A Designer’s Manifested Mid-Century Courtyard Garden

Interior designer and YouTuber Julie Khuu takes us into the courtyard garden of her 1955 mid-century home in Anaheim, California — the space she literally manifested before buying the house, telling the universe she wanted a home with a big pink tree and lots of windows.

That tree, a melaleuca that blooms pink for two months a year, is exactly what sold her and her husband on the property. When they moved in, the courtyard was bare; Julie planted every rosebush and shrub herself over ten years, remembering each one as she goes.

Her smartest investment was artificial turf — around $5,000 for 500 square feet — which solved the uneven grass and mosquito problems caused by heavy shade under the central tree, and effectively added 500-plus square feet of livable outdoor space.

Now it's the family's summer headquarters: a comfy Thomasville garden set where her daughters play, speakers for blasting music, and sprinkler water-toy afternoons in the California heat. She opens her windows to birdsong every morning — and calls it, simply, home.