Urban NJ Backyard

Site Visit, Inspiration, and Goal Setting

The yard was a typical “concrete jungle” backyard: compacted turfgrass, flanked by ornamental trees that served no real purpose. The client had installed bird feeders, but other than the occasional snack and drink of water, birds had no reason to stick around.

One of the client’s initial goal requests was to be able to certify the yard as a Wildlife Habitat with the National Wildlife Federation. This meant we needed to provide food, water, shelter, and nesting areas, as well as utilize sustainable landscaping strategies in both the design and installation.

Upon the initial visit, we studied the sun’s path, soil conditions, and surrounding flora and fauna.

Design

The design process was highly iterative and collaborative. We outlined the areas of focus and went through two rounds of revisions, arriving at a design that was both affordable and easy to maintain.

The final design deliverable included:

• a design intent document with plans and 2D sketches, detailing the changes in each area of focus
• a planting list for each area of focus, including details on how each species promotes local biodiversity
• a phased installation schedule for the client to make changes incrementally
• coordination with client’s landscaper

The End Result

At the time of the final site visit, the new plants were still establishing but there were already differences in the amount of birds and pollinators present in the yard.

We kept the existing thuja trees as they were doing quite well already, but we relocated them as clusters further back into the yard. This way they could serve as shelter and nesting site for birds.

Within a week of installation, the client was able to obtain the Wildlife Habitat certification! They were happy, and so were their dogs as we did keep the center portion of turfgrass for them.