FORTGreenery
FORTGreenery
Urban home garden design & fine gardening coaching
Natural environments for city-dwellers – that people, pollinators & birds can call home – designed to thrive.
Approach
City gardening for homes means imagining the potential for very small spaces – gate gardens, tree pits and back yards that are often the size of large area rugs. With planning they can make an impact on the environment, create refuge, promote health, tell personal stories and welcome friends, family and wildlife into beautiful, lush spaces.
I take an ecological gardening approach to building layered domestic gardens that are alive with textured combinations of perennial plants, shrubs and small understory trees. Sensitivity to the environment – no synthetic chemicals, an attention to the realities of climate change, and awareness of hosting the wildlife that can struggle to live here – are key to my practice.
First signs of design success come when you hear birdsong in winter or spot a Monarch butterfly caterpillar, swallowtail butterfly, house finch, cardinal, lightning bugs or hummingbird visiting. They know a lot about environmental health that we don’t.
Services
I offer design and fine gardening guidance that lets you learn as you build a garden that you can sustain according to the rhythms of your life.
Garden Design
Whether it’s a master plan for an entire garden or to address specific areas in your garden, I’ll help you plan a personal garden with:
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Combinations of plants, shrubs and trees that work in your growing conditions
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Suggestions of plant sourcing options from trusted suppliers
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Planting diagrams, detailed plant lists and maintenance/caare guidance, the resources you need to sustain a healthy garden
The design process allows you to pause at any point and is intended to give you all you need to move forward with the installation yourself.
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Conversation – We talk about your existing garden and how you’d like it to evolve.
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Site evaluation – You show me your garden and I’ll size up growing conditions, soil health and what’s growing now, taking measurements as we go.
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Design options – I’ll show you a selection of the right plants for the right places in your space so that you can make decisions about the final line-up.
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Final plan – Together we select a combination of plants that will create a thriving garden and I’ll give what you need to get going – a plant list/care guide and a to-scale diagram of plantings.
Help when you need it – If you’d like my help handling the installation or have questions about your garden going forward, I am available on an hourly coaching basis.
Garden Coaching
/Co-Gardening
Consulting about the maintenance of your garden and options for managing some of the challenges nature surprises us with. I can work with you to address:
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Plant health – how deal with pests organically and set plants up with healthy soil and watering regimen
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Ongoing plant care – pruning, transplanting, propagation
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Trouble-shooting in any outdoor gardening environment
Whether you're gardening in containers, directly in the soil or both. This can be in-person co-gardening with you, by phone or email.
Some of the issues that lead people to me:
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How can I grow plants that will survive in my tree pit
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What’s eating my plants?
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How do I integrate vegetables and herbs in a small space?
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What can I do to make my garden cohere as an environment?
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How do I go more native?
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What plants go together well?
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Can I fit a small tree in my backyard?
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Is there a way to make this garden low-maintenance?
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How do I control pests without using synthetic chemicals?
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Help me build soil health.
About
My name is Alison Johns
A lifelong gardener, my formal learning was at the New York Botanical Garden where I studied landscape design, fine gardening and herbalism to complete my certification in gardening. I continue to study perennial and native gardening at Great Dixter and Mt. Cuba Center.
“The garden suggests there might be a place where we can meet nature halfway.”
– Michael Pollan, Second Nature: A Gardener’s Education
My careers in journalism and digital user experience design also prepared me for garden-making where asking questions and thinking about how to create intuitive environments are foundational. But honestly, working in nature is much more challenging and exciting. Vibrant ecology in urban settings is my goal.
Testimonials
Alison gave me a new hobby – gardening! She made sure to understand what my vision was during the planning process, took great care to ensure everything was done properly and created spectacular beauty in my backyard. I highly recommend her!
- Hydee
I can't recommend Alison enough. She helped plan, design, plant and care for the very urban garden for the street seating at my Fort Greene restaurant. It was magically perfect. She coached me, guided me, and gave me the knowledge and confidence to continue gardening on my own. She's also a genuinely great person to spend time with, who really knows her stuff!
- Dan
Alison created a garden in a shaded woodland backyard where we visit the resting place of the love of my life, Selma. Thanks Alison!