Lawn-to-Garden
Brooklyn, NY
We were approached to replace this corner lawn with a beautiful, easy-to-maintain garden. We understood the client desired a stylized urban meadow with plenty of wildflowers but required a tidy execution. For this prominent corner we designed and built a gravel garden, cutting lawn care and irrigation water needs in half. The gravel garden plant community is composed of stress-tolerant species from dry niches in North America, the Mediterranean, and Europe, 70% of which are native plants.
Before and after transformation
A substantial gravel mulch creates surface-level drought, suppressing weeds while established plants drink from soil below. Dry-stacked stone walls define edges and create sidewalk seating. An open gravel access path fades smoothly into planted areas. Lavender and yucca provide evergreen structure amongst the stones. The dry winter conditions allow for niche early season bulbs. Soft grasses and short-statured wildflowers pattern the garden for a long season in Summer and Fall. Open gravel areas provide tidiness and visual calm. This garden has not required weeding since establishment.
Asters and stonecrop bloom in the Autumn gravel garden
Native yuccas and stones provide year-long structure amidst softer plants and gravel