MIDTOWN

The owners had lived on the 30th floor in Chelsea, NYC, for thirty years and never really had a yard. Their new backyard in Midtown wasn’t very big, and when it rained, water from the neighbors came through it like a river. So we raised the backyard about ten inches and moved the river behind the fence.

The fish pond came with the house, fish and all, so it stayed. We kept everything else pretty simple. Full range bluestone picked up the colors in the pond stone and fence, while thermal bluestone tied back to the granite columns. We added stucco walls, lawn and a perennial cutting garden.

Henry was adopted by the homeowners right about the time we finished.

They call the backyard their favorite room in the house.