A Small Green Space

06/12/2026

BARROW MANSION
A Small Green Space is so lucky, and extremely grateful, to have been hired to design a new planting plan designs for Barrow Mansion in Jersey City. The mansion is a ‘Greek Revival’ style building, built in 1837 and has a rich history in our community. The front “green space” had fallen into somewhat disrepair as of late with an overgrown planting bed and a hodge podge assortment of worn-out planters. This was a challenging space to design for several reasons including: it’s grand size but relatively small planting area; the deep shade that the set-back building experiences; limited budget; the fact that about almost a dozen large trash cans and an accessible chair lift must be accommodated; and finally the knowledge that without automatic irrigation, any container plantings would likely perish.
We cleaned up and out the planting bed and installed a shade tolerant perennial planting. We designed mixed perennial and annual planters to be placed strategically around the entryway. And we installed automatic drip line irrigation throughout.

During installation, several JC residents stopped by to complement our work, which made this project that much sweeter.

Thank you for trusting us to work on your ‘small green space’.

06/05/2026

Introducing our summer intern: GRACE!

06/01/2026

COOL and HOT GARDEN FACTS:
Some (maybe) surprising facts about DARK fencing verses LIGHT fencing:

When it comes to fencing think the OPPOSITE of clothing. Dark clothing can make us feel hot and thinner (not necessarily at the same time).
Light clothing can make us feel cool and bigger (ditto regarding simultaneously).

When it comes to fencing WHITE (especially vinyl) fencing can make an urban garden REALLY HOT. The reason is the reflective nature of the light fencing. If you have white shiny fencing on all three sides of your small urban garden, things can heat up pretty quickly. Also white fencing can make a space feel smaller because it is an 'eye catcher'. So your line of site tends to bounce around the perimeter of garden which can acentuate a tight space.
When it comes to DARK fencing it can be really COOL (in more ways than one). The dark fencing absorbs the heat away from you and the dark background allows for everything in the foreground to pop. Which can make plantings feel lusher and furniture feel comfier.

Which type of fencing do you prefer?

05/31/2026

Green Wall on the FLOOR?!

Yup... we create a template and layout the plants before wrapping them and eventually planting them in the wall.

05/30/2026

T'he Small Green Team' has been busy! Waking up and caring for gardens (new and old), planting new gardens (in the rain and during the heat-wave), visiting the garden centers, and surveying new sites ready for redesigns.
And this is just the beginning of the season!

05/28/2026

Waking up some old friend.

Each spring is a rediscovery of the gardens that we are lucky enough to get to care for. This spring has come with some sad surprises due to the brutal winter and long cold spring we had. But as always it is also coming with some glorious blooms!

05/27/2026

Window Boxes... sigh! 😍

This is a front and back garden that we care for in Hoboken. We are also lucky enough to get to design and install their window box plantings. 💚

05/26/2026

Up, up and AWAY! We have been busy working on some new roof decks this year. Can't wait to get up there to take some 'real' photos 😉

05/25/2026

A Sneak Peak at one of the three green walls we have installed this year. Look at that VIEW!🥰

05/08/2026