Patio of the Week: Wood, Stone and Cor-Ten Revive a Brooklyn Yard
A once-neglected New York backyard becomes a beautiful garden, complete with a grill, a terrace and a shaded lounge
Hidden behind a tidy row of Brooklyn, New York, brownstones sits a garden that balances stylish contemporary plantings with inviting spaces for outdoor living. Floor-to-ceiling glass doors open from a living area onto a bluestone patio surrounded by foliage and framed garden vignettes, with a seating area tucked under a pergola at the back of the yard.
But this garden was not always such a polished space. The “before” pictures reveal that the backyard was once neglected and overgrown with ivy and weeds. We spoke with Harper Design Build, the home’s architect and general contractor, as well as Todd Rader + Amy Crews, the project’s landscape architecture firm, to get the details of this inspiring transformation.
But this garden was not always such a polished space. The “before” pictures reveal that the backyard was once neglected and overgrown with ivy and weeds. We spoke with Harper Design Build, the home’s architect and general contractor, as well as Todd Rader + Amy Crews, the project’s landscape architecture firm, to get the details of this inspiring transformation.
Before: Brick originally covered the back of the townhouse, with a fire escape crossing the facade. An old concrete patio sat adjacent to the home, and the rest of the yard was overgrown with ivy and weedy perennial grass.
The designers made plans to pull up the concrete patio, remove overgrown plants and work from a clean slate. They saved a few existing hydrangeas for replanting.
The designers made plans to pull up the concrete patio, remove overgrown plants and work from a clean slate. They saved a few existing hydrangeas for replanting.
Before: One of the biggest challenges of the garden renovation project was that all the debris, plants and materials had to be hand carried piece by piece through the house. “We put down floor protection, put up plastic sheeting and carried everything through carefully so as not to cause any damage to the home,” architect Christine Harper says.
After: The ground surface for the backyard now includes a mix of hardscape materials that help define different areas.
The patio that sits under the barbecue and beneath the pergola is made of Pennsylvania bluestone, while the central garden bed is surrounded by ipe decking. The ipe boards run parallel with the garden, visually lengthening the space and drawing one’s eye between the different spaces.
The architects extended the living room and kitchen during the home renovation, creating room for an elevated terrace garden outside the master bedroom. Large planters on the terrace house evergreen boxwoods, flowering shrubs and deciduous trees and drain into a dedicated roof drain tied to the stormwater drainage system.
Work with a landscape designer
The patio that sits under the barbecue and beneath the pergola is made of Pennsylvania bluestone, while the central garden bed is surrounded by ipe decking. The ipe boards run parallel with the garden, visually lengthening the space and drawing one’s eye between the different spaces.
The architects extended the living room and kitchen during the home renovation, creating room for an elevated terrace garden outside the master bedroom. Large planters on the terrace house evergreen boxwoods, flowering shrubs and deciduous trees and drain into a dedicated roof drain tied to the stormwater drainage system.
Work with a landscape designer
A new clear cedar pergola on the far side of backyard measures just over 8 feet tall; it provides light shade for a seating area and privacy from neighboring buildings. A dining table (not pictured) now sits beneath the pergola; diners can benefit from the shade as well as from the soft breeze from an overhead fan that helps to dissuade mosquitoes. “They are terrible fliers, so disturbing the air with a fan keeps them away so that the owners can enjoy the garden in the evenings,” Crews says.
Recently, the homeowners added sheer sunshades to the pergola’s top for added privacy. Clematis vines planted at the posts will eventually twine up the sides of the pergola and will be clipped back from the top to avoid entanglement with the fan.
Japanese snowbell trees (Styrax japonicus) planted on each side of the garden put on a fabulous show in spring, when they are covered in pendulous white bell-shape blooms.
Recently, the homeowners added sheer sunshades to the pergola’s top for added privacy. Clematis vines planted at the posts will eventually twine up the sides of the pergola and will be clipped back from the top to avoid entanglement with the fan.
Japanese snowbell trees (Styrax japonicus) planted on each side of the garden put on a fabulous show in spring, when they are covered in pendulous white bell-shape blooms.
In the center of the garden, geometric Cor-Ten steel planters mimic the look of boulders or sculptural tree stumps and provide rocky planting pockets for hens-and-chicks (Sempervivum sp.) succulents. Harper Design Build custom-made the bench (30 inches wide by 72 inches long) out of weather-resistant ipe wood so that the homeowners could enjoy the garden on a warm day in winter, when the other garden furniture would be covered.
The hydrangeas saved from the original garden were replanted behind the bench, along with a framed lime-green trellis to support climbers. All beds and containers are on drip irrigation.
Cor-Ten planters: Element planter, Planterworx
The hydrangeas saved from the original garden were replanted behind the bench, along with a framed lime-green trellis to support climbers. All beds and containers are on drip irrigation.
Cor-Ten planters: Element planter, Planterworx
The home’s new large windows look out onto the garden, allowing the homeowners to enjoy the space from indoors. “One of the unique features of this garden is that it is only half level from the parlor floor,” Harper says. This provides a unique view of the garden, as one can appreciate it from a raised vantage point in the living room. Moving down the stairs toward the kitchen, one sees the garden at eye level.
The entrance to the back garden is through the landing on the stairs, as seen here before the patio was installed.
The change in perspective alters the way one views different components of the garden. For example, the Cor-Ten steel planters appear as low rocks when seen from above but rise up as small mountains when seen from ground level. Thoughtful design and careful installation have led to a stylish backyard that, the architects say, the family fully enjoys.
See the full project, including the interior renovation
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See the full project, including the interior renovation
More on Houzz
Browse thousands of patio photos
Hire a landscape contractor
Shop for your outdoor spaces
Landscape at a Glance
Who lives here: A family of five, including three teenage children
Location: Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York
Size: The backyard is 600 square feet (56 square meters); 20 feet wide by 30 feet long
Architect and general contractor: Harper Design Build
Landscape architect: Todd Rader + Amy Crews
Plant installation and maintenance: Groundworks
The homeowners, a couple with three teenagers, hired Harper Design Build to renovate their four-story townhouse in Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighborhood. Their attention turned to the backyard a few years after the interior renovation and extension were completed.
Harper Design Build partnered with Brooklyn landscape architecture firm Todd Rader + Amy Crews to renovate the garden. “The client wanted a space for the family of five to relax and entertain,” landscape architect Amy Crews says. “They love to cook and eat together, so a table and grill were essential.”