Garden Design Pattern Languages

Adapted from a tweet thread.

In a guest post on the ASLA's "Dirt" column, Alden E. Stone, CEO of Nature Sacred, writes:

[Our new report] is part research and part practical guide, and shares key insights gained through having co-created more than 100 Sacred Places across the country in communities, many under-resourced; in prisons, at universities, and in hospitals. A handful of these sites were also implemented as part of an expansive, decade-long design, build, and research project. ...

For the research portion of this paper, we focused our attention on four domains: nature’s impact on individual, community, economic and ecological health. ...

for many of the individual and community health benefits to kick in, people must engage with nature. Spend time in the green space. And this is where Nature Sacred has spent a lot of energy over the past two decades — looking at how to best engage the community and how to best design so that the community embraces, and spends time in, their green space.

She describes four "design elements":

• Portal
• Path
• Destination
• Surround

These design patterns recur in many different types of gardens, whether intentionally healing/sacred or not.

My backyard embodies all four elements. What follows is an exploration of the history of my backyard, from inception to its current state, viewed through the frame of those four design elements.

What's a tree worth?

You can quantify the relative benefits of an individual tree, and project its future benefits as it grows through the years, with i-Tree Design:

i-Tree Design (beta) allows anyone to make a simple estimation of the benefits individual trees provide. With inputs of location, species, tree size and condition, users will get an understanding of the benefits that trees provide related to greenhouse gas mitigation, air quality improvements and storm water interception. With the added step of drawing a house or building footprint—and virtually "planting" a tree—trees' effects on building energy use can be evaluated.

This tool is intended to be a simple and accessible starting point for understanding individual trees' value to the homeowner and their community.

Using it is straightforward:

1. Enter a street address.
2. Select the common name of the tree species or genus.
3. Enter the size, indicated by DBH: diameter at breast height (5' off the ground).
4. Select the general health or condition of the tree, from "Excellent" to "Dead or Dying."

The results are returned quickly. Details are available from the different tabs.

The application requires Flash to be supported and enabled in your browser, so it won't work behind many corporate firewalls.

[goo.gl]

Related Content

Urban Forestry

Links

i-Tree Design benefit Calculator

Brooklyn Dirt #2, 3/16, Sycamore Bar and Flower Shop

The second night of the speaker event series Brooklyn Dirt: Monthly Talks on Urban Garden and Farming is this Wednesday, March 16. The topic is Garden Design.

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Prospect Farm and Sustainable Flatbush are proud to present Brooklyn Dirt: Monthly Talks on Urban Farming and Gardening.

Sycamore Bar and Flowershop
1118 Cortelyou Road
Brooklyn, NY, 11218

21 and over only

Directions: Q train to Cortelyou Road

Talk Two: Garden Design
With Speakers Tom Angotti with Jesse Alter (Hunter ) and Chris Kreussling (AKA Flatbush Gardener)
Talk One: Dirt and Soil
Wednesday, February 16, 2011, 7-9:30pm
With Speakers Jay Smith and Chris Kreussling (AKA Flatbush Gardener)

$5 suggested donation. Proceeds benefit Prospect Farm and the Urban Gardens and Farms Initiative of Sustainable Flatbush.

Design Drafts for the Parsonage at the Flatbush Reformed Church

This afternoon at 3pm I'll be presenting to the community drafts of two alternative designs for a new communal garden on the grounds of the Parsonage, a landmarked historic building, on the grounds of the Flatbush Reformed Church.

Neither of these is a final design. They're intended simply to present key features requested by community members at the Visioning Workshops and show how they might integrate into a cohesive design. The two designs weight these features differently, giving more or less space to different areas, and supporting different activities. I'm hoping this afternoon's meeting will highlight the most popular features of each design, which can be recombined into a final design for this garden.

Dimensions

Here's the base plan, drawn to scale at 3/16" = 1 foot, of the site. Kenmore Terrace is at the bottom of the plan, East 21st Street on the left, the parking lot on the right. North is roughly up.



The front porch is nearly 53' long! It's just over 25' from the fence along Kenmore Terrace to the front of the porch, and 27' from the East 21st Street fence to the side. It's nearly 85' from the parking lot to East 21st. The sidewalk bed along Kenmore Terrace is 3'6" deep. The bed between the fence and the parking lot is 8'3" deep.

Existing Conditions

The space is dominated by large, mature oak trees which provide high shade over the entire property. Three large Taxus, Yew, shrubs exist as foundation plantings in front of the porch. There probably was at one time fourth shrub, at the far left of the porch, to complete the symmetry.

Everything else is lawn. Between the parking lot and the center walk, the lawn is sparse and the ground is compacted. To the left of the center walk, the ground is less compacted, and the grass transitions to a mix of clover and moss closer to East 21st Street.

There are planting beds between the fence along the property line and the sidewalk. Existing plantings of perennials in these beds are scattered and sparse.

Design A: "The Commons"

This design maximizes space to meet, sit and play. A paved patio area is created between the center walk and the parking lot. Benches provide seating for over 20 people. A large expanse of lawn provides space for running around or lawn games, such as badminton, horseshoes, etc.

Raised beds - 4x4 or 2x4 - provide over 200 square feet to grow food, herbs, and medicinal plants.

The existing large Taxus, Yew, shrubs are preserved. A buffer of perennials is created around the trunk of each Quercus, Oak, tree.

Rainwater is collected from the downspout near the western end of the porch (left in this rendering).

Design B: "Sanctuary"

This design provides for both shared and intimate experiences in the garden. Three gardens are created here: a common area, a wildlife habitat garden, and a rain garden.

The existing Yews are removed to make more room, especially for the common area between the center walk and the parking lot.

A few raised beds are specified in this design in the common area. More space is available for raised beds to the right of this plan, between the parking lot and the fence along the property line.

The common area has both a paved patio area and a small lawn for picnicking.  A wide entrance and semi-circular bench around the base of one of the Oaks provides a generous invitation to enter and linger. No other seating is specified, but could be added, for example, on the ends of the raised beds.

The wildlife habitat garden is contained with a meandering path. Two small understory trees provide focal points. These would be underplanted with small shrubs, and shade-loving perennials. The path is designed to both cutoff and provide access to this garden. You can't see everything without walking the path. Two benches provide intimate seating, out of sight of each other and other areas of the garden.

Rainwater is collected from the downspout near the western end of the porch (left in this rendering). Here, a "stream" is designed to direct overflow to the rain garden. This would be planted with native shrubs, ferns, and wildflowers.

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Related Content

Designing a New Communal Garden, 2010-07-17

Links

Community Garden Potluck August 1st!, Sustainable Flatbush, 2010-07-24

Flatbush Reformed Church
CAMBA
Flatbush Farm Share CSA

Designing a New Communal Garden

2010-07-31: Added base plan, drawn to scale, of the site.
2010-07-26: Added transcribed notes from the workshop materials.

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On June 6 and June 16, Sustainable Flatbush and the Flatbush Reformed Church held two Community Visioning Workshops for a new communal garden to be created on the grounds of the Church. On Sunday, August 1, 3pm, we invite community review of proposed designs.

Participants of the second community visioning workshop introduce themselves on the grounds of the future garden.


We invite design proposals from the community. This post has basic information about the site, including measurements and general conditions, as well as the notes from the workshop sessions, to inform your designs.

Location

The main area available for the new garden is the front lawn of the Parsonage of the Flatbush Reformed Church. This building is at the corner of a dead-end court, Kenmore Terrace, and lightly-traveled through-street, East 21st Street.


View Larger Map

Here's how the site looks from the corner. Kenmore Terrace is in the foreground, East 21st Street is on the left. The view is looking slightly east of north.

35 North Pearl Street

Part of Garden Bloggers Buffa10, Buffalo, NY, July 2010

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Red Monarda, Beebalm, against a turquoise blue door in the backyard of 35 North Pearl Street in Buffalo's Allentown neighborhood.


This is one of the first gardens I saw in the Allentown neighborhood of Buffalo the afternoon of Thursday, July 8. Perhaps because it was first, it got extra attention. Nevertheless, I think you'll agree it was worthy of it.

A simple design made practical use of a small, urban backyard. The hub and spoke design creates multiple focal points: a fountain, a chair, and the blue door. This is an important design strategy for making a small space seem bigger, part of our conversation on the "short bus" one afternoon. At the same time, it grants reliable access to most of the flowers beds for maintenance. A strong design like this works even - especially - when flowers are past and leaves are gone. And Buffalo's notorious snows would highlight it further, when it's not completely buried.

Native Plant Profile: Amelanchier x grandiflora

Jump to How to Plant a Tree.

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Today I planted Amelanchier x grandiflora 'Autumn Brilliance', Apple Serviceberry, in my backyard native plant garden.


I chose my backyard as my final class project for Urban Garden Design at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden last year. Serviceberry is one of the two key plants I specified for my planting scheme. Serviceberries are multi-season plants. They bloom in early Spring, before the flowering cherries. The berries ripen in mid-summer; they are edible and tasty, and attractive to birds. Fall color is excellent. Branching structure and bark provide winter interest.

Here are the initial sketch and final design for the project. The Amelanchier is the second smallest circle on the left (north) of the plan. In this design for an urban woodland garden, the Serviceberry plays the role of an understory tree. The larger circle on the right is Sassafras albidum, the canopy tree, which is proving even more difficult to source than the Amelanchier.

Woodland Garden Design Plant List

Over the weekend, my Twitter stream reflected the progress I was making on my final class project for the Urban Garden Design class with Nigel Rollings at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Despite battling a wicked head hold and racking cough, I put the finishing touches on my design late Monday night.

A cultivar of Lonicera sempervirens, the native Trumpet Honeysuckle, growing on a metal arbor at the entrance to my backyard. The specific epithet "sempervirens" refers to the evergreen, or nearly so in my Zone 7a/6b garden, foliage.


In last night's class we each presented our designs. There was a lot of warmth, humor, and enthusiasm among the class. Not to mention wine (though not for me). The night ran late, so there wasn't time for close inspection of all the designs.

Some of my fellow students wanted more information about my plant selections. Here is the plant list, without further explanation for now, that I used in my design. Most of these are shrubs. Many of these I've collected over the past several years, and some are now several feet high and wide. Many, but not all, are species native to New York City. The most precious to me are those that have been propagated from NYC-local ecotypes.

This is just a candidate list, not a final one. As I mentioned in last night's class, I'm not satisfied with the planting plan. I would like a couple more evergreen plants; I'd really like an Ilex opaca, but the native form gets too large for my site. There are many plants in this list that provide winter interest, in bark, form, berries, and so on, including some that are semi-evergreen. I want to place more vines in the design, and I already have some ideas for where to do that. And I didn't spend much time specifying perennials. There's still plenty of room for them in this design; there are at least a hundred to select from, and I just ran out of time to specify and draw them all.

Trees

• Sassafras albidum, Sassafras. This would become the focal point of the garden; the design "rotates" around it. This will be a canopy tree, providing primary shade to the house and garden.
  
• Amelanchier arborea, Common or Downy Serviceberry. This is an understory tree from the Rosaceae, the Rose Family, tolerant of the shade the Sassafras will provide. In my design, its placement will also grant it direct afternoon sun from the West during the summer months, which should help in fruit-set. It's a "replacement" for the old apple tree that grew on the other side of the fence on my neighbor's property, which they had to take down last winter. I miss that tree; it was a bird magnet. This tree is a better selection, better placed, and with fewer maintenance issues.
  All Amelanchier species, commonly known as Serviceberries, are desireable landscape trees and shrubs and provide food for wildlife, especially birds. Alternatives to A. arborea are A. canadensis, Canada or Shadblow Serviceberry, or Shadbush, or A. laevis, Allegheny or Smooth Serviceberry, which is recommended for its human-edible fruit.
  
• Prunus variety. This is an existing tree, the only one remaining from the eight trees that were in the backyard when we bought the property four years ago. It's healthy, and adds some interest to every season, so I'm happy to keep it as long as it does well. But my design doesn't depend on it, so when the time comes and it needs to go, the design will remain whole.
  

Geothlypis trichas, Common Yellowthroat, one of the avian visitors to my neighbor's apple tree which I hope will be enticed to return by the Serviceberry.

Vines

• Lonicera sempervirens cultivar (existing), Trumpet Honeysuckle. Semi-evergreen, twining vine. Flowers best and grows densest with full sun. Grows well, just less vigorously, in partial shade. Mine is visited by hummingbirds every year, but they always seem disappointed by it; it's not the Hummingbird magnet I hoped it would be. I suspect I would need a local ecotype, one adapted to the phenology of hummingbird migration through this area, to attract hummingbirds well.
  
• Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Virgina Creeper. deciduous vine, climbs by holdfasts to any vertical surface; can also grow as a groundcover. A native alternative to P. tricuspidata, Boston Ivy. Deciduous. Brilliant red color in the fall. Fruit are an important food source for birds.
  
• Vitis labrusca, Fox Grape. Deciduous vine, climbs by tendrils. One of several native grape species, this is the source of the Concord Grape.
  

I also have an existing small-leaved Aristolochia, Pipevine, but I couldn't place it yet in the new design. I want to add more vines, including the big-leaved Pipevine; I just need to think more about their placement and function.

Shrubs

• Aronia arbutifolia 'Brilliantissimum' (existing)
• Clethra alnifolia 'September Beauty' (existing)
• Cornus sericea 'Cardinal' (existing)
• Ilex verticillata cultivars, male and female (existing)
• Juniperus horizontalis
• Kalmia latifolia 'Minuet' (existing)
• Lindera benzoin
• Myrica pensylvanica
• Prunus maritima
• Rhododendron viscosum NYC-local ecotype (existing)
• Rosa carolina (or R. virginiana)
  

Several shrubs I already have did not make it into this design. I've collected them over the years without a plan, based more on their availability and opportunity to acquire them than anything else. Unless I leave no space for people, there simply isn't enough room for all of them in my 30'x30' backyard, which is already quite expansive by NYC, even Brooklyn, standards. That gives me some flexibility in the planting plan, as my first choice is to go with plants I already have, but some will eventually have to live on somewhere else.

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Related Content

Posts

Growing a native plant garden in a Flatbush backyard, 2007-08-06

Photos

Ilex verticillata, Wiinterberry (Flickr photo set)
Lonicera sempervirens, Trumpet Honeysuckle (Flickr photo set)

Flickr photo set of my backyard