Garden and Landscape Design recommendation (LONG!)
Ann Brooke Design Now that we’ve let her work prove itself over time – as it must, with something as season- and age-dependent as a garden – I can confidently sing the following praises. Yes, it’s a long song, probably too much information for most . . . which is why I put the facts down first so you can skip it if it doesn’t apply to your needs.
The Garden
Age of garden: 2 years (planted in 2010)
Location: Fort Greene, Brooklyn
Scope of Work: Front yard (corner lot, so more like two yards), one north facing, one west facing; a roof deck 12ft by 25 ft, south and west facing.
Plantings: Classic foundation including climbing roses, boxwoods, English ivy, wisteria, clematis, climbing hydrangea; pretty elements like poenies, tulips, anemone, hostas, perennial geraniums; groundcovers like tiarella, ajuga, campanula, mazus; small trees including crabapple, himalayan birch, roanoake; scented plantings such as lavender, aromatic roses, honeysuckle and verbena; crape myrtle, a southern shrub with a wild early-fall bloom; and a lush, heart-shape-leafed climbing vine called schizophragma.
Concept: Classic with touches of surprise, a formal composition using informal plantings, and most importantly, a sense of seasonal pacing – there’s no “on season” or “off season”. The garden unfolds throughout the year: intermittent blooms from early spring through end of fall, the turning of leaves, the bare but substantial, balanced composition in winter – these are all part of an active, ever-changing landscape and the foundation of the design.
The Landscape Designer/Contractor
Name: Ann Brooke, http://www.annbrookedesign.com
Communication/Collaboration skills: excellent
Responsiveness/Maintenance help: excellent
Expertise: excellent (20+ years in business, with experience all over the U.S.)
Style: (from what I can tell) Adaptable, with ease in both formal and informal styles, with sensitivity towards the health of the soil and hardiness of the plants, use of natural gardening techniques, knowledge of indigenous plants, foundation in local and classic plantings with shots of whimsy through composition and/ or incorporation of rare and unusual specimens.
Personality: Modest and sweet on the surface, but don’t let that fool ya. The lady is bold and confident in her taste, and for good reason. Great sense of humor that comes through even in her composition; charm and wit galore. Also, she genuinely seems to love her job. Meaning, no job is too small or modest for her enthusiasm. We had fun!
My Experience:
I found Ann Brooke by chance, three years ago. We were completing the renovation of our home, the final phase of which required landscaping a 10 feet wide by 90 feet long parameter of front garden that wraps around the house on two streets. There was also a deck on top of the garage to fill with as much greenery, using up as little space as possible. (There is no back yard.) The constraints were considerable.
Before finding Ann, I’d seen the work of many local New York landscape designers and interviewed a few. All the work seemed beautifully tailored to an urban environment, as one would expect of New York-honed designers. Truly impressive. But what I was hoping to find for this location was almost the opposite of what I was finding among the local designers — someone who could create a complement to the proper, chiseled good looks of the neighborhood. Someone who was tuned into the more unruly possibilities, the messy tendencies of mother nature, rather than the comfort zone and over-confidence of a perfect New York garden.
While scouring the web for reclaimed pavers, I came across a hardscaping business in upstate New York that credited the images of the beautiful, rambling landscaping to Ann Brooke. I found her web site and my hunch was confirmed. This was exactly the kind of controlled chaos I was dreaming of for the little strip of land around the house. None of the gardens photographed looked like they were in urban – even suburban – environments, so the first thing I asked Ann when I called her was: “Do you have any experience with very VERY constrained space?” She mentioned working in a historic district in Washington, D.C. More convincingly, she seemed incredibly intrigued and inspired to try her hand on some Brooklyn soil. This would not be something she was used to or overly comfortable with, but was clearly capable of rising to the challenge. I was excited to see what her obvious talents would create in un-obvious circumstances.
There were two main challenges for Ann to overcome besides the space and light constraints. The garden is part of a very specific visual experience, in an exposed and well traveled corner of the neighborhood: it abuts a popular park, and confronts commuters twice daily as they use this main drag to and from the cluster of subways in downtown brooklyn. This first challenge demanded that the garden be integrated into the general atmosphere of the area so that it’s a welcoming, rather than intrusive or confrontational, experience in what is already a very characteristic and gracious public environment.
The second challenge was almost the opposite of the first. Our home is – well, a home. Despite the busy location, inside it’s a sanctuary (if not a kind of zoo) for the members of the family to unwind and be ourselves. We wanted that garden to be intimate and personal to us.
So in comes Ann. Never having worked in Brooklyn before, she got her bearings right away, on both fronts: spending time in the neighborhood on her own, discovering the myriad plantings in the park, acquainting herself with the architecture, admiring some of the incredible landscaping on neighboring blocks, getting to know the rhythm of the streets, people and businesses in the area; then sitting down with us, gathering each of our personalities, points of view, likes, dislikes, good ideas and bad. One of us was fixated on scented plants and flowers; another on indigenous species; someone wanted archetypal plants; another had sentimental/symbolic preferences.
She pointed out things she loved in the neighborhood and the park that seemed very much part of the local landscape culture/vernacular, which might overlap or connect with some of the personal preferences we’d expressed to her. Next, she introduced us to species of plants that were unknown to us and unfamiliar in the area, but were nevertheless still classic or subtle enough not to seem out of place. Finally, she put everything together as a cohesive, elegant whole that had a strong idiosyncratic identity, and yet left room for the interference of time and our participation . . . . for that element of the unruly and chaotic which can turn a pleasing garden into a surprising and refreshing one.
Since we wanted to do the work around the garden ourselves, but had little experience and not too much spare time for gardening, she had to teach us enough to at least ensure the survival of the garden through our learning curve. Many of the basics we learned from her have lead us since then to take on deeper challenges on our own. She picked species that would be naturally hardy and cautioned against those that would require too much artificial life support in the form of toxic fertilizers. There’s a balance to be made between convenience and health in the garden, between enjoyable effort and burdensome strain, and she drew those lines clearly so we could make wise decisions on our own.
She develops drawings in a reasonable time, always meeting her deadlines. Same with planting – although the process is obviously weather- and season-sensitive, she was diligent in keeping us informed of any necessary adjustments to the schedule, and gave us plenty of reminders and lead time to prepare for the major phases of work. Her team has been with her for many years, and it’s obvious in how intuitively they all communicate, and how quickly, neatly and deftly they work together. She was there every step of the way, catching small details and making subtle but important adjustments, with an eye for the long term development of the landscape.
I’ve learned recently that she now has over a dozen clients in Brooklyn, so she’s clearly adapting to the urban environment with ease. If our garden is any evidence, she’ll be flourishing here for a long time to come.
If you’d like specific photos of the garden or any other advice, you can contact me directly at izmonk@gmail.com.
Regards, Monika Norwid
monikan
in Garden Design and Maintenance 13 years and 5 months ago
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8 replies
callalily | 13 years and 5 months ago
I like her style. In Bar’s yard, she made a narrow space interesting with different levels and colored rocks, yet kept a traditional look, which I like, instead of going all wavy with the planting beds.
robbertlaims | 13 years and 5 months ago
Nice photo! What a great referal too! And the comments are all so nice. Refreshing.
Bar | 13 years and 5 months ago
P.S. If you search the archinves on Brownstoner, you shoud be able to find my original post regarding how happy I have been with Ann Brooke’s redesign of my back yard.
Bar | 13 years and 5 months ago
http://cdn.brownstoner.com/4f8878d479cf7-processed-bedick_after.jpg
I can only concur with what has already been so beautifully stated by Monika. Ann redesigned, hardscaped and landscaped my back yard, and as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, so I am including a photo. It has been a pleasure to work with Ann, and our relationship continues, as she has been working with me on a new project. I would be happy to serve as a personal recommendation for anyone wishing to work with Ann. My husband and I derive great pleasure spending time in our backyard, and looking out our windows is always a visual treat.
Brooklynista | 13 years and 5 months ago
I totally agree with the kudos for your review, Monika. How generous you have been in sharing! These are the kind of intimate, unusual facts one would want to know in terms of choosing a professional landscape designer — but not necessarily think to ask. The bits about Ann’s surveying the neighborhood on her own and her ability to meld different tastes and familial preferences into a cohesive whole I found to be especially informative. Having read every word of your review and enjoying it immensely, I will definitely think to check Ann out when we are ready to embark on a landscaping project with our own garden. Thanks!
Kateruba | 13 years and 5 months ago
yes, I don’t know why I just read all that, because I don’t need a landscape designer, but thank you, it was a good read! It would be interesting to see some photos, do you a have them up on flickr or vieweable elsewhere? I also love the English landscaping style, a little wild looking and with the charm of a secret garden.
monikan | 13 years and 5 months ago
DNK: Blushing!! (checks in the mail hah). I know I sound like a gushing groupie (“I was at their very first show! I have the set list!”) but when you come across a gem, it’s hard not to be effusive. We really lucked out. Also I’ve used this forum so much over the years but I rarely participate – so I’m glad to know I could reciprocate somehow.
dnk | 13 years and 5 months ago
This is the best recommendation I’ve ever seen on this site. Well organized and well written — I read all of it, even though I am not remotely interested in hiring a landscape designer. Hope to see more of this kind of thing on the forum. Thanks for posting!