Excellent Landscape Designer!

I would like to recommend Ann Brooke (see:http://www.annbrookedesign.com), the Landscape Designer who redesigned my back-yard garden. The hardscaping part of the project is installed, with planting and additional work to recommence in the spring, including installation of a watering system, tree pruning to let in more light, and installation of additional brick in a herringbone pattern for the area under a hammock with stand (for back left of yard).

Ann had to deal with many design problems and certain limitations in creating the garden plan. I requested that an existing small back patio directly outside the door to the garden be kept, as well as the raised flower beds on each side of the yard. An additional problem was how to deal with the multitude of shallow tree roots running throughout the yard. Ann’s solution was to extend the brick a bit, using an antique brick that complemented the existing brick, and that angled out to begin the movement and flow of the rest of the design. Creating three separate garden rooms by installing two sets of stairs, no higher than 6″, helped avoid the problem of digging down and destroying tree roots. The stone selected for the stairs is phenomenal, and I’m told that each piece weighs about 400 pounds. Needless to add, the men who installed the stone, by first carrying each piece through the narrow hallway of my garden floor are heroes.

Another request I made was for a circular area to accommodate a set of table and chairs. I thought the off-set of the slate circular area was a wonderful design solution, with the brick path hugging round the circle to appear again on the other side of the steps and lead you into the rest of the garden. You may envision the three types of ground cover that you will find growing around the circular stones in the back, when you arrive to that space.

Ann works with closely with a hardscaping contractor, and has had a long relationship with him and his crew. As a result, they know her design style and under Ann’s guidance, are able to implement the work without error. Ann is always present during the installation.

Ms. Brooke has been a pleasure to work with during the entire process. We set a limit to the budget at the outset and she kept to that limit. I highly recommend her. I think the photos allow the garden design to speak for itself.