The Crafted Garden

Our backyard is a nice place to sit quietly, watch the hummingbirds. It also serves, on occasion, as a gathering place for family and friends. Recently, Susan transformed this "nice" place into a something much, much more - it is a showpiece! Her superior expertise, creativity and knowledge about plants, flowers, and design allowed her to create a beautiful space. She arranged plants that were already in the garden with new ones, always taking into consideration the visual appeal as well as the health of the plants and flowers. By addressing each little nook and cranny of the backyard, Susan succeeded in creating a backyard that is now cohesive and very comfortable. She is meticulous in her choices: which plants to put where, what color to paint the patio, etc. It is obvious that she is passionate about her work. And she is one of the hardest workers I know. Easy to work with, friendly, knowledgeable, full of ideas yet open to yours. I recommend The Crafted Garden to anyone!

I needed to replace a deck and called the Crafted Garden for help with the design. Susan came up with a wonderful patio design which was perfect for my house and the natural landscaping around it. She followed through every step of the way, going with me to choose materials and finding wonderful stone masons to complete the job. She kept my budget in mind, helping to keep costs down. I am delighted with the results.

Susan Irving worked with me to create a stunning, site appropriate garden on my rustic, challenging property in the Poconos. Using local stone to create walls and raised beds, with sensitive and precise attention to elevation, flow of the land and sight lines, Susan created a sophisticated design that integrated our home into the terrain while adding beauty and function to the site. She had an extraordinary knowledge of horticulture, and chose beautiful and unusual plants. She was a careful listener, integrating my taste and sensibility into the design, while effectively using her vast fund of knowledge and superior design sense, with her extraordinarily talented workmen, to mold my ideas and preferences into a gorgeous result that surpassed my expectations by far. And it was fun. I recommend her most highly.

When Susan Irving of The Crafted Garden first visited us at the beginning of last summer, we confronted her with a major challenge that we as amateurs couldn’t tackle: help us to transform the grounds of our rural home in Sullivan County, NY, from a decaying forest paradise into a forest paradise that would live on for generations. From the very beginning, she approached the task with passion, creativity and professionalism. At the onset, she managed a team of skilled masons to rebuild crumbling infrastructure—stairs and walls—and construct an incredible wraparound stone porch. We’d struggled to find good workers in the past. She not only found them, but found a team with rare skill who stuck around and finished this major job. We now have eye-candy stonework beyond what we imagined could be done. It blends in so nicely with the old home that you might think it was part of the original structure. Susan’s real passion, however, is for the flora. We challenged her to preserve the deep forest look we so desired while simultaneously peeling away decades of neglect and decay. We shared pictures of the Black Forest that impressed us. We visited her own magnificent garden and took notes. She offered us many options and educated us on the hardiness, life-cycles and long-term viability of plants. She truly embraced the importance of locality and making a garden that was in harmony with geography. She listened when we said we liked things that weren’t always in the crosshairs of her vision. And she nailed it! From the outset, she focused on the composition of our soil, the presence of invasive plants and the challenge of preserving shade and introducing and transplanting so that our shady areas would be green. She took some awkward places and attacked them with her imagination—turning an old hand pump and an exposed PVC drainpipe into a storybook pebbly stream; she convinced us to convert a berm into shaded patio space that is now one of my favorite spots in the world. And before the job was done, she took the time to document and show us personally how to care for and identify not just the plants she added, but the ones that were already there. We enjoy a perfect balance of sun and shade, forest and sky and a dramatic array of colorful flowers, ground-cover and shrubs that are meant for this space. But the biggest impression she left on us was this: she absolutely loved our landscape from the moment she saw it. She made it her own while it was in transition. She embraced potential and erased so much of our skepticism. And most importantly, she listened to us because she knew it was a space for us. There’s no way this would have happened had we tried to do it on our own. She turned our dream into a dreamscape. We are pleased to recommend with the greatest enthusiasm Susan Irving and The Crafted Garden to anyone who needs a professional, passionate and creative driving force to begin, manage and finish their own dreamscape.

Wow! I'm impressed all over again at yesterday's update of our grounds by you and your crew. First, you (and they) are a pleasure to work with - energetic, efficient, and creative. I appreciate how you ask questions, make observations, the listen to our replies. Besides, you come well-prepared with your plans carefully & creatively thought out. I like my porch (& swing), spending lots of time looking at the surroundings. So great to see the ever evolving rotation of plants and flowers - never a dull moment in our garden. Your dedication to indigenous plants yields success as is verified by the birds and bees that are ever-present. Oh, and thanks for the education you pass on which helps appreciation of growing things. Kenny, Woodbury,NY

Susan transformed what I thought was just an ordinary backyard into an oasis. She had exceptional knowledge of horticulture and design and within what felt like moments, she had created the outdoor living space of my dreams. Thank you so much Susan!

I was lucky enough to meet Susan during her visit to California earlier this year. She was able to solve many of the problems that my garden had presented for years. I was particularly impressed by her approach and problem solving abilities. In a short span of time she transformed my entire garden offering extraordinarily creative solutions. Five stars - I wish she lived on the west coast!

We found Susan through her wonderful website www.thecraftedgarden.com. She was such a joy to work with and is so incredibly knowledgeable! The project was overwhelming to us, but Susan really understands design and composition and had no trouble whipping our property into shape. Her team was exceptionally hardworking and she has an impeccable attention to detail. I would highly recommend Susan to anyone looking for a true artistic touch to their gardens!

As a landscape architect, I've had the privilege to collaborate with Sue on projects. Sue's knowledge and use of perennials is exceptional as her gardens are beautiful, sophisticated and elegant. Her work demonstrates both a mastery of design and care that is rare to see with Garden Design / Care service companies today. I would welcome her on any of my projects. Robert D. Schweitzer Jr. RLA

When I was initially searching for a landscaper, I wanted someone who would do more than just plant some bushes and flowers, I wanted someone who would both design a beautiful garden as well as teach me how to maintain that garden. If the latter were not part of the relationship, I knew the garden would soon wither and die because I know nothing about gardening. When I found Susan Irving, I found a landscaper who was all of that and more. She brought a contagious enthusiasm and love of nature to the project as well as an artistic ability to design and tailor the garden to the unique natural surroundings of my home. She has shared a great deal of knowledge with me teaching me how to prune and care for my plants. I have called upon Susan numerous times over the years asking for specific information about the care of my plants and she has always responded with the same generosity of spirit I experienced from the first day we met. Susan has a foreman who brought a crew of men to dig, plant as well as collect rocks for a beautiful rock wall they erected on my property. I was extremely impressed by these men. They worked tirelessly and did quality work. What was even more important to me than the quality of the men's work was the fact that Susan's foreman was such a wonderful man. I learned to trust him like a friend. This meant a great deal to me as I was able to leave for work in the morning knowing that the men were going to put in a full day of work and do an amazing job. Of course, the reason I trusted him so much in the first place was because I trusted Susan so much. I encourage anyone who is looking for a landscaper - no, not just a landscaper - an artist, a lover of nature, an expert landscaper to call upon Susan Irving. Trust me! You will not be disappointed. Susan B Montgomery, NY

Susan Irving transformed our property while remaining true to all the things that we loved about it in the first place. She made the whole process fun and painless. She always responded promptly to whatever issues developed after the project was completed. About 1 year after, we are still in touch and she has been very generous about answering my questions on maintaining the garden.

Early last year I moved into a new apartment in Manhattan. I felt lucky to have a balcony. I didn't feel so lucky, however, when it after the snow melted. Disappointed, I thought the balcony will never be what I wished for. That changed when friend's friend recommended Susan Irving who had designed her gardens. She told me Susan Irving can do magics. Magic she did. The balcony was converted to my oasis. She saw something in the balcony beyond what we could see, the possibilities. I loved her sense of design. Her knowledge about plants were amazing and she was generous to share her knowledge. She is passionate about her work which made me excited as well. Susan is professional, friendly. She was conscientious about my budget. I enjoyed my balcony all summer. It is still green, with different flowers blooming and beautiful. When it gets too cold to go outside I'll be looking forward to the next summer. Thank you Susan Irving!