John & Danielle’s garden…resolves the competing needs of an urban family: The adults wanted a serene and beautiful space for entertaining and outdoor dining, the toddler needed a safe place to play and, of course, the dog needed his own space. With the help of landscape designer Adam Hoppe, this garden achieves the contemporary urban ideal of low-maintenance, functional beauty. Originally installed in spring 2006, the garden offers a dining patio with natural-gas grill and fire pit, a water wall and pond, and a broad lawn play area. Planting beds and decorative zinc planters are filled with trees such as Heritage River Birch and Spartan Juniper, flowering shrubs and greenery such as Red Twig Dogwood, Oakleaf and Endless Summer Hydrangea, Cherry Laurel, Mugo Pine, Golden Bamboo, and Shrub Rose. Various perennials dot the borders, including Hostas, Stella d’Oro Daylilies, Liriope, Fountain Grass, Peonies and the humble but fragrant Honeysuckle. A micro-irrigation system keeps things green, and, after the original grass sod failed, it was replaced with Synlawn last year for the ultimate in easy care.
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Gresham & Sheila…welcome visitors to a huge common garden shared by their condo complex. It stretches across a wide lot and was designed and installed by the original developer/architect. But as a professional landscape designer, Gresham has volunteered as the chief caretaker and redesigner of the planted beds since he and his family moved in a few years ago. The hardscape elements are pretty standard: gray paver patios, metal furniture and urns, plastic and concrete planters. But the space is magically transformed into distinct and separate “rooms” with the clever use of color, texture and varying heights. There are three main sections, one very sunny, one that is partly sun/shade and the third all shade. Gresham chose plants appropriate to each space, using screening plants as dividers, such as bamboo, cherry laurel, arborvitae and climbing vines. He’s planted lots of sedum and native grasses in the beds, along with one filled bulbs for white tulips and daffodils. He’s stocked planters with rosemary, gallium, ferns and fragrant geraniums. A more complete plant list will be available on the day of the tour.
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Sue & Daryl’s yard…defines casual, easy elegance, extending the brownstone’s relaxed grandeur to the outdoors. Three decks, including a ground-level terrace, overlook the garden, which was designed to appeal to the eye from each level by Valerie Hufnagel. Until a year ago, however, it was a rubble-strewn, barren place. While excavating, they found large slabs of antique bluestone, which were salvaged to create a new circular patio, which echoes the curves of the terrace above as well as the fieldstone retaining wall at the rear of the yard. A 35-foot-tall cherry tree with a 40-foot-wide canopy lords over the space, dictating shade-loving plantings. The homeowners also sought out drought-tolerant plants that can fend for themselves when the homeowners are out of town. Two birch trees, a holly and a dogwood were added, and the homeowner supplements them with low-maintenance plants that strike her fancy, including Silver King Euonymus, Niko Blue Hydrangeas, Ajuga, Liriope, Stella de Oro Daylilies, several contrasting Hosta varieties, Spirea and various ferns.
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Becky & Scott’s garden…is a triumph of skill and will over shade. Both are artists who converted an old stable building into a studio and transformed the 370 square feet between the house and studio into a secluded courtyard, lush with a surprising number of plants. Inspired by secret courtyards they enjoyed on visits to New Orleans, and by the book “The Complete Shade Gardener” by George Schenk, they hired Hufnagel in the mid-1990s to help remove the original concrete and create the bluestone patio, paths and beds, according to their own artistic design. A metalworker, Scott also designed and built the table and overhead trellis. So what grows here? You’ll find Hostas and ferns, of course, also Astilbes (False Spirea), Autumn Clematis, Coral Bells, Climbing Hydrangea, a well-pruned Holly tree (to allow in more light), Casa Blanca Lily, Virginia Creeper, Solomon’s Seal, Rhododendron and Barren Strawberry. Aside from pruning, mulching and an annual soil test to determine the right combination of organic fertilizers, the gardeners rely on a drip irrigation system to maintain this idyll.
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John & Ada’s garden…is a European-style courtyard garden with English cottage plantings and a Japanese-inspired fish and lilypond. The garden space was designed by local landscape designer Cassandra Wilday, who used native bluestone and old brick to create a staged and seamless flow from the street entrance to the rear carriage house doorway. The space, inspired by classic courtyard gardens, has areas for seating, in-ground plantings and containers. The yard was an empty, dirt-filled lot eight years ago when the present owners moved in. Their goal was a tranquil refuge and a traditional garden to complement their vintage 1890s home. Containers are filled with annuals such as Bacopa, Sweet Pea, Coleus, Lavender and Cosmos. Planting beds feature a white Dogwood and miniature lilac tree, surrounded with Campanula, Lenten Rose, and Periwinkle. Trellises support climbing roses, Clematis and Wisteria. The pond is filled with Daubin Lilies, Taro, Mosaic and Hyacinth water plants. The garden is a sweet-scented, flower-filled sanctuary.
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Joan & Jim’s garden…is both a refuge for heirloom plants from the couple’s mothers’ gardens and a bold experiment in the latest environmental impact reduction strategies. Joan, an architect with a keen interest in eco-friendly living, has installed a green roof on the garden shed, uses a rain barrel to reduce and reuse storm water runoff, and has a composting area and a solar drier (a clothesline). Shade is a challenge, as the yard is dominated by a mature silver maple, but the heirloom Lilac and Hosta transplanted from Joan’s mother’s garden, and the Boxwood, Peony and Hellebores from Jim’s mother’s garden are thriving. Among her favorite features, however, are the north side walls, remnants of older sheds that have been torn down. One had been constructed from granite setts (cobblestones) that had been pulled up from the street by a previous recycling-minded owner. A stone wall at the east end is cobbled together using chunks of bluestone that appears also to be recycled. Separating the main garden from the patio is a horse trough (now a planter) that dates back to the original pickle factory behind 109 – 111 Monroe.
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Sandy & Michael’s yard…was inspired by English manor house gardens and designed around two dominant elements: a stately, 50-year-old Saucer Magnolia and a brick wall with Palladian-inspired carriage house doors custom manufactured by Paul's Antique & Lighting of New York City. Adam Hoppe created the design, which was executed and is maintained by Hufnagel Landscaping. They added bluestone grilling area and wide steps up to a herringbone brick patio which leads to the planted area. Other trees include River Birch, Japanese Maple, and Spartan Juniper. Shade-tolerant, low-maintenance shrubs include Acuba, Hino Crimson Azaleas, Pieris Japonica and Skimmia. Fragrant plants include the Miss Kim Lilac, PJM Rhododendron.
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Sylvia & Jeff’s space…started out as a builder’s uninspired rendition of a suburban lawn – just grass, no trees or shrubs – behind these eight-year-old townhomes. The couple likes the suburban feel, but they wanted to jazz it up, and they like the challenge of mixing new varieties of plants with some of their old favorites. They don’t have complete freedom to design their space, which they share with their downstairs neighbor, so they began digging out planting beds along the borders of the yard, where they found interesting bits of construction rubble: bricks, stones, cement chunks, rubber tires…everything except Jimmy Hoffa. They planted a flowering cherry tree and anchoring evergreens to enjoy in the winter, perennials that fill in during spring, and every year choose a variety of annuals to add color and balance to the beds. They’re drawn to intense color and favor Rose bushes, Dahlias, Daisies, Marigolds, Impatiens, Begonias, Catmint, Salvia, Lavender, Daylilies, Pansies, Geranium, Hydrangea, Gerbera, Lobelia, Strawflower, Portulaca, Trumpet Vine, English Ivy, Clematis, Coleus, Plantaine Lily, Leopard’s Bane, Persian Shield , Spotted Dead Nettle, Hosta, Holly, Euonymus, and more.
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Zehava & Ron’s two gardens…a not-so-secret one in front and a more mature one in the rear – are the creation of the homeowner, an avid gardener and Hoboken Garden Club member. The front one is still evolving, the newest addition is a Coral Bark Maple, whose red bark and stems form a striking contrast with its bright green leaves. Other interesting features are a large Carol Mackie Daphne, a climbing Hydrangea, Schizophragma Moonlight and a Multi-Blue Clematis, intertwined with a salmon-colored rose. The tiny, lush backyard celebrates the abundance of shades and textures of greenery. Numerous shade-tolerant and semi-shade perennials encircle a small fishpond, evoking peace and quiet. A tall brick wall, enclosing the garden, is covered with ivy, Virginia creeper and a few varieties of Clematis. Clusters of pots filled with perennials, annuals and tropical plants add color and interest to the garden. Through 18 years of experimentation, the gardener says the gardens are practically maintenance-free, just planting pots in the spring and over-wintering the tropical plants in the fall.
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Sasha & Anthony’s garden…is an eclectic execution of their personal vision. Designed by the couple and built by Hufnagel Landscaping, the couple boast that since the original construction four years ago, what you see is the fruit of their labor. They thoroughly enjoy taking care of and updating the plants in their green oasis with splashes of color. A third of the plants have been added in the past four years. It’s worth the sweat investment, as they spend a lot of time there, gardening, entertaining and just relaxing. An organically shaped flower bed lines three sides of a 25-by-30-foot bluestone patio. The pergola, an extension of the home’s feature wall, is covered by a blanket of Wisteria. A picturesque brick façade on one side, and neighbors’ trees all around, add to the natural beauty of the setting. The patio has a seating area and is decorated with potted plants, while a raised 10-by-20-foot deck (made of Ipe hardwood from South America) offers a bird’s-eye view.
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Will & Donna’s yard… is a true multitasker: kid-friendly and low-maintenance, with contemporary California-style planted beds chockfull of interesting plant varieties. The most striking feature is a red steel frame in the center that supports swings or a hammock and doubles as a water mister for relief from warm weather. The space was designed by Adam Hoppe and installed by Hufnagel Landscaping. A Synlawn play area accommodates the family’s active kids, while the surrounding beds feature low-maintenance perennials and shrubs like Hosta, Hydrangeas, Lambs Ears, Acuba, Euonymous, Rhododendron and Liriope. Small trees include a Japanese Maple, Spartan Juniper and a fruit tree.
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Patrick’s yard…is large enough to accommodate many competing interests comfortably. A tall privacy fence and screening trees ensure the owners’ privacy while they enjoy dinner on the Ipe-wood deck or take a dip in the large whirlpool spa. The yard also provides a gravel-covered area for the dog, discouraging it from disturbing the planted beds. This yard is designed to attract birds and butterflies with unique birdhouses and a large butterfly bush, along with copious honeysuckle and Wisteria climbing the pergola over the deck. Overall, the atmosphere is contemporary and easy-to-manage, with large, colorful trees and shrubs, including Purple Leaf Plum and Bradford Pear trees and bushes of Red Twig Dogwood, various evergreens, Euonymous, and Barberry, rather than a lot of annuals or perennials to manage. A bamboo screen adds to the privacy, and Vinca plantings in the side and front beds are ultra low-maintenance. Fast-growing Sky Pencil Hollies have been planted for visual interest along the First Street side of the house.
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