Year: 2022

Location: Park Slope, Brooklyn

Scope: design, project management, masonry, woodwork, planting, irrigation, maintenance

Set in a generous layer of native gravel, a bluestone patio provides a central place to gather, lounge, and enjoy the lush and grassy planting that surrounds it on all four sides.

In a deep, raised bed at the back of the garden, a mature Japanese maple reigns and a specimen Magnolia Loebneri ‘Merrill’ (Star Magnolia), Viburnum plicatum tomentosum (Doublefile Viburnum) , and an Abelia Grandiflora join assorted Buxus (Boxwoods), Deutzia gracilis, Alliums, Liriope muscari (Lilyturf) and Polystichum polyblepharum (Tassel Ferns). In cut-out beds along the sides, ornamental grasses, including Miscanthus sinensis (Silver Grass) and Pennisetum (Fountain Grass), create a meadowy show against the fence. At the foot of the stairs, familiar friends Boxwood, Abelia, and Viburnum come together with Hydrangea quercifolia (Oak Leaf Hydrangea), white-flowering Camellia japonica, and more large grasses, supported by shade-tolerant clusters of Hostas, Liriope, and Tassel Ferns.

Below the parlor-level terrace, where the garden apartment gives onto the yard, a cedar deck floats, creating a sense of place and polish, and a second room. 

A custom cedar fence offers privacy as well as interest of its own.