My job is the only reason I'm sane. I hate the city. But I spend my days in backyards, parks and gardens, so I somehow escape the urban wasteland while living right in the middle of it. City environments can run the gamut. From cramped, tiny spaces that never see an ounce of light, to sun beaten terraces that never see a drop of water. And it's my job to make them all beautiful. My specialty is in annuals and container design. I've become a master of microclimates. Finding the perfect combination of plants for finicky, neglected, and difficult spots tucked in between the mess of buildings and asphalt. This 3rd floor terrace was a plantsmans nightmare. Unrelenting direct sun, inconsistent watering, a crazy windtunnel at all times of day and night, and a demanding condo board who had fired every landscaper they'd had for the previous ten years. Add to this list that there was a distrust of strong colors by virtually everyone on the gardening committee. I knew grasses would be in the mix, so decided to follow that instinct with a hybrid prairie style planting with muted but sophisticated colors, in this case burgundy, purple, white and silver. It was essential that everything have fine leaves that wouldn't be ripped apart by the wind. Cosmos, an old fashioned throwaway to most people performed brilliantly. With several types of grasses and the solid white cosmos, I added in artemisia powis castle, salvia, silver thyme, heuchera obsidian, petunia solid blue, white angelonia, perennial verbena, etc. The end result did everything I was hoping for and lasted well into October.
