apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

it's impressive and calm, particularly the pebbled square, but it seems curiously flat... i miss both verticality and particularity. perhaps it is all the gorgeous chinese gardens i saw recently but this seems like it needs a really large hole-y rock and a few willows or something dramatic to contrast with the coolness and simplicity.

on the contest more generally -- somehow i think i can guess the tactile from the visual, which is ok for interiors, but for gardens, it seems hollow to me to evaluate without being able to smell anything. particularly since there has been such a shameful breeding against fragrance in teh US.

I just don't see where touched by GREEN THUMB. Do you?

It was a clearly a huge job, but I'm thinking that the "green thumb" qualities will be more obvious when the garden is about five years old. Many of the plantings are clearly intended to fill in as they grow, which is good planning but makes the space harder to appreciate fully at this stage.

Thanks, Wende. Yes! It was an enormous job. There was absolutely nothing to work with. Just planting the grass was difficult. The Willow trees in the back are less than six months old and have a lot of growing to do. I bought them as mere "twigs". We someday hope to create some sort of overhang for the back patio but that is in next year's budget.

Facing a few plots of weeds myself, I can appreciate the time and effort you've put into this.

I think I'd personally prefer one container planting on the pebbles: the purple thing, all by itself in the middle would be zen-like!

Inspiring!

Would love to see this again next year.

Wow, I'm surprised people don't like this more. It's much more well designed than a few little pots of annuals (impatiens, anyone?). I don't mean to rag on anyone else's entry, and I'm more of a wild cottage garden girl myself, but this is really nicely done. Good job, Angel.

This has far too much lawn. There seems to be so much more that could be done in the garden while still maintaining a calm zen like atmosphere. Maybe try different types of grass, use that lovely fence for climbers. It just falls kind of flat for me.

well now i feel extremely silly for my comments wishing for willows. i do like it a lot, it definitely has an asian feel, but it doesn't feel... full strength as it were, and understandably so.

Thanks, Terri. I agree that it isn't exactly "exciting" yet but there is still a lot to be done. The fence isn't ours so we can't grow anything on it. All we can do is cover it over with another fence and perhaps grow something on that fence. (I'm sure that some of our other gardeners have the same restrictions.) But we do have plans for climbers and and richer variety of plants and trees.

Thank You, Caitlin!!

I fully appreciate the enormous effort that must have gone into this effort. I like all the different levels, use of different types (sizes, shapes, colors) of stones and the overall clean feeling. Good luck with this garden as it matures!

I am so inspired by all the entries - just applaud the effort if nothing else.

I like it and agree that it will probably be at it's full grace in a few summers from now.

Angel - how did you get that square of bricks? Did you just shove (artfully) those in the ground and seed grass around it?

Hello, Angelune. Thanks for your comments! And...yes...I just shoved the bricks around on the ground and coaxed the grass to grow around and between the them. Honestly, I didn't know what else to do with them! (The bricks were discovered scattered about under about 3 feet of earth.) I stole the idea from a place I saw in Paris.

Hi Angel -

Nice work! I'm about to pave part of a small Manhattan backyard and have been searching high and low for pavers identical to the ones you have surrounding your pebbled square - just simple, slate-colored and, hopefully, not too expensive. Can you tell me where you found them?

Wow, that is a ton of work. It's hard to understand how much thought, time, money, and hard work go into something like this unless you've done it before. Consider the work to build an enclosed space this large and then furnish it. And then there is the maintenance.

I think it is a great start and will grow in well. Gardening is something that takes quite a bit of time to get the look and feel one wants.

Hi, Luke!

Thanks! Believe it or not, I found the pavers at Lowes. And like you, I looked everywhere, even some pretty high-end places. You can find them in the garden section but they change their suppliers so there is a chance they could change the type of pavers but they are basically all the same.

It's really lovely & I commend you for your hard work and good taste. I would have voted higher but for the use of the word "myself" instead of the correct "me" in the sentence "...patios were placed there by myself and my partner..."

Thanks, Angel! I'd looked at Lowes online as they have a good range and cheap delivery to Manhattan. Can I ask what paver it is exactly? If you don't know, I'll bluff my way through. Great work again. And thanks!

Love the lack of color -- greys, whites, green --so calming -- always stunning! Off to a great start; having done over a backyard, can appreciate the hard work that went into the yard to achieve this outcome. I think you've done a beautiful job and I would never add any color other than white blossoms -- the most beautiful gardens I've seen in print (and I've saved the photos) are always simple, and either green and white or green and gray combinations, as you have done. It's the best combination for a Zen-type enviroment -- so peaceful.

Dear Edgeman:

Thanks for your compliment! And...yes...the word "myself" is ungrammatical. I believe
I also made a typo somewhere...I type quickly and think slowly. But thanks again!

Hello, Luke!

I don't recall the name of the pavers so I'm sorry...but I don't remember that there was a name. They were piled up in the back garden section of Lowes with a sign that read "gray pavers" and that was it. When I went back the next week they had switched the paver types but not the sign. The new pavers looked almost exactly the same except they had beveled eges. I used both. Good luck!

Angel... Great job! As I face my own jungle of 6'and better weeds, I feel hopeful. This weekend my husband is threatening to cut down the weeds and replace with the whole yard with cedar mulch chips. Now your yard has given me affordable options. Question. Once you cut down the weeds, what did you do next to keep the weeds from coming back... what step did you do to plan out the work ahead. Your response will greatly appreciated. I've a spouse whose threatening to do horrible things to my backyard. Again great job.