Luxury has turned its gaze homeward. The most coveted spaces today are those that slow the pulse, where the day loosens its grip and the mind finds room to rest. Peace of mind, once an afterthought, has become the true measure of a well-designed home.

For one Victoria homeowner, that pursuit began on a sun-drenched patio with a complication. The space enjoyed generous light, yet it sat in full view of the surrounding condominium residences. The brief to ModPots was clear: create a private oasis filled with beautiful plants, and draw the eye away from the buildings next door.

ModPots is led by Partner and Principal Designer Jen Lasko, whose seventeen years in horticulture and design began at Southlands Nursery in Vancouver, and Partner and General Manager Heron Hanuman, whose more than thirty years in broadcast journalism and documentary storytelling shape the client experience. Together, they design and build residential and commercial spaces.

“Every design starts with one question: how do you want this space to feel? That answer becomes the structure,” Jen explains. “From there we read the space closely: the light, the palette, the ceiling height, the floor plan, where each plant will genuinely thrive, and where the eye should land.”

Here, the answer was privacy. Jen and her team responded with layers. Taller sculptural plants rise to screen the view, while soft filler foliage and trailing plants spill over the planter edges, tempering the hard textures that surround them. The palette remains simple and almost monochromatic, punctuated by bursts of colour that pull attention inward.

An artful succulent bowl serves as the centrepiece, grounding the composition and giving the patio its focal point. ModPots handles plant material the way a sculptor approaches stone, treating every plant as a deliberate choice. Geography broadens the possibilities. “The Island gives us warmer summers and less rain than the mainland, so we can work with tender and unusual plants: succulents, agaves, aloes, and foliage with real presence,” Jen shares.

The team includes a Red Seal certified horticulturalist, ensuring the work thrives long after installation day. “We design installations to evolve, so they grow more interesting over time rather than standing still,” she notes. “And we stay with them. We check in as the season unfolds, make adjustments as plants mature, and let client feedback shape every new design. For us, installation and care are one practice. That’s what Design That Lives means.”

“The precision is in the planning,” Jen observes. “The life is in what happens next, as the plants grow into the space and it becomes more itself every week. That slow, visible growth is where the calm comes from.”

The homeowners now call the patio their favourite place, the one they cannot wait to reach at the end of the day. “That’s always the goal,” Jen says. “I want clients wondering how soon they can get home, pour a glass of wine, and settle in.” The payoff unfolds gradually. “The most rewarding moment comes midway through the season, when clients start texting me photos,” she adds. “The planters have filled in, the trailing plants are spilling over, and they’ve watched it all happen. It’s living art.”

For these Victoria homeowners, every evening now ends in a garden they watched come to life. In a life of constant motion, a retreat worth hurrying home to is luxury enough.