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This project, dubbed ‘Farmhouse New Native’ is part of our 2019 Green Jay Landscape Design Design Highlights series (#4!). Check back for a discussion of the rest of our favorite projects of 2019!

We had the pleasure of returning to this New Canaan residence in 2019 for Phase Two of Landscape Design and Development. In 2018, we completed Phase One: a stream construction project, water quality improvements on an existing fishpond, and a pollinator garden planting to compliment the new water feature. Read all about Phase One on the blog.

Phase two of the project had several components. The client has a gorgeous pool, framed by a 70+ year old cherry tree and a lovely part shade / part sun garden beneath it, complete with gravel walking paths. The garden at this point received yearly plantings of annuals and had a few exotic and rare perennials – the collection of Asiatic lilies is beautiful, and so fragrant! (Pollinators seem to enjoy them too!). Just beyond the pool garden, the topography slopes down steeply; bare soil and invasives contributed to the slope eroding, and it was in dire need of stabilization.

We were hired to revamp the poolside garden with pollinator-attracting perennials that would complement the existing heritage perennials. Star players were Nepeta, Rudbeckia, Echinacea for sun to part sun, and native ferns for the shaded section. The slope was designed with a mix of native Viburnums – an incredible genus for lepidoptera and bird habitat and food — and taller native perennials like Heleopsis (False Sunflower).

The streamside slope, which we had planted Phase One of last year need some editing of plants that had become too happy, and filling-in with others. Gardening is a process and editing allows us more creative freedom with color, texture and overall aesthetic. We offer a one-year guarantee on plants that are maintained properly.

The client’s daylilies, which we had repurposed in Phase One, had become too dominant, and some invasive vines found their way in. We weeded and thinned the daylilies and replaced with some of our favorite plants for bees and butterflies:

Monarda (Bee Balm)
Echinacea (Coneflower)
Eupatorium (Joe Pye Weed)
Lobelia (Cardinal Flower)
Hypericum (St John’s Wort)

When we returned to have the property photographed in mid-summer, there was an insane amount of activity! I spotted four different types of butterflies, countless bees and moths…it was a pollinator mecca!

Plant it and they will come…!

—

Green Jay Landscape Design

914-560-6570

Photos by PS Fotography

What happens when a woodland property with Asian influences gets a native, ecological makeover? GJL designed a woodland sanctuary for pollinators and birds that fit the client’s lifestyle and hobbies.

This project, dubbed ‘Lonesome Dove, Surrounded by Love,’ is part of our Green Jay Landscape Design 2019 Design Highlights series (#5!). Check back for a discussion of the rest of our favorite projects of 2019!

These clients were a dream to work with! They wanted to turn their wooded backyard into a designed, usable space that would also create habitat. Avid birders and nature photographers, they wanted a space to enjoy the myriad of creatures in upstate Pawling, NY.

The project had four distinct components: the front yard ornamental grass and perennial pollinator garden (which replaced a huge swath of front lawn!), the backyard woodland area, the sunny backyard lawn, which was to be renovated as a low-mow eco-blend lawn, and masonry revamp.

1)Front Yard Bird & Butterfly Garden

Aside from the wild and magically natural beauty of the ecological composition, this front yard is a oasis for wildlife. Abundant with a diverse variety of beneficial life, from healthy soil microbes to birds, butterflies and insects, this little peace of paradise is happiness incarnate.

Below is an excerpt from the client’s Landscape Design Development Proposal:

Your stunning summer grass and perennial garden will serve as a Pollinator Pathway paradise, encouraging and attracting migrating songbirds, butterflies, and supplying food (host plants), habitat and shelter during the critical growing season. This beautifully colorful garden will provide a parade of successional flower blooms from spring to fall, featuring eco-beneficial enjoyment for all.

Below: BEFORE photo

This kind of landscaping takes effort, resources and expertise in ecology. The overall effect is stunning! This weedy, do nothing lawn contributed very little to the culture and economy of the community. This nascent, vibrate, rich, living landscape contributes much as a model for the New Frontier in Ecological Landscaping.

Full Sun Pollinator Garden | Planting Palette Examples

‘North Wind’ & ‘Shenandoah’ Switchgrass (Panicum)
‘Morning Light’ Maiden Grass (Miscanthus)
Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tubersoa)
Gay Feather (Liatris spicata)
Blackeyed Susan (Rudbeckia)
Coneflower (Echinacea)
Dwarf Golden Rod (Solidago speciose or Solidago sphacelate)
Cat Mint (Nepeta)

The entire left front lawn was dethatched and rototilled. We applied a lean mix of organic compost and soil amendments, for the planting pallet of mostly native plants prefer a lean (not rich) soil. This project was planted in early August under intense temperatures; we have found that soil drenching with microbes and a wetting agent effectively reduces planting stress during high summer temperatures.

2) Woodland Stroll Garden w. Pond & Faux Streams

The dappled shade woodland will express and exert an Eastern influence over a naturally serene landscape environment. We will create and establish dual faux river stream beds to reflect the potent energy and duality of the male and female. This will be accomplished by creating pathways of positive chi, encouraging you to wander and linger throughout the blissfully still woodland walkway. This in essence captures the feeling of a Japanese cup garden. An assortment and variety of native woodland perennials, ferns and ground cover will harmonize the simple melody to produce the ultimate karmic resonance.

Much of this design was inspired off the existing conditions and natural woodland setting. Beneath the mature trees were some patchy clumps of grass and the remnants of various DIY gardening projects. The property hosted a small, disfucntional pond with a Japanese-style bridge and other Asian garden adornments. GJL revamped the pond, adding a circulating waterfall/stream that gave the pond the grandeur and energy it deserved!

Below: BEFORE photo of backyard.

Below: Newly constructed naturalistic stream adds a lovely sound, energy and bathing spot for birds!

Drawing on the Asian theme, we designed various cup gardens of woodland shrubs and perennials, each of which can be visited and admired along the winding garden paths. The two faux river streams described above are navigated across with stone bridges, as part of the meandering woodchip stroll paths. Using two different types of woodchips to differentiate the garden beds from the garden path is a simple but powerful design decision. We lined the path with boulders found on-site, crafting a simple rustic style that also effectively kept the mulches in place through numerous storms.

We chose a mix of native woodland shrubs and perennials, with a splash of non-natives from similar ecoregions. Ground cover is key for filling in between plants and lessening weed pressure.

Woodland Garden | Sample Plant Pallette

Ivory Halo Dogwood (Cornus alba)
Chokeberry (Aronia)
Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia)
Goats Beard (Aruncus dioicus)
Black Cohash (Actea racemosa)
New York Fern (Thelypteris noveboracensis)
Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides)
Lady Fern (Athyrium filix-femina)
Woodtoothed Fern (Dryopteris carthusiana)

3) Low-Mow Eco Lawn

Your doggy-friendly low-mow eco-lawn will provide a safe and healthy playground to ensure ease of care / maintenance and enduring longevity. Your landscape environment will respect and honor all your natural resources while supplying year-round interest for your own enjoyment now and always.

Below: BEFORE photo

The other half of the backyard was a sunny and rather neglected lawn. We re-graded the lawn with premium topsoil, followed by a layer of organic compost and biochar. The eco-blend includes grass seed varieties that are more adapted to our native climates and require less maintenance – mowing about once a month as opposed to every week. Since the client had large dog, a toxin-free, organic landscape was of the utmost importance.

4) Walkway & Patio Renovation

The existing front walk and backyard patio were constructed of unilock – a man-made concrete paver block. The client wanted to update the style, and we knew irregular flagstone would give it the timeless elegance of natural materials. Plus, with what we now know about the carcinogenic component of concrete, silica dust, we try to avoid using concrete wherever possible.

The Guardian wrote a powerful article on the impacts of concrete and silica:

“Then there’s silica. Naturally present in the Earth’s crust in sand and quartz, this material assumes its lethal form of respirable crystalline silica (RCS) dust during heavy industrial processes like cutting, drilling, blasting and demolition. Independently of silicosis, RCS can also lead to asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, tuberculosis and kidney disease.”

We found it was extremely difficult to find a center to recycle the used unilock blocks, especially given our somewhat remote location. They unfortunately ended up in the landfill.

Instead of using a concrete base, we installed the new stone on a soft base of stone dust, item 4 and gravel. The soft base allows storm water to infiltrate through the joints to the soil and aquifer below.

The clients were thrilled with the outcome of their landscape renovation. They now have infinite birds and insects to photograph, and their property is a living example of designed habitat

“Every day is a journey

And the journey itself

Is Home”

— Basho

Naturalist and Landscape Ecologist Jay Archer takes us on a tour of a twenty-two acre wetland that abuts his property. Jay observes the wetland daily and notices the ebbs and flows of the area day to day and season to season. In this video, filmed in August 2019, Jay describes the impact of a heavy rain year on plant communities (both native and non-native) and on animal behavior throughout the wetland. The display of multi-colored swamp rose was “one of the most naturally stunning aspects of the island habitat.”

Filmed in Rye, NY.

Throwback to this extremely fun front entry garden! We completely removed the front lawn and replaced it with a permaculture pollinator garden, planted biodynamically with the waning moon. There was also a significant amount of custom, natural stone masonry. We created a new flagstone front walk, a secondary gravel garden path, and a dual stone staircase to reach the lower side lawn.

In the words of the client:

“I cannot speak highly enough about Jay. Professional, passionate, and deeply committed to environmentally beneficial design. He cares just as much about sustainability as aesthetics, and he did a good job of balancing our vision with his own. His crew clearly respects him as well, which is always a good sign. Already planning to work with him again in the future!”

Check out the video series below of the design & construction of this lovely Putnam Valley property!

There was no shortage of weeds at this property. The front yard was dominated by them! Sloping down to the road in the front of the house, the site was extremely visible and required a complete renovation and new design for modern curb appeal.

The first challenge was to remove the invasives while leaving in-tact the existing heirloom perennials. GJL’s design incorporated the heirlooms and added an array of drought resistant, rugged native plants, particularly adapted to poor soil conditions and low fertility.

The resulting plant palette is a combination of grasses, perennials and flowering shrubs – all designed for permaculture stacked functions, the ability to support beneficial life and to provide season-long interest and color. A true example of natural landscaping that creates habitat and supports biodiversity.

As always stone placement was critical. We worked with the existing retaining wall, first by exposing it and then by adding natural stone for landscape effect and to stabilize the slope.

Once the planting was completed and mulched, we found that water infiltrated throughout the porous subsoil at a rapid rate. This is good for stabilization of the slope and the initial phase of planting but proved challenging in providing critical moisture to the plants during the establishment period.

The scope of the work also involved a zen-inspired streamside garden with a Japanese style wooden bridge, and a forest walk leading to a lemon squeezer stone staircase.

In the back yard, twenty years of accumulated leaf litter actually produced an excess of leaf mold in an area of poor air circulation, which is not ideal for human respiratory health. We selectively removed second story trees and pruned the existing canopy and upper story, including removal of several invasive Norway Maples, to improve air circulation and air quality in the immediate vicinity of the house.

Before settling into winter, there are a number of landscape checklist items. At GJL, we shred leaves, add them to garden beds, apply anti-dessicant to evergreens, and winterize irrigation systems…none of these tasks are nearly as fun as planting spring flowering bulbs! And now is your window of opportunity!

Bulbs are a fantastic addition to any landscape for a number of reasons:

They emerge beginning in late winter (depending on the species) and produce a joyful explosion of color in a mostly barren February landscape.

They plant diversity, color varieties and bloom sequencing within spring flowering bulbs is extraordinary and creates endless design possibilities.

They are perennial, when planted and maintained properly.

They come in unique shapes and heights and compliment your spring perennials delightfully.

Some species, daffodils and hyacinths for example, are deer, rabbit and rodent resistant. These bulbs are especially great options for rural or woodland settings where deer pressure is high.

Daffodils and hyacinths are actually poisonous to many animals, for they contain the alkaloid lycorine in the outer layer of the bulb. Keep your pets away from your daffodil beds!

The time to plant spring flowering bulbs is now! They require a long period of cold temperatures (winter) to activate biochemical processes that allow them to grow and bloom. Check out our previous posts on designing with bulbs, and tips on how to plant and what not to do.

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