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When we bought our house on the edge of Carroll Gardens we began a full gut-renovation, both of the house and the backyard (which looked like the surface of the moon). We designed the garden to allow for a generous flower-bed perimeter, a grass center for the kids to play on, and a patio for entertaining. What ended last year’s season as a pathetic, wilting shrub blossomed into a 6-foot high white hydrangea bush this summer, flanked by blue hydrangeas on either side. Our specimen tree also grew rapidly and yielded beautiful cherry blossoms in May. This year’s additions include a dwarf weeping red Japanese Maple, a brilliant pink rose tree, and four clematis of different varieties. One of the clematis had to be potted, thanks to some remnants from the rubble pit beneath the flower bed. Thankfully, this has been the only time the hardened earth beneath our landscaping has caused a problem. Our annuals in the front of the beds are now dahlias, silver leaf, and begonias. A sea of tulips and daffodils came up in late-April.

We replaced the dilapidated chain-link fence with a cinderblock wall, which we covered with recycled slate roof-tile that our contractor removed from an old house. The outdoor kitchen, which my husband happily says is the only thing he got to design in the whole house, is constructed from treated wood and wonderboard. The facade is brick face, the countertop is granite tile and the grill and access doors are stainless steel.

We’re now in our first full summer and the design has worked well. The natural drainage from the ground has accommodated our blowup pools and sprinkler toys well. It’s nice to have a relatively-serene outdoor space, even if it is in the shadow of the BQE.
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