This Brooklyn Heights townhouse backyard features a bluestone patio and custom-built ipe wood planter boxes. The quiet, Zen-like backyard is shaded by surrounding buildings, so we picked a shade-tolerant mix of dogwoods, rose-of-sharons, rhododendrons, and Japanese andromedas to plant here. It features a bench carved from a tree trunk. When choosing plants that will do well in shade, I find it's generally helpful to think about the types of plants that do well in a woodland environment. Read more about our projects on my blog at www.amberfreda.com.