Our Work
Hampden Dining Room
This small yard had been a delightful garden space for the previous owners, who filled it to the brim with herbs and flowers. The new homeowner was realistic about how she wanted to use the space: while she enjoyed some flowers, she really wanted a place where she could have friends and family over to relax, share meals, and spend time outdoors.
We opened up the center of the space with a dry laid bluestone patio, and moved the perennials to the border of the garden. In the process, we were able to find a good home for the old raised beds that still had some life to them, and we adjusted the extremely long downspout to provide irrigation for the newly-planted tree instead of draining onto the concrete alleyway.
Jan’s Garden
Jan reached out to me about weeding initially, but when we met and she described her goals—including trying to sell the house within a year or two—I suggested making some tweaks to the layout as well.
We cleaned out the yard, expanded her pathway, and supplemented her existing plantings, working around the focal point of a Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick—a highly decorative type of hazelnut.
Unfortunately, the next year, the Harry Lauder had succumbed to disease. With less shade and nothing blocking the trash and recycling area, we reoriented the garden, brought in more heat/sun/drought-tolerant plants, and installed a matching fence panel to screen the space for cans.
The original garden… 2018
First version… 2019
2020 redesign
Abell Pocket Garden
This growing family wanted a low-maintenance garden that would be flexible and accessible enough to allow some foot traffic and toddler play, but never require mowing.
This space provides a lush backdrop for outdoor dining with almost no ongoing maintenance.
Above: two years after planting, with only one quick maintenance visit.
Left: before we got started.
Mt. Washington Swale
These new homeowners were overwhelmed by the excessive water continually flowing from the natural spring behind their house. While the basement stayed dry due to the previous homeowner’s efforts, the entire front yard was often still covered in standing water.
They were on a tight budget and willing to handle most of the installation work themselves, so I came up with a plan, worked alongside them to create the beds, and provided plants and plant care information.
They took care of mulching and maintaining the new beds, which were effective in interrupting, slowing, and absorbing water as it made its way downhill.
Avid Gardener’s Bountiful Boxes
The brief:
make as much space for vegetable gardening as possible
keep it accessible
and of course… low maintenance.
We used staggered bed heights and sizes to balance walkable pathways with maximal raised bed square footage, working around the existing peach tree.
Later, the clients added large pots to the area right next to the steps for even more planting space, and continue to fill every inch, season after season.
… and a few more, because we couldn’t resist
