Design by Plants

John and Anne from Design by Plants, and their team, are a delight to work with. We recently hired them to help clean up and shape a long overdue backlog of overgrown shrubs, bushes, and weeds in our Prospect Heights backyard. The before and after is astounding, and the yard now looks very clean, structured, and well taken care of. They also allowed us to work side-​by-​side with them, so that we could learn the how-​to of pruning and shaping various areas of the garden and can do it ourselves in the future. Their prices are reasonable and they are very knowledgeable as well as pleasant.

John and Anne helped us turn our muddy backyard into a beautiful clover lawn surrounded by blooming flowerbeds, ornamental trees, vegetable planter boxes, with a large bluestone patio. They scaled their plans to meet our budget and collaborated with us — giving us options for each aspect of the garden — along the way. Their knowledge of plants, attention to design, and willingness to talk through any of our pie-​in-​the-​sky ideas helped us make decisions we are thrilled with as our garden has grown over the summer. We could not be happier with the outdoor space they created for our family.

My terrace is long, skinny, and faces North. I had no hope of gardening until I met Anne and John. They assured me a garden was possible and asked intriguing questions about gardens I’d known and loved. I told them about the Japanese rock garden my mom and dad built along a retaining wall in my childhood home. I was enamored by the combination of rocks and plants and I wanted to bring them into my Brooklyn home. I also wanted lots of green and many textures, so Anne and John suggested a variety of grasses and blooming plants. My garden blooms from March — November and in the dormant months I enjoy the waving grasses and snow-​covered juniper. It’s truly awesome. They have transformed not only my terrace but my entire apartment because the windows no longer define the northern boundary: I’m surrounded by plants.