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May 9, 2008
Garden of the Day: Another Greenwood Heights Goodie
The garden fun continues in Greenwood Heights today. From the horse's mouth:
Our backyard is a small courtyard which had a prison-yard vibe when we bought the place 4 years ago. We designed it ourselves hired some terrific guys to build it for us (ipe deck & cedar trellis) and have been working on the plantings ever since. It's the perfect spot for bbq's and outdoor movies. We also built a minimalist stucco flat roof shed/playhouse which is not pictured.
We're loving this. Comfortable but modern.
Garden of the Day: HGTV Does Greenwood Heights [Brownstoner]
Garden of the Day: PLG Make-Over [Brownstoner]
Submit Your Garden for 'Garden of the Day' [Brownstoner]
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Comments
Great garden! Very serene. If you don't mind my asking, where did you find the white planters?
Posted by: guest at May 9, 2008 10:33 AM
That's nice. A bit claustrophobic, perhaps, with the walls all around, but can't be helped. More flowers wouldn't hurt either. But still, when you see it, you go 'ahhhh'.
Posted by: denton at May 9, 2008 10:34 AM
Gorgeous! Wow, these gardens are fabulous! CAN PEOPLE PLEASE INCLUDE PHOTOS OF THE BACK OF THE MAIN HOUSE SO WE CAN SEE THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE GARDEN/DECK WITH THE HOUSE?????
Posted by: guest at May 9, 2008 10:35 AM
This is very pretty- Who did the fencing for you? I've been looking for a similar tall and horizontal fence.
Posted by: Park Place at May 9, 2008 10:36 AM
Wasn't this featured in Domino Magazine?
Posted by: fexleycb at May 9, 2008 10:49 AM
I can't see the photos.
Posted by: guest at May 9, 2008 11:01 AM
saw this in Domino. the before and after photos in the mag really illustrate this garden's renovation.
Posted by: Fjorder at May 9, 2008 11:07 AM
is your yard enclosed by buildings on all 3 sides? is there a law which specifies the height of the fence you can put?
Posted by: guest at May 9, 2008 11:09 AM
ah, i knew i saw this garden before. it must have been domino as other readers have pointed out. love the slat fence, how high is it?
Posted by: guest at May 9, 2008 11:15 AM
It is nice, but I can't believe people are still using Ipe. No Ipe, whatever you may have been assured, is sutainably harvested.
Ugh
Posted by: guest at May 9, 2008 11:51 AM
"Serene"? I dunno...this is about as inviting as a morgue slab. I'm a cottage garden girl; even tiny gardens need a little messiness and mystery. And, oh, a few more plants. If Mary from "The Secret Garden" [classic children's book, darlings] turned the key in a door in that wall and happened on this place, she'd say, "How sad. Nothing here but some funny old pink chairs and a few pots. Well, a bit of grass, but not enough to have any fun on. What sad people, to not want any flowers."
Posted by: Brenda from Flatbush at May 9, 2008 12:24 PM
It looks really nice. I too wondered about the fence hight though. I thought 6' was the max height you can do...if it has changed, I'd love to do highter fence in my backyard too! Does anyone know about the rule?
Posted by: guest at May 9, 2008 12:56 PM
I rareley ever say anything negative on brownstowner but this garden is really drab, so uninviting. And it's not because it's minimalist, it just doesn't feel like it has any life.
Posted by: guest at May 9, 2008 1:03 PM
I like it!
Posted by: guest at May 9, 2008 1:47 PM
I'm the designer/owner. To answer some questions: the fence is 11' high, the white planters are from ikea, and yes, it was in Domino. There are more flowers but since it's early May not everything has bloomed yet. It's funny to hear someone say it looks drab because since we have 2 small kids the garden is usually filled with toys and bikes and kids, most of which were not pictured.
If you want to see our renovation images, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26382229@N05/sets/72157604952937159/
Posted by: guest at May 9, 2008 1:50 PM
My first impression was 'austere'. I can see though, that the shrubs and trees have plenty of growth ahead, and will fill in nicely.
Posted by: Hal at May 9, 2008 2:30 PM
Love it.
Posted by: guest at May 9, 2008 3:20 PM
do you guys ever project movies in your backyard? That white wall looks FUN.
Posted by: guest at May 9, 2008 3:20 PM
Hate to bust your bubble but no Ipe is sustainable harvested. It is a scam. I am from Brazil, trust me, most of the wood comig out of there is fake certified. Wake up people, don't fool yourselves into believing you are doing something good when you are not. It is like buying a hybrid SUV, you are still burning up fuel. I think you should have spared the trees, but it is too late now. You garden could have looked less sterile and you could have used stones.
On a side note, why did you cram all the little plants on the side, poor things.
Forest killers!!!
Posted by: guest at May 9, 2008 3:55 PM
^^^ The buzz killer from Ipanema ^^^
Posted by: guest at May 9, 2008 4:14 PM
Putting this level of work in brownstoner is casting perils at swine.
Beautiful work!
Have a wonderful summer
Posted by: guest at May 9, 2008 5:33 PM
5:33, perils?
Interesting you can spell 'swine' correctly, but not 'pearls'. Hmm...
Posted by: denton at May 9, 2008 6:35 PM
Sidebar comment: at least 80% of the people that bother to sign-in are complete a-holes and/or dorks:
denton
brendafromflatbush
biff champion
daveinbedstuy
...the list goes on and on.
and I'm not 5:33.
Posted by: guest at May 9, 2008 6:42 PM
3:55 no one said they were trying to preserve the earth. people choose ipe because it's durable compared to other woods. we don't really care about brazil. funny to hear brazilians whining about people destroying their homeland. aren't your cities full of homeless children that you're countrymen just put out on the streets? you've got bigger shantytowns than nairobi and calcutta. maybe you should worry about your peole instead of your rain forests.
Posted by: guest at May 9, 2008 6:48 PM
loved it in domino, and love it now. who did the construction of the fence etc?
there is room for every kind of style in the garden from mod to trad to cottage, but when i design a space even though i lean towards mod personally, the "style" really only matters to the folks who are using the garden and how they use it.
and anyone who wants just a "garden of flowers" is seriously missing out on the joys - yes - joys of foliage.
Posted by: guest at May 9, 2008 10:19 PM
I'm with Brenda.
It's not a garden, it's an outdoor room with expensive wall-to-wall planking, trendy furniture, and a few shrubs plopped down.
yawn.
Will
Posted by: guest at May 9, 2008 11:01 PM
I love it. It's a specific kind of style and taste and very successfully done in that vein. You know, frou frou heavily planted flowering English cottage garden style is not for everyone, Will at 11:01.
I have a flowery more decorative garden and am capable of understanding that.
Posted by: guest at May 10, 2008 1:07 PM
i like it a lot - i see your hardwork and design come to fruition. while it's not my style - i certainly can appreciate what you guys did - i think it's very zen and modern!!! great job!!
Posted by: guest at May 10, 2008 4:40 PM
I think the wood fence will go a long way towards reducing the heat given off by those brick walls in summer. I bet you have some warmer micro climates that could sustain some unusual plantings. Some climbing roses? A grove of black bamboo?
Like the play house/shed idea. Need a place to stow the lawn mower.
I'm guessing those are commercial properties that are surrounding you. Any chance any of these buildings might be demo'ed for new condo conversions?
Posted by: guest at May 10, 2008 6:21 PM
Saw the photos, absolutely great job. If you don't design for a living you should seriously consider it. Never mind the negative opinions, these people are just jealous and have to put their two cents in to feel better about the dumps they live in. If you asked to see their backyards...., well you can save the before pictures for them. This is coming from a professional in the business. Enjoy your new yard!
Posted by: guest at May 10, 2008 10:42 PM
Deck of the day, maybe. But where's the garden?
Posted by: guest at May 10, 2008 11:53 PM
To the owner: I left my contact info on Flickr if you are interested in selling your services. Thanks
Posted by: guest at May 12, 2008 9:53 AM
you can say you bought ipe because it is cheap and hardy. indeed it is.
but don't say you bought it because its sustainable, because it aint.
hypocritas
Posted by: guest at May 13, 2008 11:17 AM
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