Prospect Heights Garden Build: Laying the Groundwork
[nggallery id=”34391″ template=galleryview] Here’s the July progress report from landscape architect (and recent Brooklyn Building Awards winner) Joanna Pertz’s remake of a brownstone garden in Prospect Heights: It is the time now when the bones of the garden are set into place. It can be unsettling because the whole space changes, but if it right,…
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Here’s the July progress report from landscape architect (and recent Brooklyn Building Awards winner) Joanna Pertz‘s remake of a brownstone garden in Prospect Heights:
It is the time now when the bones of the garden are set into place. It can be unsettling because the whole space changes, but if it right, it is very exciting. We still have the fence to go but I think we are on to something…it feels good!
The deck framing is in and so is the stair. In the garden the warm rusty planters have set the clear lines of the raised planting beds and begun to inscribe the mound that will lift the middle of the garden. These lines will be softened when the mound and bedding soil bury half of these steel planters.The garden feels larger as space is given to distinct activities and yet still flows between them.
The stairs are wide (4′-6) with deep treads a full 13 and a 7-1/4 rise per step. It feels like you float down this stair to the garden. The underside of the deck feels spacious at 9′-4 and in the rear beyond the planters it feels like an additional garden that was just added to the yard.
The broad stair sets you on a bowed oval field. The mound returns to the ground at a gravel clearing. The clearing sits under the large oak and is punctuated by a cast concrete pedestal that will be piped as a fountain. A path extends behind the mature magnolia into an airy woodland of fern and statuary black snakeroot. The wide spaces between the fence planks extends your view beyond the limits of the garden. I asked in my first entry what is sexy as I searched for a design. I believe we are getting close.
Prospect Heights Garden Build: The Design [Brownstoner]
Prospect Heights Garden Build: Setting the Stage [Brownstoner]
While not my personal taste, I say nicely done. I fall into the more rustic, cottage style. I too have a 3′ x 3′ patch I like to think of as meadow.
The steel will eventually leach iron oxide and carbon (I think), and if you plant hydrangia in iron-rich soil they will bloom very blue.
While visiting a beautiful Chinese philosopher’s garden recreated in Portland, OR, I learned the five essential elements of a philosopher’s garden are: plants, rocks, water, architecture, and poetry.
Of course I can’t be sure if my extensive comments on the first installment of this story had much traction, but I must say I’ve very, very glad to see this garden coming together without a lot of concrete. I like the woodland choice in the back.
A note on the steel: Yes, it’s clear it doesn’t take up much space like a wood retaining wall would but my concern would be more about being able to kneel on them than anything.
I wouldn’t worry too much about rust…although, I’m not a plant biologist…and don’t know for sure if the plants will take up much more iron or if the iron oxides might lock up other nutrients in the soil making them unavailable to the plants. Plants can suffer from lack of or too much of certain elements while sometimes food crops do, indeed, take up metals and pass these on to the animals and humans who eat them.
Anyway, The plan looks very lovely.
“Again with the suggestions”:
Are you going to have a tall open tree near the house/deck?: Dogwood, semi-drawf apple of pear, fastigata cherry, or smaller trees such as serviceberry?
And would you think about pulling the Northeast native meadown down the steps a bit and into the stone dust area to create a layer your eye looks through and around? I’ve found multiple layers and plants that are soft and visually busy (so meadow plants as opposed to dark, solid shrubs in this case) can detain the eye a touch, and emotionally create more of the element of discovery when both viewing and moving though a small garden. The dark, solid shrubs can be too much in a small space. You might think about meadow rue, various asters and goldenrods, bee balm (what is it “Jacob Klein” the one that doesn’t mildew easily?), and asclepisis tuberosa with a touch of mountain mint. Also, twiggy, decidous shrubs can be nice for the native area either in the back or mixed in if the right size. I know they’re not native, but many of the flowering quinces are just right. Oh, and there are blueberries in every shape and size. We have very low ones sort of as edging…these could be brought down the steps.
I encourage that you heavily plant up the yard with lots of variety. It’s good for the kids and good for the native bugs and birds.
Enjoy! It’s going to be gorgeous!
Brownstoner–now that I have my own garden I am much more interested than previously in the old GARDEN of the DAY feature you used to run. Any chance of reviving this feature?
Looks great. Note sure why the hardscaper is not priming and painting the containers so they do not deriorate quickly with rust – plus you’re planting in them.
Great job – will be really nice once established next summer.
I was curious about the steel planters, too. How did the designer explain that as the choice?
you did not just make a Charm School reference. oy
Umm…steel planters in direct contact with the soil doesn’t seem like a very good idea to me. Can anyone say rust-impregnated soil?
quote:
Are you a fan of things unnatural 😕
for the most part yes. im a syntheticist at heart.
and yeah the person who made the versaille comment… like Megan from Charm School says, Jealousy is a disease.
*rob*
You’re so lucky you have a garden. I have a potted cactus!