Garden of the Day: Refining in Boerum Hill

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Michelle from Boerum Hill (not that Michelle) writes in…When we moved into our little brownstone on Bond St in Boerum Hill in January 2007, the backyard was in pretty decent shape. It just needed some retooling. I waited for the first Spring and Summer to go by to see what would actually grow out there. I got rid of the plants I didn’t like, created a vegetable garden in the front right quadrant off the deck and then realized I needed some professional help. I found Julie Cummings, The Urban Gardener, off of a recommendation on Brownstoner and we began our plans in November. There were way too many large-ish shrubs that had been allowed to overgrow, so we got rid of a few. Thereby opening more perennial planting space and making the remaining shrubs/ trees healthier – Holly tree, hydrangea, japanese maple and azalea. We were lucky enough to have two distinct “social” spaces in the backyard; 1. the deck right off of the kitchen, and 2.the flagstone patio in the way back. The garden itself would be the bridge between the two. Since we liked to grill and be outside as much as possible, Julie’s idea was to redo the back patio and also to take a big, beautiful slab of stone (that had been a too-low bench) and make it into a permanent bar, with metal legs that are secured by concrete deep under the ground.

The results are great and beyond what we even hoped for. We planted LOTS of flowering perennials that are still filling in – that’s why things look a little sparse. In addition to the vegetable garden, I planted tomatoes in self-watering containers, and herbs and hot peppers on the deck too. The area in back is a terrific sanctuary and feels very private and is shady and breezy. Great for barbecues, having drinks – it’s even become my gym area for bike training and yoga. We have a very large apple tree right in the middle of the yard, so for about the first week of July I was picking up a few hundred apples a day – you have to be on your toes for falling apples. A pith helmet could be handy. But that’s part of the fun. It’s like wild kingdom out there with cardinals, woodpeckers, catbirds and squirrels. It’s definitely become a respite from everyday city life for us. I couldn’t recommend Julie and her team more highly. She is a lovely person, hard-working and had a great vision that melded perfectly with what we wanted.
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