Kitchen Garden Design & Coaching in Ormewood Park
Ormewood Park was farmland first
Most of Ormewood Park was working farmland until the 1890s, when a new trolley line arrived and the first building lots went up for sale. Today's streets of Victorians, Craftsman bungalows, and postwar ranches sit on that old farmland, and an Ormewood Park kitchen garden puts a little of it back to work.
The rules here are simpler than next door. Unlike neighboring Grant Park, Ormewood Park isn't a City of Atlanta historic district, so a fence, shed, or greenhouse doesn't go through historic design review. The city's standard zoning rules still apply, and we confirm what applies to your address before we design anything.
Ormewood Park's tree-lined streets are part of what makes it feel like a small town inside the city. We read your sun twice, once now and once at full leaf-out, and plan for the light your yard will actually get. Atlanta protects its trees by law, and our designs keep them standing.
Nearly every older home in Ormewood Park was built before the 1978 lead paint ban, and lead collects in the soil along foundations. That's one reason most of our Ormewood Park gardens use raised beds filled with clean soil over a barrier layer. For anything planted in the ground, we test first.
Two markets nearby, and a kitchen garden for what they can't sell you
Ormewood Park sits between two good farmers markets: East Atlanta Village's on Thursday evenings and Grant Park's on Sunday mornings at The Beacon. With the staples covered, an Ormewood Park garden can grow what's best picked straight from the plant: tomatoes ripened on the vine, herbs by the handful, and greens cut minutes before dinner.
On a sunny Ormewood Park lot, it can also grow something longer-lasting. Rabbiteye blueberries are native to Georgia and the best choice for a home garden here. Plant two or more varieties so they pollinate each other, give them the acidic soil they like, and a few bushes along a sunny fence will produce fruit for years. You may need a net to keep the birds from getting there first. It's a small return to the neighborhood's farm roots.
Start your Ormewood Park garden with a consult
Every Ormewood Park garden we design starts with a one-hour visit. We'll read your sun, plan your soil test, confirm the city's rules for your lot, and show you what will thrive in your yard, from the first herb bed to the blueberry hedge. 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.