The design for this 4-acre property on North Sea Harbor combines modern architecture and ecological restoration. The project has been published widely in books and periodicals, including Architectural Digest, and received honors from the American Society of Landscape Architects and the American Institute of Architects.

Seventeen stories above Park Avenue a drab Manhattan rooftop has been transformed into an elegant 2,500 sf sculpture garden. The design balances private living spaces for people on the roof with wide-open areas for the artwork to be seen from the taller buildings surrounding the garden.

Stone walls crisscross this 5-acre property to separate the house on the upland portion from a restored freshwater wetland below. The landscape program adjacent to the residence includes terraces on two levels, a new pool, two arbor structures, a vegetable garden and a play area. 

Out-of-keeping ornamental plantings have been replaced with groves of white pine, green hawthorn and downy serviceberry trees. Hundreds of Norway maple trees and other invasive plants were removed from the low-lying wetland. Oak, tupleo, sassafras, black willow, other native tree and shrub species and a wildflower meadow were then planted as part of the Town-approved restoration plan. 

A single row of multi-stem birch trees in stainless steel boxes are the primary planting on this widely-published minimalist Manhattan rooftop garden. Two pots, one of lantana and the other of hinoki cypress, provide accents. A wood deck and Richard Schultz furniture complete the refined outdoor living space.

Built during the 1950s on an abandoned quarry overlooking the Long Island Sound, this modern residence and the surrounding landscape have been extensively restored.  The project was published in the New York Times Magazine.

This widely-published project combines a 19th century school and adjoining townhouse into a painter's studio and residence. The landscape design includes extensive street tree plantings and four terrace gardens on the upper floors.

In 2010, R/F Principal Jonathan Farber completed the six-month apprenticeship in organic farming and gardening at the University of California Santa Cruz, Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS). The UCSC Farm and the Alan Chadwick Garden are internationally recognized sites for training and research in organic horticulture and agriculture.

Wellaway is the name of the 176-acre biodynamic farm owned and operated by R/F. The land is half forest and half fields with two protected streams running through on their way to Catskill Creek and the Hudson River. Livestock will graze on pasture for meat, dairy and fiber; the woods are managed for timber production; five acres will be tilled for vegetables, row crops, flowers and fruit; and experiments will test various methods of land stewardship.

Three mature trees -- a pin oak, a birch and a yellowwood -- anchor this lovely little city garden.  The same refined slate found throughout the seven-story townhouse is used in the garden for paving and two water features.  The upper fountain is a puddle dished from the stone.  It fills automatically and the overflow waters the plants.  A waterfall wall of corbelled slate courses accentuates the grade change between the upper garden level and a sunken kitchen courtyard.

Upstairs, on the penthouse level, turn-coated copper boxes on the south and north terraces are planted with bamboo, birch and feather reed grass. Multi-stem shad trees under-planted with lilyturf adorn the front of the house.

Tucked behind a dune on the Atlantic Ocean and beside a large fresh water pond, the landscape plan for this site deftly balances modern architecture, ecological restoration and production farming.

Located on a broad sweep of hillside in Columbia County, this 42-acre property has a commanding view across a valley of dairy farms, open pastures and woodlands to the Berkshires beyond. We collaborated with the clients and their architects to site the main residence, outbuildings, swimming pool, gardens and the approach road. Equal parts forest and meadow, both have been improved to increase habitat and species diversity and halt the intrusion of aggressive invasive plants. We dug ponds and utilized existing wetlands to retain and filter storm water runoff before it reaches a stream running across the lowlands.

High above Central Park, and overlooking the Sheep Meadow, this 4,000 sf roof garden also has striking views to Lincoln Center and the Hudson River to the west. The simple organization of the space is pleasing, especially when seen from the perch of the small penthouse floating above the garden.

A red brick path passing through a series of garden rooms connects the main residence and a handful of small cottages developed along a very long and narrow two-acre lot overlooking Tiana Bay on Long Island's south shore.

A path of slate stepping stones cuts through a postage-stamp-sized garden and connects a town house with a separate spa building out back. The focal point is a single Japanese maple and tall Hakone grass sways easy in the summer breeze and turns golden brown during the winter.

Metal planters on a generous kitchen terrace are stuffed to the gills with quirky-looking aloe vera during the summer and filled with cedar boughs and Alberta spruce for the holidays. The front of the house, including a new sidewalk and tree pit, matches the existing streetscape. Simple metal window boxes hanging on the front elevation are planted very plainly with deep green lilyturf.