When we moved into our home in 2018, our backyard was… sand.
Flat. Beige. Empty. A true blank slate.

Fast forward a few years, and we’re standing in that same garden — cameras rolling — filming two full episodes of Garden Smart TV. Still feels surreal to type that.

Garden Smart traveled to Albany, New York to tour our private backyard garden, talk through our design philosophy, and dig into the real process behind how this space came together — mistakes, lessons, evolution and all.

If you’ve ever looked at a finished garden and wondered “How did it actually start?” or “How did they figure all of this out?” — this episode was made for you.

👉 Watch the episodes here:
• Episode 1
• Episode 2

Here are a few behind the scenes photos from filming:

From a Blank Slate to a Living Garden

When our house was built, it came with a basic landscaping package — the kind that technically checks the box but doesn’t really do anything. We knew almost immediately that it wasn’t what we wanted.

We weren’t gardeners at the time. We didn’t grow up gardening.
So we did what so many people do now — we went to the internet.

We watched YouTube. We watched Garden Smart. We paid attention to how gardens made us feel. Privacy, softness, movement, surprise — those became our guiding ideas.

One of our first major decisions was planting a long hedge of Limelight hydrangeas along the west side of our property to create privacy in a brand-new neighborhood with zero trees. That hedge taught us a lot — and years later, we made the tough decision to remove it and completely reimagine that space (don’t worry, every hydrangea was rehomed and lived happily ever after).

Designing a Garden That Feels Good to Live In

One of the biggest themes we talked about during the Garden Smart episodes was designing for real life.

We wanted:

• Privacy without fences feeling harsh
• Curves to soften our very square, contemporary home
• Views from inside the house, not just when you’re standing in the yard
• A garden that unfolds in layers, with little moments of surprise

We rely heavily on:

• Curvilinear beds to create flow
• Anchor plants (trees + evergreens) for structure
• Repetition in the background, so we can play more in the foreground
• Intentional vignettes that connect the whole garden together

One design rule we return to again and again is making sure each vignette includes a mix of foliage colors — blues, chartreuse, deep greens, purples — plus an evergreen for year-round structure. Those small guidelines make the garden feel cohesive even as it continues to evolve.

Learning as We Go (And Sharing What We Wish We’d Known)

Something Garden Smart host Eric Johnson touched on — and something we feel strongly about — is how much gardening education now happens online.

Our YouTube channel was never planned. It started accidentally, with photos on Instagram and a desire to document what we were learning. Over time, it became more intentional — but the goal stayed the same:

👉 Create the content we wish we had as beginner gardeners.

Things like:

• How big a plant was when we planted it
• How long it took to reach its current size
• What didn’t work
• How much maintenance something actually requires

We’re gardeners first who happen to create content — not the other way around.

Maintenance, Mindset, and Making It Sustainable

This garden isn’t maintained by a crew.
It’s a weekend hobby.

Some of the biggest game-changers for us:

• Planting densely so weeds don’t have space to germinate
• Drip irrigation to remove a huge maintenance burden
• Compost instead of bark mulch to improve sandy soil
• Weekly routines instead of constant upkeep

But maybe the most important thing?
Shifting from “I have to tend the garden” to “I get to take care of the garden.”

That mindset changes everything.

The Garden Is Never “Done” — And That’s the Point

One of the recurring themes in both Garden Smart episodes is that gardens are living, evolving spaces. Even when a project feels finished, it’s really just the beginning of the next chapter.

Plants grow. Tastes change. Lessons accumulate.

And honestly? That’s what makes it so rewarding.

Being able to share our garden — and the story behind it — on Garden Smart was an honor we don’t take lightly. We’re incredibly grateful to the Garden Smart team, and even more grateful to this community that’s grown alongside us.

Here are those links again if you haven't watched yet! 

👉 Watch the episodes here:
• Episode 1
• Episode 2

And if you’re building a garden of your own — whether it’s brand new or decades old — we hope these episodes remind you that every beautiful garden starts somewhere.

Usually with sand.

Thanks for growing with us!

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