Who, What, Where, How...
WHO: Christine Reid is the owner and head gardener at Bespoke Gardening
WHAT: Personalized landscape care practice that works intensively with limited clientele
WHERE: New Canaan, Darien, North Stamford, Old Greenwich, Riverside, and Rowayton are within easy reach. Whenever possible, we try to accept work close to other clients -- it enables us to be more responsive.
HOW:
WHAT: Personalized landscape care practice that works intensively with limited clientele
WHERE: New Canaan, Darien, North Stamford, Old Greenwich, Riverside, and Rowayton are within easy reach. Whenever possible, we try to accept work close to other clients -- it enables us to be more responsive.
HOW:
- Sees the landscape 'Big Picture' and how the pieces fit together: plants, backstage elements, soil
- 19+ years' experience working professionally in landscape care
- Management-by-working-around the garden; not drive-by supervision
- Problem? Let's get to the bottom of it.
- Works quietly; power tools are the exception, not the rule
- Can collaborate with existing crews and contractors (fluent in English & Spanish)
- You deal/work directly with the owner. Avoid phone tag, miscommunication, and high turnover of landscape help
"From the outset, Bespoke Gardening distinguished themselves for their attention to detail, the extremely high quality of their work, and for their honesty, integrity and intellectual curiosity."
THE PATH TO GARDENING
"As a child, I spent my summers in the Midwest. I was deliriously happy when I could visit the farm down the road and help my neighbors pick vegetables, feed rabbits, or herd cows into the barn at milking time. My earliest paid jobs involved working outdoors, as well – tending horses and leading trail rides at a summer resort and state park.
After graduating from college, although I worked indoors for years, I was always looking for chances to enjoy being outdoors and to get my fingers into the soil. "Even when I moved to New York City, I sought out places to live that were near parks (and permission to plant flowers in those places and parks!). After finding a place with a balcony open to the sky, I hauled up soil in the elevator so I could plant vegetables and flowers. The building manager didn’t mind when I also planted a shade garden on the grounds, and -- after meeting a nearby busy homeowner with a great vegetable garden space through a classified ad -- I worked a trade of vegetable garden work for some of the vegetables. After moving to Connecticut some years later, again with green or garden space a prerequisite, I suddenly came upon a volunteer opportunity to create a garden for a community theatre. During a tour of the theatre (they wanted me to write grant proposals), we came out a door that opened onto a steep, weedy, untended hillside. As soon as I saw it, I blurted out, “Oh! You need a garden!” The theatre manager just looked at me and said, “Go for it!” So I did. As the theatre built a new entrance deck at the base of this hillside, I worked with a limited budget and a lot of elbow grease to transform the steep, long-ignored space into one of refreshing visual interest for theatre patrons. It was humble, but it was a start. The night the public saw the torch-lit garden for the first time, still in its infancy and yet to grow in, I overheard a patron sigh and say, 'Ah! It feels so peaceful here!' In that moment, I realized the power and worth of making garden spaces that could transport, heal and comfort people. There was no escaping it: No matter how well written or executed, the pieces of paper I produced in corporate life had never produced sighs of contentment or moments of tranquility that even a first garden did. I was moved to take my career in a new direction.
After studying at the Landscape Design program of the New York Botanical Garden, completing the UCONN Master Gardener program and internship, and participating in one of the earliest Northeast Organic Farmers Association Organic Land Care programs, I started a landscape maintenance business. Among my clients were people with gardens created by landscape designer Shellee Rudner. We stayed in communication as the season unfolded, discussing her intent and my practical concerns, all the while sharing pictures of how the landscapes were maturing. I was able to help realize and preserve the intent of Shellee's designs long after they were installed. After Shellee was no longer able to continue her work for health reasons, I took on some of her previous responsibilities with our shared clients, and also took on other clients and landscapes. Every garden or landscape is a new adventure with new challenges and personality. I would welcome the opportunity to help you with yours. |
