apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

WOW! An amazing job! And right here in my 'hood. But I must take exception with the comment that grass does not grow in Brooklyn. So not true. Be sure to get the right variety for your soil and light.

Fantastic job! Really great outdoor living/entertaining area!

So they rent this apartment, yet spent what looks like thousands of dollars making a garden? Did the landlord agree to it? It's really nice.

What ambition! You did a great job and the extra effort shows. And, much like my endeavor to make the perfect pie, you might just get lucky because of it. Go forth young lads and landscape, cultivate and taste the sweet peaches...

Freakin' fabulous boys!

I knew some brothers named Ryan and Austin in Dallas, Texas when I was a kid in the early eighties. We went to the same school. Might these be the same ones?

Outstanding job, gentlemen! I'm green with envy.

I did the same thing to a ground floor apartment in Virginia. Was told at the time limited air movement through fenced-in townhouse yards would mean death to the turf-type tall fescue grass I was installing. They were right, but without any other suppliers in the area I chanced it. And lost. Wish I'd thought of using moss instead. It looks great.

I'm with karewnw. That's some landlord; mine won't even let me paint or keep a windowbox. Will these guys pack all those 12 pound bricks into Xerox boxes when they move?

That is not meant to tarnish their very impressive results, however. Well done.

I don't think "typical bachelors" accurately sums these guys up. I mean that in a good way. :)

And judging by their pics, neither of these gents needs a garden to help woo the ladies...

Thanks for all the compliments. I wanted to answer a few questions folks had. Landlord permission is a new one, people usually ask if they (a couple) helped pay for it or reduced the rent (answer: no, but the rent is well below market and they barely raise it). They are low key and said we had free reign with the garden when we moved in, so we didn't ask for permission when we embarked on this.

As for the expense and eventually moving out -- with a place like this at its cost, moving out is the last thing I'm thinking about. And a home is a home, rented our owned.

Finally -- I think facing north with trees and walls blocking light doomed grass from the start at this particular spot.

Other questions? Thanks again! Ryan

I gotta say, I think the lack of grass is pretty cool. I have a grassy Brooklyn backyard, and the thing about grass is that it needs mowing.
Congratulations to the gardeners. It looks like a happy place to be--I love the nighttime shots with the lighted 'windows'.

Thought I would offer my two cents in addition to Ryan's thoughts.

GRASS: I have a suburban Atlantan upbringing and, as a result, I was indoctrinated with an obsession with beautiful lawns from an early age. I know it is environmentally irresponsible, it's not "urban design," it's high-maintenance, etc. I didn't care. I was determined to grow grass in our backyard, and I'm still a little bitter, even though I'm pleased with the moss.

Year 1: We put down sod (combination Kentucky Blue (75%), Rye, and Fescue)the first year and it was spotty at best.

Year 2: I prepared the soil much more thoroughly (tilled it, added manure, checked the pH levels, good fertilizer, etc.) and the grass looked great for about a month and a half. Then the surrounding trees became leafy and the light was cut off and the grass started to die.

Year 3: Still fighting like a punch-drunk heavyweight without enough sense to go down, I prepared the soil again and went with seed (Ryan was tired of paying for disposable sod) that was formulated for shade. No dice. I gave in to the gravel and substituted moss.

The backyard has been a lot of work but I enjoy it. We've used it regularly and I like to grill out back frequently. I've also purchased a fire pit for use in the Fall. Hook up the TV outside, let the fire pit take a little edge off of the cold, and watch some football!

Thanks for all of the compliments.

Thanks for the inspiration! I just spent the afternoon clearing weeds and digging compost into my small urban garden and am about to start planting things and your garden helped me to feel like all the back breaking work will be worth it in the end.

This is really beautiful and an amazing transformation. I too applaud you for doing all this work on a rental.

We have a slightly smaller outdoor space in Carroll Garden which gives me so much happiness. It has been a work in progress over the last 4 years as I learn more about what works and what doesn't and which plants I can depend on. Impatiens, hostas and astilbe for shade have been winners year after year.

I bought a small dogwood aoubt a year ago and it seems to be doing really well and looks great. It was from a nursery right by the horse stables off of Prospect Park. I can't remember the name but they had a good selection of reasonably priced small trees. They also deliver.

In terms of replacing the moss. You may want to consider some shade loving ground cover. I don't have anything to recommend specifically, but I see a lot of variety growing in the neigborhood that seems to last year after year. Might be worth investigating.

Good luck keeping the plants alive. Water and fertilzer (in the spring for perrenials/shrubs and a couple times during the growing season for annuals) should do the trick.

Again, congratulations on your achievement.

This looks GREAT! I am just starting my HUGE landscaping project (I'm on a big corner lot, and the yard is all dirt right now), this is very encouraging! I have a really shaded yard, and I don't care about the Great American Lawn, so I'm planning lots of pathways, shade gardens, etc. Good to see that other people are doing this.

love love love the raised stone flowerbeds. and the ikea-shelf bench. and the 'windows'.

i need a garden. too bad i live on the twelth floor...

Great work! I would kill for a little back yard like that!

I think it's great that they did this in a rental. I think too much of us hold back from realizing our dreams of living in a beautiful space because we are in rentals - but the reality of our situations may be that we will ALWAYS be in a rental. So why not invest in happiness, if you know you will enjoy it for at least a few years? For what looks like a reasonable investment amortized over even a few years, these two have doubled their living space - not to mention gaining what must be a huge sense of accomplishment.

I love this backyard, and I love that you did it in Brooklyn. A firepit sounds like a great way to get more use out of it, and hey, you can make s'mores, too! Congratulations on a job well done!

Really great point Rebecca! I agree...while there are certain things I hold back on in my rental (like custom built-ins for my closet), for the most part, I try to live really well in my rental and treat it like a home because it probably will be for the next few years at least. In a case like this, where the rent is great and you like your neighborhood, go crazy!

Really fantastic job. I'm envious of your beautiful outdoor space and find it inspiring for when I have a garden of my own. Love the stained glass window hanging on the fence.

Cute and great skills...good combination. : )

Update: Well the firepit was never put to use. And Austin is now being shipped off to Asia for work. Since he does most the gardening, I'm on my own for making things grow this year - wish me luck! His move also put on hold a planned replacement for the moss which didn't take: a mini coy pond! Is that too tacky or over the top? It won't happen this year but its in the back of my mind. This year's projects will be modest. Replacing the IKEA shelf as bench since it rotted as expected; A new tree for the back corner -- thinking dogwood, and modest lighting improvements.

Good luck to everyone with their projects - you can do it. And thanks to Rebecca for supporting us investing this time and money into a rental -- it's home regardless!

Wasn't this on HGTV?

No TV coverage, Apartment Therapy is the extend of the garden's fame.

Left something else out...this year I asked the landlord to improve/repair the old breaking down kitchen cabinets in the apartment; with no questions asked he put in a new full set of cabinets, new counter, new sink. Also I didn't even complain and he replaced the linoleum floor with a tile floor. He did this in a few weeks after we spoke about the cabinets. And no rent increase. I think the karma from investing in his rental property's yard got me a new kitchen!

Ryan, I think having great tenants like you seem to be is priceless for a landlord. In my previous apartment our rent was never raised either for the four years we lived there. It was a shared brownstone and the owners lived above, they were just so happy to have tenants that took such great care of the apartment, it really was home.

I'm so happy to hear that you got a new kitchen too!

I am completely bowled over by this little bit of paradise you've created. If you landlords are smart they will do their best to keep you around for a long time.

Too Bad Austin is gone. He was hot.

Pixie, I was sharing your HGTV hallucination, but I now think what I remember was a different yard in similar circumstances. It had a lot of hard surface, but not in the same pattern, maybe?

Regarding landlords -- we had one who would have been gung-ho for us fixing up the back yard (unfortunately, the entire duplex needed rebuilding), and when we were landlords in Mpls, we would have loved to have a tenant take charge of fixing up some of the outdoor space. You can get some interesting breaks if you're in a small building where the landlord knows his/her own limitations and wants to keep long-term tenants.

In case you didn't notice it says at the bottom of the post that it was orginally posted on AT in August 2005. I don't thing the slide show was set up as well then and it still inspirational. Ryan, keep it up.

Wow wow wowee wow wow!!
Color me green with envy for having a backyard and such an oasis to boot!
All the more impressive for facing north.
The night-time shot of the windows really did it for me!
Where do you keep the couch and other accoutrement during the winter?
Thanks for sharing!

FANTASTIC!

where did you purchase the grass? did you buy sod or grow it from seed?

i have a partially cobblestoned backyard in the west village, with about 100 square feet i'd like to fill in with grass. just wondering if anyone has any advice - no one in manhattan sells sod and i've heard growing from seed takes a lot of patience!

again, wonderful wonderful job! when's your next garden party? ;-)

Thanks again everyone. Some answers -- sod was obtained on order from a small landscaping place called Hibiscus in Brooklyn one year and then from Midtown Florist, also in Brooklyn located near where all the subway lines go at Atlantic Terminal. The furniture theoretically goes in the basement that the landlord lets me store stuff in for the winter, but I get lazy, it stays out, and gets a bleaching each year to make it refreshed.

ick.

AHH!!! Where did you find the lattice? We just refinised our patio and REALLY need a piece of lattice (3ft x 9ft) and can't find it anywhere in the city. In fact, most people can't even understand what I'm asking for - please tell me it came from somewhere in city. Your space looks fabulous, btw, isn't it a blessing to have outdoor space? It's like a whole new room. Cheers!

great garden!! looks nicer than some "professional" jobs i have seen!!
( you must have had job or other experience at garden design)

it looks like you must have spent untold in labour and materials
-----------------------------------
moss care
im sure you have already saw this
but just in case you didnt

this site tells you how to care for moss

http://www.mossacres.com/info_3.asp
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koi pond

they take a bit of upkeep
and need to be deep enough so that the fish can survive the winter freeze.

also even a small pond tends to be fairly expensive if you buy stuff at the store ( pump and liner )
unless you can "jerry-rig" something

plus ( in a small garden) you will be cutting down
on the space that you will be able to walk around on.

also if the place is very sunny, the algae tends to grow rapidly ( that will kill the fish)

[in Japan, they'd be satisfied with "simulated" hint of water>> with gravel, set in a creek-like pattern] and planting with plants that suggest water like iris.

keep up the good work

P.S.
small mirrored bits placed at the back of the far wall trick the eye, and make the place seem "deeper" ( but the trick is to keep the bits of mirror small, too big a panel ruins the illusion)

try hanging a small hand mirror from a nail and see how that works

(even more effective at night-time, in candle light/ string of christmas lights)

The lattice is plastic -- had trouble finding it --- I think it turned up at the Home Depot in the Astoria area (which we had to go to to rent tools b/c the Brooklyn/Hamilton Ave home depot did not come through)

Fyi, I cut the lattice and nailed it to the back of that "door frame" which is actally a salvaged (trash diving) piece from an ikea single bed frame.

forgive me, i can't stand it. if you're going to use latin words, please spell them right.
http://www.bartleby.com/61/45/I0054500.html

this restores my faith in human nature. thank you, it's beautiful.

You created a wonderful, wonderful space..........I'm sure it was worth all the work.......enjoy it! and to go to all the effort on a rental...impressive as it shows how much you valued having a space like that as part of your "world".

I love Ryan's comment: "A home is a home, rented our owned." So true! I once said to my landlord, "You may own this property, but it's MY home." There's nothing like some really committed DIY to make a landlord fall in love with you -- our rent has remained unchanged for three years now with no rise in sight.
Well done, boys!