japanese-inspired brooklyn garden / park slope, brooklyn

At the heart of this garden is a magnificent thirty year old flowering cherry which the clients say is also the heart of their home. For decades they have looked forward to it flowering each spring, when it showers everything in an ethereal snow of delicate pink blossoms. The garden was inspired by classic Japanese garden design but consideration was made to make it feel authentic in a Brooklyn townhouse setting. The garden’s design is centered around the sauna (not pictured) where the client after exiting can sit under the cherry on a floating bench and enjoy spring Camellia and Azalea blossoms and the scent of sweet Viburnum. The extensive root system of the mature tree and the deep shade it cast was a specific challenge in the planting design. An even greater challenge was in engineering the extensive storm drains and bi level patio without disturbing the roots of the tree but part and parcel of garden design in urban environments.