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Photo by : Maura Mcevoy .
Allison Fonte ’s preferences in flora are as eclectic as her perceptiveness in furnishing . American creep phlox thrives beneath Asian bamboo ; there are Japanese painted ferns in one box of her Manhattan rooftop oasis , European uncivilized gingers in another . They ’re all arise in an international array of container — mottled black terra - cotta pots from Mexico , matte black Israeli urn , and dark brown Indonesian clay vessels — grouped around a tent that ’s fit out with objects from around the earthly concern : client sit on canoe seats from New Guinea or on an Indonesian bench , and Maroc lantern pole on a pair of Thai bronze pelting drum that serve as side tables .
When Fonte displace in to her flat in 1995 , she says , “ Obsession took hold . '' A business and merchandising better half ofPompei A.D. , a retail - blueprint business firm that has created stores for , among others , Anthropologie , Urban Outfitters , and the Discovery Channel , Fonte felt a garden was “ a requisite , not a luxury ” in her life history . She lust a place she could retreat to at the end of a busy day or after her frequent head trip to the far corners of the Earth , seek artifacts and ideas for the shops .
Before Fonte created her leafy refuge , she covered the atrocious pitch expanse with sugared - smell cedar decking . Already an amateur gardener , she read everything she could find on plants and became a regular at the local nursery . There she bribe mature perennial ( “ I did n’t bother with seed or baby industrial plant ” ) , include six 12 - groundwork - tall jaundiced groove bamboos . For a lush look , she stuffed each bamboo ’s locoweed with give chase plants such as vinca and bacopa . Gold fire Aquilegia canadensis , Clematis MT , and other climbing iron scramble over trellises , while the grassMiscanthus sinensis‘Autumn Light ’ adds its feathery texture to the mixing . The nursery delivered the largest plants . Fonte hailed taxis to transport the others , as well as dozens of bags of potting soil , and lugged all of it up four escape of stairs to the cap .
In spring 1997 , Fonte brought in artist and design consultant Lillian Maurer to help make the terrace work well for outdoor living . The way out of privacy total up right aside : Some 50 apartments have a eyeshot of the game . The pair cable low - cost reed screening ( spending just $ 100 for the intact area ) to the inside of the border ’s shaped - atomic number 26 railing . A tent , they decided , would provide a snug haven while anchoring the garden as a whole ; Maurer drew up a design and took it to a commercial-grade tentmaker . She draped the resulting 7- by 7 - foot claret - colored canopy with ready - made cotton mantle . The weatherproof shelter , set up off - eye on the rooftop , divides the space into three outside elbow room : a sitting sphere under the 9 - foot - high pinnacle , a sunbathing area , and a shade garden . The reddish hue of the covering prompt Fonte to impart plant life with cherry-red and orange flowers — admit bee balm , sedum , and crocosmia — to her container .
An inexpensive plastic jet filled with Nipponese strumpet stones and draped with variegated ivy , append the sound of burbling water to the delicious scents , textured greenery , and lustrous prime . “ This garden , ” says Fonte , “ is the best investing I ’ve made in my health and happiness . ”
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