Amber Freda

Amber Freda, a modern garden designer in New York, voted "Best in New York" in 2006 by Shecky's Guides, has an interesting take on the Urban landcape New York City offers. "The more time I spend in roof gardens, the more I realize that they are never truly an escape from the city at all. The garden begins to insinuate itself into the greater backdrop of the city it lives in. The tall, columnar shapes of coniferous trees start to resemble buildings, even their staggered heights can be arranged in such a way as to create a living skyline in the foreground that mimics the city’s skyline behind it.

The gardens I design are somewhat paradoxical in the sense that they must at once escape the city and be inspired by it. Reminders of the city are all around us, with skyscrapers peeking out above the trees and railings and reinforcements on the structure of the roof that remind us of the ever-present and intrinsically precarious nature of life in the sky.

In this way, the roof garden is an extension of the city itself. Much like a living shadow, it may be quieter, softer, more mysterious and wild than the thing it is reflecting, but it is inextricably tied to the city as well. A roof garden can never be truly absent from the pulse of the city around it. Its very existence is dependent on the city’s being there as well. The city is what lends shape, character, and context to the garden. Everything that exists in the garden lives in a relationship with the city in some way, and a well-designed garden is ever conscious of this emerging dynamic."

She, and her team have worked for many notable indivisuals and companies, including former Texas governor Ann Richards, Robert De Niro, Ralph Lauren, Barry Diller, Mathias Hermes, Mercedes Benz, and Pfizer. Recent projects include Manhattan roof gardens, a 40’ tall vertical garden near Gramercy Park, courtyard gardens for co-ops in midtown New York, estate gardens in the suburbs, and numerous other private landscapes.

From her website: "My firm specializes in the design, installation, and care of urban gardens, such as roof gardens, terraces, courtyards, brownstones, container gardens, and flower gardens."

Her motivation to create roof gardens is beautiful, and environmentally responsible, as converting roofs into gardens, particularly green roofs, can reduce heat building up in the building, and the notorus 'urban heat island effect', which makes cities notably warmer than the surrounding suburbs. Vertical gardens and Living walls are a perfect for small or dark spaces, as illustrated at Chelsea this year.