven.

Over on Remodelista, the editors are also looking into Summer Kitchens. Too bad they have to be indoors.

And don’t forget: Voting is now underway for the 2014 Gardenista Considered Design Awards. You can vote for the finalists every day until August 8th. The winners will be announced August 9th.