Kitchen Garden Design & Coaching in Inman Park
Gardening in Atlanta's first planned suburb
Inman Park was laid out in the late 1880s as Atlanta's first planned suburb, set in an oak grove with curving streets and Springvale Park at its center. It was designed as a garden from the start, and an Inman Park kitchen garden should feel like part of that design.
Much of Inman Park is a City of Atlanta historic district, so fences, walls, sheds, decks, and paving generally need a Certificate of Appropriateness before you build. In Inman Park, being visible from a park counts as much as being visible from the street. Planting generally doesn't need review, so we design the garden first and build any structures around the district's rules for your lot.
Inman Park grew up in an oak grove, and its canopy is still part of what makes these streets feel the way they do. We read your sun twice, once now and once at full leaf-out, and plan for the light your Inman Park yard will actually get. Atlanta protects its trees by law, and our designs keep them standing.
Most Inman Park homes date from the late 1800s and early 1900s, generations before the 1978 lead paint ban, and lead collects in the soil along foundations. That's one reason most of our Inman Park gardens use raised beds filled with clean soil over a barrier layer. For anything planted in the ground, we test first.
A garden for the table, and for the butterfly
Every Saturday, year-round, Freedom Farmers Market sets up at the Carter Center on the edge of Inman Park, so the staples are covered. An Inman Park garden can focus on what a market can't hold: herbs picked by the sprig, greens cut minutes before dinner, and tender varieties that don't travel.
It can also feed the neighborhood's symbol. The butterfly has been Inman Park's symbol since 1970, and you'll see it on flags and banners across the neighborhood. Many kitchen herbs double as butterfly food. Parsley, dill, and fennel are host plants for black swallowtail caterpillars, so we plant extra: some for your kitchen and some for the caterpillars. Native flowers nearby feed the adult butterflies, so your Inman Park garden feeds both you and the neighborhood's namesake.
Start your Inman Park garden with a consultation
Every Inman Park garden we design starts with a one-hour onsite consultation. We'll read your sun, plan your soil test, check what the historic district allows on your lot, and show you where edibles and pollinator plantings will thrive together. You leave with a clear plan, whether you hire us for the rest or not.
Services
Garden Consulting — A one-time, one-hour walk-through of your property with personalized recommendations you can implement yourself. Learn more →
Garden Coaching — Ongoing, one-on-one support to build your skills and solve problems as your garden grows. Learn more →
Garden Design — A detailed, scaled plan with plant lists, soil prep, and a phased implementation strategy. Learn more →
Garden Installation — Full build-out, from soil prep and bed construction to planting, so your garden is ready to grow. Learn more →
Book a 60-Minute Garden Consultation — $200
I'll walk your property with you and read what's already there — sun, soil, slope, water — while we talk through what you actually want to be eating. You'll leave with a hand-drawn sketch of where the beds go and why, and a written plan in your inbox within 48 hours: what to plant, when to plant it on Atlanta's calendar, and what to fix first. Whether you build it yourself or hire me to build it, you'll know exactly what you're building.
Tell us where you are and what you'd love to grow. After thirty years here, we've probably stood in a yard a lot like yours.