Urban Gardens

City gardens and urban gardeners who make the most of small spaces
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Teri Speight has made gardening her life’s work—first as a gardener and now as a florist and garden writer. “I have always been investigating African-Americans in horticulture,” says Speight. “And I could almost never find anyone that looked like me.” Speight recalls talking with fellow African-American garden writer Lee May before he passed. �“One thing […]
Required Reading: A New Book Spotlights Black Trailblazers in the Floral Industry
Teri Speight has made gardening her life’s work—first as a gardener and now as a florist and garden writer. “I have always been investigating African-Americans in horticulture,” says Speight. “And I could almost never find anyone that looked like me.” Speight recalls talking with fellow African-American garden writer Lee May before he passed. “One thing […]
two men sitting at a table with their hands on each other's hipss
Quick Takes With: Corwin Green and Damon Arrington
In this week’s installment of Quick Takes, we present a pair of Brooklyn academics with a flair for garden design, Corwin Green and Damon Arrington, partners in life and business. Corwin teaches communication design and social design at Pratt Institute, School of Visual Arts, and Parsons School of Design. Damon teaches landscape design at Cornell, […]
two women in the garden looking at flowers
Fresh Food on Far Rockaway: The Case for Urban Farms in Food Deserts
Although urban farms are on the rise, the idea of a highly productive agricultural plot in a city might still seem somewhat outlandish (what about space? or air pollution?). The reality however makes so much sense that it feels imperative to make room for more. Edgemere Farm, managed by Vanessa Seis and her husband Mike […]
a field full of yellow and white flowers
Six Weeks in the Life of an Experimental Meadow
Where would you expect to find a meadow filled with native flowers and grasses, where once an expanse of lawn grew? In a suburban front yard, as the short-back-and-sides neighbors give the gardener’s tousled vision the stink eye? At the summer home of weekend warriors who have newfound respect for the perils of mugwort? Or […]
a woman standing in the middle of a garden
Garden Visit: A Landscape Architect’s Hideaway in Rockaway Beach
New Yorkers who discover Rockaway Beach, the sandy peninsula at the end of the A train, tend to fall in love. Alexandria Donati and Jonathan Chesley, the husband and wife duo behind Ktisma Studio, were among those who appreciated the charms of the beach-meets-urban setting. The couple first visited Rockaway Beach more than a decade […]
a man is sitting on a concrete bench
Quick Takes With: Brook Klausing
Brook Klausing and us—we go back. The landscape designer and model (Jenna Lyons famously hired him to redesign her backyard, then put him to work as a J.Crew model) was featured in our book Gardenista: The Definitive Guide to Stylish Outdoor Spaces; he served as a judge for our 2018 Considered Design Awards; and his […]
a person standing in the doorway of a building with green plants growing out of it
Before & After: A Barren Courtyard Transformed Into an ‘Intimate, Green, and Cozy’ Urban Garden
Earlier this week, Remodelista readers were treated to a tour of a row house in Ghent that was was formerly “charmless” and now fresh and chic thanks to its resourceful new owners, Arthur Verraes and Kelly Desmedt, who did much of the remodeling work themselves. Today, we’re visiting the elements that make the outdoor space […]
a table and chairs in the middle of a wooden deck surrounded by trees, bushes and shrubs
Steal This Look: An Artful and Eclectic San Francisco Garden
In San Francisco’s often foggy, dune-filled Outer Sunset neighborhood, landscape design firm Talc Studio transformed a small “sand pit” into a lush and characterful garden. While the garden is equal parts custom and artful, there are a number of design details and useful sources to glean. Here we detail our favorite components. Materials Furniture & […]
a large sunflower is growing on the side of a building in front of people
Spread the Seed: International Sunflower Guerilla Garden Day Is Here
There’s a certain romanticism to guerrilla gardening. Who wouldn’t be moved by the idea of clandestine gardeners planting on derelict land without permission for the sake of communal beauty? However, I suspect most of us are probably not quite bold enough to undertake the level of covert cultivation that would be deemed “guerrilla gardening.” But […]
a scenic view of the ocean from an overlook point on a sunny day with blue skies and white clouds
Nature’s Defense: An Abandoned Former Military Site on the Rockaway Peninsula
Looking out the window of a descending airplane can give the impression (in the United States at least) that the approaching airport has been carved out of abundant wilderness, a preview of the topography characteristic to the region. Tall conifers surround Seattle, Washington, while Ashville, North Carolina is nestled into densely wooded mountains. Arriving in […]
an outdoor garden with trees and plants next to the water
Garden Visit: Farming on the Roof in Hell’s Kitchen
The verb “to schlep” seems peculiarly suited to New York City, and a walk from the Garment District through Hell’s Kitchen towards the Hudson River is quite a schlep. Of course, there are other ways to get to North Javits, the events consortium’s latest addition on 11th Avenue, such as via Hudson Yards, at the […]
a person holding two pieces of fruit in their hands
15 Things Nobody Tells You About Pawpaws
As soon as late summer edges toward fall in New York, I begin to lick my pawpaw-loving lips. As this native North American fruit gains mainstream recognition it has become easier to source both the fresh fruit as well as pawpaw saplings. Despite the rising tide of awareness, many people are still unfamiliar with them […]
the garden is full of flowers and plants
Before & After: Less Fence, More Flowers in Melissa Goldstein’s Brooklyn Backyard
“I always wanted a garden,” says ceramist Melissa Goldstein of MG by Hand. (Read more about her work here.) As a child she loved going on nature walks with her dad. Years later, she rallied the fellow tenants in her old Tribeca loft to create a communal garden on their rooftop. But until 2007 she […]
purple flowers in a green planter on the side of the road with buildings in the background
Design Wild: Turning the Streets of New York into a Garden
Manhattan is a walking city—especially those streets lined with small trees, and interesting things growing in window boxes. These are the exception, however, and pounding the streets in summer means just that, with ferocious heat and very little greenery to speak of between Central Park and the High Line. Businesses that use flowers and foliage […]
a cemetery with leaves on the ground and a tree in the background that has yellow leaves all over it
Green-Wood: Rewilding Civic Lawns, Tombs Optional
When a newly-appointed vicar in my old village suggested turning the churchyard into a meadow, the reaction was not positive. It was already planted with straight lines of snowdrops and daffodils, the whole effect underpinned by a vigorous mowing regime. Before long, a sign went up requesting that nobody plant anything of their own choice—and […]