I set out brimming with optimism after my husband and I bought our limestone townhouse in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood in 2010. At the time, the house (which had been built in 1893) had nine units and was in complete disrepair.
Photography by Douglas Lyle Thompson for Gardenista.
My front garden and stoop.
A climbing rose grows up the facade next to my front door. I dove headlong into a diagnosis, but after exhausting countless hours on YouTube and in garden books, none of the advice seemed to fit my particular situation.
A clematis grows on a trellis against my neighbor’s front stoop. Hiring a gardener would have robbed me of the joy of gardening; plus, I wanted to get really good at this.
Some of my favorite potted plants, including herbs and alyssum, greet visitors at the front door. But then I told the team at GRDN (my favorite neighborhood garden shop) that if my grandmother lived here, she would guide me, but barring that, I was looking to hire a garden grandma.
My garden grandma, Valerie Strait (R), and me in the front garden.
Valerie started her landscaping business Still Gardens with the intention of offering instruction as well, believing that Brooklyn homeowners would be interested (she even has an 11-year-old “student” who helped with a recent garden installation).
My backyard garden no longer looks like a prison yard.
Instead of grass (which would not do well in my shady back garden), I have a gravel courtyard that looks good year-round.
Hostas and a hydrangea are happy in my shady backyard. Now I always remember to tie my spent tulips and alliums into neat little knots, the way her mother did in Michigan.
I am training ivy to grow in a diamond pattern on the fence in my back garden. Our time together reminds me of the parenting classes I took before my kids were born.
The first time we explored pruning techniques on my smoke tree, Valerie showed me where to make the cut. It was about two feet further down than I would have cut, and I gasped aloud when she lobbed off the branch.
In warm weather, potted plants live outdoors in the back garden. These skills are becoming second nature.