Featured in Feb/Mar 2013 issue of Organic Gardening Magazine, this Boston-area courtyard functions as an entryway, parking space, driveway turnaround, and outdoor room. New York bluestone planks set into a sea of pea gravel can bear the weight of vehicles while allowing rainwater to permeate the...

Featured in Feb/Mar 2013 issue of Organic Gardening Magazine, this Boston-area courtyard functions as an entryway, parking space, driveway turnaround, and outdoor room. New York bluestone planks set into a sea of pea gravel can bear the weight of vehicles while allowing rainwater to permeate the...

The cylindrical steel water bubbler forms the beginning of the water journey that travels from the upper landscape to the lower level around the back of the house.

The water journey begins in a Corten steel basin beside the Ipe deck on the upper level of the narrow lot. The "handrill" is a water channel that travels down a staircase to the back garden at ground level. Existing pines were allowed to remain, and additional native plants and shrubs were planted...

The “handrill” of Corten steel follows the peastone and steel steps down a steep slope to pour into a round basin, emptying into a channel that meanders through the narrow back garden at ground level, ending finally in a boulder fountain.

A side entrance beckons visitors into the back yard. New York State bluestone and limestone planks are set into the peastone drive court.

The “handrill” of Corten steel follows the peastone and steel steps down a steep slope to pour into a round basin, emptying into a channel that meanders through the narrow back garden at ground level, ending finally in a boulder fountain.

This study at the very tip-top of the four-story house feels as if it’s in a garden—because of the tall, airy plantings of asters and other natives on the roof garden just below. The small roof gardens at various levels of the house provide not only sustainable benefits such as rainwater absorption...