This Backyard Goes from Rodent-Ridden to a Dreamy Garden Retreat
Outdoor space is hard to come by in big cities packed to the brim with apartment buildings, and even if you do have a rooftop or alley or yard to enjoy, it might not be well-maintained by property management (if you rent). If your landlord will allow it, you could consider putting in some of your own time, effort, and money to make the private outdoor space a retreat; that’s what Lawrence Leung (@brooklyn.apartment) and Mei Brun (@mei.knits) did in their backyard.
About two weeks of TLC turned the once-unkempt backyard into a stunner. “It wasn’t in good condition when we first moved in, and we didn’t get to enjoy the space much last year due to the construction happening around our building,” Lawrence says.
They started by removing dead plants.
The yard had dead plants and a grill left from the previous tenants that needed clearing. They had to level the ground with a shovel and a rake to smooth out the surface. They also had to refortify the fence with 2x4s and add chicken mesh to prevent rodents from entering.
The backyard has distinct zones.
There are two distinct levels in the backyard, so once Lawrence and Mei had everything evened out, they added pea gravel and stepping stones underfoot. “We used stepping stones underneath the dining table and pea gravel for our fire pit that is on the second level of our outdoor space,” Lawrence says.
After the surfaces were set, they added “a weather-resistant table and benches for dining and hosting, a modular sofa and cushions for lounging, a patio umbrella, and string lights for the nighttime,” Lawrence explains.
The new plants are shade-friendly.
And they added new potted plants of their own that line the edges of the space; Lawrence and Mei prefer ferns, hostas, and begonias that don’t need a ton of sunlight, as the backyard is mostly shaded.
Lawrence and Mei added one other smart garden-related addition to their home, too. “One of the windows in our bedroom opens as a door that leads you to the staircase down to our backyard,” Lawrence explains. “To access it, we have to climb on top of our radiator cover. Because it is quite high, we added a little two-step stool to help with getting up and down.”
To see the inside of Lawrence and Mei’s place, check out their apartment tour, and to see more stunning gardens from Apartment Therapy tours, check out these seven spaces. Lawrence says the goal with this project was “to transform the outdoor space into a Zen-like garden retreat,” and they certainly achieved that!
Inspired? Submit your own project here.