Good Friend serves areas in and around New York’s Capital Region, but is happy to consider locales beyond. If you’re not sure whether Good Friend can come to you, get in touch.

A garden is a place of joy, connection, and discovery—but doesn’t have to fit into one category or another. A Good Friend garden can take many forms, the only things they have in common are ecosystem stewardship, emphases on soil health, and the belief that garden design can be thoughtful without costing the health of the environment.

Good Friend develops landscapes and foodscapes using ecological principles. Gardens emphasize perennial plants, including native plants and keystone species—even if the garden has non-native ornamentals, annuals, or edible crops. Gardens that emphasize edibles will use native and keystone plants as part of companion planting and as an overall integrated pest management strategy.

Good Friend will never recommend or use any plant on the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s invasive species list—even if the plant was cultivated to be sterile. If an invasive species is already on-site, Good Friend will advise clients on graduated suppression and/or removal strategies that do not use herbicides and that minimize soil disturbance.

Good Friend is a site assessment and design service only. Design services start with an initial site walkabout and assessment. Good Friend then creates a garden design and planting plan for a client, recommends site improvements, and sets maintenance and management expectations.

Good Friend design services include a list of trusted landscapers, nurseries, seed banks, and building material resources—local, regional, and online—where clients can procure plants and garden materials. Good Friend only recommends businesses with which we have personal experience.

For larger projects and intensive plantings, Good Friend can coordinate wholesale plant orders for an percentage of the order cost. Good Friend can be available to coordinate on-site with DIYers on the day(s) they install/build their garden, or with landscapers a client hires on the day(s) of garden installation for an additional hourly fee

After prospective clients submit the design questionnaire Good Friend will get in touch within 48 hours. Gardens begin with an on-site visit and assessment. During the visit, Good Friend will review client inspirations and goals for their garden. The site assessment will clock any unique features or challenges (e.g., poor soil drainage, light levels, wind exposure, wildlife presence/pressure, etc.)

In certain cases, Good Friend will recommend a soil test, review local building codes, and/or research the site’s history in local municipal archives.

With all that information, Good Friend builds a garden that brings to life a client’s vision and supports the site’s ecology. Short-and long-term expectations are always part of the conversation. Good Friend will always explain the ‘why’ behind aspects of the garden design and planting.

Yes. For locations in and around New York’s Capital District, the initial site visit always includes an assessment service and is $135. For sites further afield, the fee is prorated based on travel. If clients choose to work with Good Friend to develop a garden design and development plan after the assessment, clients will receive a $40 credit of the assessment fee toward the design cost.

Good Friend clients can be DIYers looking to work from an ecologically-driven design and planting plan and who want to install the garden themselves, or, property owners (residential or commercial) who want to develop a design scheme and prefer to hire out the site development and installation work.

Good Friend can be available to coordinate on-site with DIYers on the day(s) they install/build their garden, or with landscapers a client hires on the day(s) of garden installation/build. This on-site, day-of coordination is a separate, $40 hourly fee from the initial site visit and the cost of the design and planting plan.

We use both native and non-native plants (including kitchen edibles) in garden designs.

Good Friend’s goal is to maximize ecological health in garden design. We define ‘health' as actions that establish:

• Biodiverse systems. . .

• In which growth occurs because. . .

• The relationships between organisms are. . .

• Balanced, adaptive, relational, and resilient.

Heady? Yes—but we think about these things a lot!

Our design approach considers the complexity of horticultural history, pays close attention to evidence-based and developing science, and uses the living lab of our Learning Garden to ensure the health of the gardens we create.

Good Friend will never use any plant on the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s invasive species list, burning bush (euonymus alatus), common ivy (hedera helix), or callery pear (pyrus calleryana)—even if the plant was bred to be sterile. These plants have considerable negative impacts on local ecosystems.

• A layout plan that blends the site specifics and the client’s vision.

• A tailored plant list.

• Sourcing recommendations from trusted local, regional, and online nurseries and growers.

• Garden development, maintenance, and landscape management expectations.

• Client education and coaching.

Whether establishing a new garden or reviving an older one, soil health is the most important. Good Friend’s site assessment is the first step.

In its simplest definition, soil is a living and complex material made up of organic matter, gases, water, microbes, and organisms. Soil is a living habitat and supports billions of life forms in a single handful.

The composition, depth, and biodiversity of soil will determine which and how plants will grow. This is why, when designing a garden, the status and health of the soil is the where we start.

If the site needs to be prepped or amended for planting, Good Friend will always recommend no- or low-till strategies before more disruptive measures. These range from amending soils with composts and teas, to raised or no-till/no-dig beds.

Importantly, certain of these strategies can take a few weeks to six months to develop before seeding or planting. This is why the best time to engage on garden design is the spring or fall.

As garden design is a partnership, Good Friend will discuss strategies and expectations before clients start work on a site.

Definitely. As landscape designer Thomas D. Church once wrote: “Gardens are for people”—all people. Gardens ought be inclusive, universal spaces where anyone can enjoy their delights. Good Friend can design gardens for people with both physical and cognitive disabilities, from scent and ‘please-touch’ gardens, to gardens with adaptations for people with limited mobility or who use assistive devices.

A garden can have high- and low-maintenance strategies, but there is no such thing as a no-maintenance garden. A garden, by definition, is an edited, cultivated space and requires a gardener to attend to its growth and development.

Good Friend understands that clients have different abilities and bandwidths, so maintenance and management is always part of the initial client conversation. Although we do not do garden maintenance or site management at this time, Good Friend will be available to support and coach clients as the garden grows.

Expectations: A garden that focuses on edibles and/or cannabis will require the most maintenance, from pruning and training to water planning and harvesting. A native or perennial ornamental garden will (usually) require less maintenance.

Site management is a bit broader than maintenance. Management treats the site and the local ecosystem as a design partner and recognizes that a garden will always be influenced by the wider site. Management includes invasive species suppression as well as native habitat restoration and conservation strategies.

Design starts around $300 for a small site, but price will always vary by the intersection of project size, scope, and complexity. Cost is something we are happy to discuss and navigate with clients, as each project is unique.

Good Friend designs small and mid-size properties, from a 100 sq foot area up to a half acre. Design can be done in phases for larger sites.

Yes, indeed. New York is one of a handful of states that allow home-grow adult-use cannabis. Good Friend has grown cannabis for several years and, for interested clients, would be glad to incorporate it into a garden design (outdoor, residential gardens only).

Aside from its psychoactive properties, cannabis is a gorgeous garden annual that comes in several shapes, colors, and sizes.

Clients should be aware that, given New York’s growing climate, cannabis requires planning. Growing cannabis outdoors to its full psychoactive potential requires regular maintenance, as well as an involved post-harvest process. Good Friend can provide clients a full education on these maintenance and harvest processes.

Note: In New York State, there are limitations on how many plants a home-grow household may have and homeowners are required to take safety precautions when growing at home.