Standouts
Best of Houzz winner
Woman owned
20 years in business
1 Houzz Award
3 Houzz Badges
Contact Info:
Karen Hughan
Darien, CT 06820
Darien, CT 06820
Typical Job Costs:
$1,000 - 50,000
Design fee cost of $1,000 (minimum) or typically about 10% of an installed project.
Design fee cost of $1,000 (minimum) or typically about 10% of an installed project.
Category:
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Fairfield County's Leading Landscape Architect
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"Sharing experiences in gardening & design and incorporating a love for the environment into community is integral to Good Gardens. While the best way to appreciate a garden is to stroll through it, perhaps these snapshots will inspire you to create a good garden, a unique place of your own. Gardens are an ever-changing adventure, never truly finished and forever evolving. The joy is in the process. May you find peace and even a little bit of magic in your own backyard."
Karen received a Bachelor of Science in horticulture and environmental sciences from the University of Rhode Island. Her background includes horticultural study abroad in England, with one year as a student at University and one working for Clifton Nurseries, LTD in London. The gardens of Europe continue to provide inspiration for her work today.
Services Provided
Custom Bocce Ball Courts, Drafting, Edible Gardens, Garden Design, Hardscaping, Landscape Design, Landscape Plans, Organic Gardens, Outdoor Lighting Design, Patio Design, Pool Landscaping, Project Management, Rooftop Deck Installation, Site Planning, Swimming Pool Design, Floral Design, Holiday Decorating
Areas Served
Bedford, Byram, Cos Cob, Darien, East Norwalk, Greens Farms, Greenwich, New Canaan, North Stamford, Norwalk, Old Greenwich, Riverside, Stamford, Weston, Westport, Wilton
Awards
Karen is Board VP for Tree Conservancy of Darien and is a long time Flower Guild member at Saint Luke's, past board member of Associated Landscape Contractors of America, and a mentor to numerous professionals.
23 Projects for Good Gardens LLC

Norwalk, CT
Rowayton makeover - Fresh 2020
6 photos

Darien, CT
Garden Design - Outdoor Fireplace and Terrace
2 photos

Darien, CT
Sage & Tony's Garden Design
8 photos

Darien, CT
Peggy & Dave's Garden Design
21 photos

Darien, CT
Rita's Garden Design
12 photos

Darien, CT
Susan's Garden Design
7 photos

Darien, CT
Good Garden's Own Backyard
22 photos

Fairfield Beach Waterfront
6 photos

Norwalk, CT
Marion & John's Garden Design
10 photos

Darien, CT
Gigi's Garden Design
7 photos

Darien, CT
Holiday Decorations
8 photos

Good gardens backyard add
6 photos
Featured Review

Pam Dysenchuk
Relationship
Client
Karen Hughan has done landscape design work for us as well floral arrangements for events at our home. Karen is friendly, easy to work with, has great ideas and is very creative. Her knowledge of plants and flowers is exceptional. The results of herRead Full Review
14 Reviews for Good Gardens LLC

Pam Dysenchuk
Relationship
Client
Karen Hughan has done landscape design work for us as well floral arrangements for events at our home. Karen is friendly, easy to work with, has great ideas and is very creative. Her knowledge of plants and flowers is exceptional. The results of her efforts are beautiful and I highly recommend her.
November 8, 2019

Comment from Good Gardens LLC:
Thanks so much, Pam! I enjoyed working with you and David on your landscape design, as well as when creating floral arrangements for life's special events. I appreciate your referrals as well!

Jennifer Smokler Interiors
Relationship
Colleague
Karen and I worked on a client's home together. She has a wonderful eye and extensive knowledge. She is a pleasure to work with - warm, attentive and down to earth. I would recommend Karen to anyone and look forward to working with her again.
November 6, 2019

Lindsey Lane Design
Relationship
Client
There is no one better in the business than Karen with Good Gardens. I worked with Karen to create a vegetable garden and the entire process was professional and enjoyable. Karen listened to my needs and delivered a beautiful product. I highly recommend her and know she will do an excellent job!
April 25, 2019
Comment from Good Gardens LLC:
Thanks Lindsey, it was pure pleasure designing this creative project with you, as your vegetable garden is both beautiful and functional! It was wonderful to work with a design pro... Thanks for the review and I look forward to watching that garden grow all summer! Karen

Noelle Cleary
Relationship
Client
Professional, precise, patient. Working with Karen was a pleasure. We are newbies to landscaping projects and our house was being renovated at the same time. She brought a ton of experience and knowledge about the area and what types of plants work best for what we wanted (low maintenance, salt tolerant). She got our aesthetic and has delivered a plan that we are excited to see implemented and we will enjoy for years to come.
April 25, 2019
Comment from Good Gardens LLC:
Hi Noelle, Thanks for this! Our landscape design project on the beach for you and John in Fairfield has been an adventure and a journey! I can not wait to see the final plans come to fruition when the plants go in. I LOVE the hardscape and am sure the plantings will be the icing on the cake! Best, Karen

Emily D'Andrea
Relationship
Colleague
Karen is truly a professional in every sense of the word. She is conscientious, creative, honest and has a tremendous work ethic. I would work with her on any project, at any time!
March 23, 2018

Morgan Boghosian
Relationship
Client
Karen was the florist for my wedding. She did the most spectacular job making my vision come to life. She not only listened to my desires, but was collaborative and came to the table with many useful suggestions while staying within budget.
She is truly an expert in her field, and I felt extremely comfortable putting the floral design in her hands. Karen put a lot of effort into one-on-one meetings to make sure I was comfortable with all decisions. She also made a point to consistently communicate with me throughout the wedding planning process, which was extremely helpful.
She pours her heart and soul into every project, while bringing her keen eye for design, color, and aesthetic. She was enjoyable to work with and I would recommend her to anyone looking for a florist for any special event!




March 23, 2018Last modified:March 23, 2018

Mary Clare Florentin
Relationship
Client
We hired Good Gardens to update and "spruce up" our yard. As first time home owners, we decided it was better to get help rather than try to tackle it all on our own. The scope of the project was fairly large and varied as it included: continuing and extending the existing fence in the back yard, putting gates on the sides of the house, planting trees, building an outdoor shower and replanting the beds in the front yard.
Karen came and took care of everything from design of the shower, hand picking out the best plants and flowers for the beds, and sourcing and managing all the contractors while also paying careful attention to the budget and time frame of the project. On top of it all, she is a lovely person and a pleasure to work with too. We (my two young children included) always loved when she would come by to see how things were going. Her eye for design, professionalism and good relations with area businesses made the whole process so easy and definitely worth it. I plan on working with her again on future projects and would highly recommend her.



March 22, 2018
Comment from Good Gardens LLC:
Mary Clare, Sean, Carl and Ingrid,
Thank you for the thoughtful and thorough review. It is so wonderful to work with a young family whose life in centered on the great outdoors. I loved creating a space for you all which is safe and offers spaces for the children and adults alike. I am so fortunate that my clients become close friends! Looking forward to working with you again this spring (we need to get Carl's veggie garden going and growing)!
All the best, Karen
Thank you for the thoughtful and thorough review. It is so wonderful to work with a young family whose life in centered on the great outdoors. I loved creating a space for you all which is safe and offers spaces for the children and adults alike. I am so fortunate that my clients become close friends! Looking forward to working with you again this spring (we need to get Carl's veggie garden going and growing)!
All the best, Karen

Nancy Herling
Relationship
Client
Karen rejuvenated three existing beds that were the entrance and atmosphere for a wedding celebration in our seaside yard. This included the herb garden which she then reflected in patio planters and in weathered boxes on the dinner tables. Karen is a true romantic that gets excited to create gardens that are classic yet set a mood. We are still enjoying it all three years later!
March 22, 2018
Comment from Good Gardens LLC:
Nancy, It was so much fun working with you to enhance your beautiful waterfront gardens. There's nothing like a wedding to get your gardens in shape. (Got that going on here in May!). I loved carrying through the garden theme on the dinner tables ~ your inspiration and my execution so you deserve credits there.
Best, Karen
Best, Karen

Andrea McDonough
Relationship
Client
Karen is a gifted landscape designer as well as a highly sought after floral designer. I hired Karen every time I needed landscaping help. She kept me updated on any changes or adjustments and she always delivered a wonderful finished product.
I trust Karen.
She is a dedicated professional and works tirelessly for her clients. Karen is an exceptional person. I highly recommend her.
March 21, 2018

Lois Mash
Relationship
Colleague
I've known Karen and her work for many years and her varied experience shows in her attention to detail and selection of plant palettes for each project. She is very creative which is reflected in the fact that she doesn't provide the same design look for each client but she listens to each client's desires and circumstance. I highly recommend her for your projects!
March 11, 2018

Ali Milne
Relationship
Client
We built a house last year in Rowayton and hired Karen to develop a comprehensive landscape plan including trees, shrubs, fencing, masonry and a pool. Karen was an absolute delight to work with; she is a total professional with an in-depth knowledge of all aspects of landscape design. She was very responsive to our overall objectives as well as our specific likes and dislikes and delivered a final product that both reflected and improved upon our original vision. Moreover, she was sensitive to budget and kept everyone to a timeline. We are absolutely thrilled with the results and would highly recommend Karen for any landscape project.
March 7, 2018
Comment from Good Gardens LLC:
Ali, Thanks for this recommendation! I really loved working with you and Doug as well and appreciated your enthusiasm and involvement in your project. It was delightful to bring your well honed vision to life. The Summer of 2018 should enable you to enjoy the tremendous efforts brought forth in 2017 while under construction!

Gwynne Tibbetts
Relationship
Client
I work in landscaping design and I worked with Karen in my own garden. She has a wonderful creative design sense and is extremely knowledgeable about plant materials. Karen is a pleasure to work with, and follows the plan through to the last detail.
March 2, 2018

Margaret Culbertson
Relationship
Client
We hired Karen to design the flowers at our daughter’s wedding and our experience was nothing less than spectacular. Karen was able to take our suggestions and turn them into a reality. Her choice of flowers and design were impeccable. She asked questions and, most importantly, listened to our requests. The final product was far and away our vision in reality. She made the venue come alive.
February 27, 2018
Comment from Good Gardens LLC:
Margaret, It was such a pleasure working with you on Meg and Shaun's wedding! I appreciate the confidence that you and John placed with me. The Good Garden's floral team loved bringing your vision to fruition. Much love to Meg and Shaun in their marriage together.
All the best, Karen
All the best, Karen

Gigi Garnett
Relationship
Client
Karen is a very professional delight to work with. She has had a lifelong career in landscape design and installation and a great relationship with many local and quality subcontractors. She has a deep and wide ranging knowledge of plant material and hardscaping. I found her very budget conscious and willing to work quickly. Our project involved a sizable renovation, she created a large and beautiful design involving evergreen trees, shrubs, perennials and a mini orchard. All of which has not only survived well but matured beautifully.
February 27, 2018
Comment from Good Gardens LLC:
Thank you, Gigi! It was an absolute delight working with you and Jim on recreating the orchard and landscaping of the gentlemen's farm, aptly on Old Farm. I'm so happy that the landscaping has provided your family with such great pleasure and a wonderful appreciation for your gardens, which you meticulously maintain. All the best, Karen
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