Recreate DJ Khaled's 'We The Best' Sanctuary
Backyard Bliss: How To Recreate DJ Khaled’s ‘We The Best’ Sanctuary With Professional Outdoor Landscaping
DJ Khaled isn’t just a producer, Grammy winner, and master of self-promotion, but someone who unabashedly shows his love of Mother Nature with his extensive outdoor landscaping. If you’ve seen the video tour he did for The New York Times featuring his backyard sanctuary, you know the oasis he calls “Jerusalem” features fruit trees, a fire pit, water elements, comfortable seating, and loads of colorful flowers.
As Dr. I-Min Lee, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, stated in 2024, “Many yard and gardening tasks require enough effort to count as moderate-intensity exercise.” Even if you’re rich enough to have someone else handle maintenance for you, you can still use the space for exercise and meditation, as Khaled discusses, while providing functional elements like growing food.
In other words, you don’t have to rap or make commercials in order to live a DJ Khaled lifestyle, at least in your backyard.
How Can I Recreate DJ Khaled’s Modern Garden Design?
If you want to create a sanctuary like DJ Khaled has, it’s best to take some steps. Here they are:
- Set a realistic budget before
- Choose your sanctuary’s purpose
- Check your USA Hardiness Zone
Purpose
In the video, DJ Khaled says, “We meditate, we catch a vibe”, which is easy to do under several trees near soothing water elements. Choose the right furniture for your outdoor purpose, like lounges for sunbathing, beanbags for the pool, or a meditative but adjustable modular couch.
He planted trees that serve a purpose for his lifestyle, such as lemon trees to produce fruit for his tea. Think of a crop you enjoy, from herbs to fruit, and include that in your garden design. Making your own pasta sauce is easy, as tomatoes are one of the easiest things to grow, and basil is an ideal companion plant that improves tomato flavor and provides natural pest repellent against hornworms.
Structural Planning
From there, plan your layout and any major upgrade you need, but don’t be afraid to hire a professional to help you, such as a landscape or biophilic designer.
Living in year-round warmer climates, as DJ Khaled does, makes it easier to have a plush couch and other upholstery outside. Even with seasonal weather, you can enjoy this comfort with the right structural design elements that include:
- Awnings
- Canopies
- Enclosures around a patio
- Solid roof gazebos
Plant Choice
No backyard sanctuary is complete without plants, but you need the right ones for your environment. Living in Florida and Southern California means DJ Khaled’s home can support lemon trees. However, those in the Northeast can grow apples and pears, and homes in Georgia are ideal for peaches and figs.
Check out your US hardness growth zone to see what native grasses, ground covers, trees, and flowers you can establish in the garden or in outdoor planter boxes, as they require less water, fertilizer, and hold up better under local elements.
Water and Fire
True biophilic design isn’t just about green but considers the blue and hot elements of nature. That’s why DJ Khaled expressed, “The sound of the water, I think I’m on the ocean,” which his pool fountain sound replicates.
In addition to a swimming pool, consider adding a tropical fish pond in outdoor landscaping, and don’t be surprised when other friendly nature joins in the fun, from frogs to birds to butterflies. Between the plants and water features, you’ll be enjoying hummingbirds serenading you like the late Whitney Houston.
Include a fire pit, which makes nights cozier and warmer, and allows light cooking. This outdoor home feature now has an $8.37 billion market size as of 2025, according to Grand View Research.
Why Is Outdoor Landscaping Important?
Gardening and landscaping aren’t just for aesthetics, but are vital for mental health and community connection. That connection is shown when DJ Khaled caresses his purple and pink flowers and says “I love you” to them.
As you get your hands dirty tending your garden or harvesting fruit from trees that you’ve cultivated, you’re moving your body with gentle exercise. Activities like planting, weeding, and pushing a wheelbarrow work your muscles and keep your blood flowing, thus providing an overall boost to your heart health without going to the gym.
In his video diary, DJ Khaled constantly mentions being outside in the sun, which is beneficial for improving your vitamin D levels. Vitamin D is a vital part of bone health as it facilitates better calcium absorption and optimal immune system function.
Regarding community connection, your cultivated outdoor space or public ones are ideal for community and family gatherings, and Khalid mentions he and his son use his garden to connect and meditate. Nature provides ongoing therapeutic effects that can lower blood pressure and anxiety.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Are the Three Enemies of the Garden?
Pathogens include bacteria, fungi, and viruses that can create plant disease. You should be especially wary of pathogens affecting your trees, as one sick tree can easily spread to other trees.
Parasitoids are specialized insects that develop while sucking the life out of a host, eventually killing it. Many adult ones burrow into tree bark, lay eggs, and the young eat it from the inside out.
While you should watch out for predators like spiders and snakes that feast on your garden, there are beneficial predators that get rid of bad bugs too, thus acting as biological control. Therefore, you may want to tolerate a modest amount of insect or animal feeding to reduce the need to use chemicals.
Is There a Free App to Design Landscaping?
There is an app for everything, including landscaping design. An example is Planner 5D, which provides 3D rendering capabilities to help visualize a solution in your existing garden space.
Other apps include:
- Canva – good for sketching layouts
- HomeByMe – 3D planning tool
- PRO Landscape Companion – tablet app using drag and drop
- iScape – AR designs placed on an actual yard photo
Love the Earth, DJ Khaled Style
Outdoor landscaping goes beyond mowing the lawn, so plant native trees, flowers, and grasses that suit your environment and add joy through their aesthetics and smell. Consider functional elements such as soft couches, fire pits, and plants you like eating. As you plan your sanctuary, take DJ Khaled’s advice and “Respect mother nature at all times.”
Take a few more minutes, relax under a tree, and read some more articles from our website.
