I used LOLA http://www.localofficelandscape.com/ and I love, love, love their design work.

We were feature right here in the Brownstoners Garden section. See Rockaway Garden. Also we won The New York Chapter, American Society of Landscape Architects, 2008 Professional Awards Small Project Landscape Design.

Their design is so good almost every other week something new and different is blooming. It's worth having a designer.

I did all the heavy lifting and building myself. My main cost were design and plants.

Posted by: BlueBerry at March 23, 2009 4:13 PM in response to How Much to Create a Garden?

I really like this place, even after reading all of the above comments.

I would consider giving up my 2 family, 2800 sq ft. ESH home with an award winning garden, garage, and private parking spot on a private street, one block away from the beach for this place.

I love Rockaway but I have a kid now so being closer to the city and park are a major plus.

Heck I can even deal with that freaking kitchen and baseboard heating.

Posted by: BlueBerry at December 16, 2008 9:28 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 195 Prospect Park West

Pretty Awesome Dave, I like it a lot!

Posted by: BlueBerry at December 4, 2008 10:03 AM in response to Garden of the Day: Bearing Fruit in Bed Stuy

Thanks for posting this. I'm interested in insulating a room at my friends place and this could really help.

Thanks
Pete

Posted by: BlueBerry at November 25, 2008 10:08 AM in response to Green Insulation For Sale 60% Off

I take the midtown tunnel in, in the morning because the 59th St Bridge is a zoo, I waste money if I have to wait for the bridge.

In the afternoon I return on the Brooklyn Bridge. I like that it is free but to be honest, I understand why a toll would be good and I support it.

Toll the bridges but please do it smart EZ Pass only no BS stop and go cash crap.

Posted by: BlueBerry at November 10, 2008 11:05 AM in response to East River Bridges May Not Be Free For Long

I love this place, it's basically my dream home. I think it looks great.

Posted by: BlueBerry at November 10, 2008 10:57 AM in response to Finding the Loft in a Brownstone

iRobot lives here.

It seems so devoid of life but I bet I could pimp it out with a couple pair of crocks,a Harley in the living room and an old school pacman machine.

Posted by: BlueBerry at October 21, 2008 3:31 PM in response to House of the Day: 22 Remsen Street

I hope they construct/design/plan it better then they did their rockaway development. I'm not feeling their Rockaway work. It's ugly. It's also misleading, that don't call that area Rockaway beach. For what it's worth.

Posted by: BlueBerry at October 14, 2008 3:07 PM in response to New Development Coming to Bushwick

I like it, it is very well done.

I hope they didn't pay too much for the coffee table. I'm a simple caveman, a $1k Noguchi one would have worked for me in that space. I guess it's more art then furniture so maybe...

Posted by: BlueBerry at October 6, 2008 3:43 PM in response to Interiors: From Warehouse to Warm

Ummm I'm kind of interested in radiant heat floors as well. I wonder who does it well in NY.

Posted by: BlueBerry at October 1, 2008 7:49 PM in response to Radiant Floor Heating?

Maybe I would wait on line for a new iPhone that can mix G&T's but for a TJ's, no way...

Posted by: BlueBerry at September 26, 2008 11:12 AM in response to Rainy Ribbon Cutting for Trader Joe's

I thought that was kind of funny. I got to read the whole thing online now.

Posted by: BlueBerry at July 29, 2008 10:54 AM in response to Onion: Gentrification Being Trumped by Artistocratization

I'm not sure I need a permit for the deck (it's not really a deck) because it basically 4x4 on the bottom and 2x4 and 2x8 on top. It's not a real deck, deck, it's just a floating deck.

The first picture is of the finished job and the other pics are the build up to finish.

I'm a bit oc a hack gardener with very little experience. This was a fun and perfect project.

Posted by: BlueBerry at July 22, 2008 5:57 PM in response to Garden of the Day: Rocking in Rockaway

Wow, I'm really happy to have my Garden on Brownstoner. This made my week!

My friends Jennifer and Walter at Local Office Landscape are really the plant experts, I'll send them this link for a more technical answer but basically; we made sure we got clumper bamboos. They are not invasive and are very easily managed. The bamboos are great for a millions reason but the reason that matters most to me is that they look freaking cool. They went into the ground plastic pot and all. They look amazing in the summer (super green) and in the winter (dirty blond).

If you send me a message I can direct you to a website I made showing how it went from a-z last year and how it looks now in 08.

Posted by: BlueBerry at July 22, 2008 3:04 PM in response to Garden of the Day: Rocking in Rockaway

"As a rough guide, last year one of the contractors I've used quoted $16/sq ft for pavers laid out on a concrete base."

Actually I'll bet that's a wee bit more accurate than my quote, as we did some of our work ourselves...

Posted by: Action Jackson at March 23, 2009 11:31 PM in response to How Much to Create a Garden?

We initially used Evelyn Costa Tully for our backyard and although I thought the stone work was ok, the plantings she did were not that great - felt like she just threw in a ton of bulbs that initially looked good but over time just felt like overkill. I don't mean to fully knock her - I really liked her stone work and certainly the first spring compared with what we had before it was a nice change from mud in the back. Just that I think she didn't completely resonate with us in her plant choices and layout, and overall she was expensive for that piece.

We now use a guy named Tom Castimore who has an outfit called Brooklyn Gardens and we are thrilled with his work. He has done a bunch of gardens right around us and is super down to earth and not pricey at all. In fact I'd reckon far less expensive than Evelyn. He worked with our existing front garden, rearranged the back, and we will be using him once we have our renovations done to rework some stone in the back as well.

Tom's number is (718) 858-7836. He is pretty busy and I know other friends who have had a hard time trying to reach him cause he has so much work, but if you can reach him and he has time, well worth it!

Posted by: sunspot19 at March 24, 2009 7:31 AM in response to How Much to Create a Garden?

if you're still looking for designers, quotes, etc., i can recommend cary baker from wildpistil (wildpistil.com). her design/install/maintenance is first class and she's wonderful to work with if you want to get more involved with the project. good luck w/your garden!

Posted by: pluvious at March 24, 2009 12:24 PM in response to How Much to Create a Garden?

OP here. Thanks all for your comments and advice.

Posted by: Boerum Hill at March 24, 2009 2:25 PM in response to How Much to Create a Garden?

A friend forwarded your post to me. Our company does landscape design work focusing on sustainable landscapes.

You can take a look at our web site at www.sustainlandscapedesign.com. We will do a free consultation if you like.

Posted by: nebrait at March 31, 2009 4:55 PM in response to How Much to Create a Garden?