Exploring Chicago’s Nooks and Crannies

by Heather Prince The Chicago motto is Urbs in Horto —“City in a Garden.” Today more residents people are taking advantage of any corner of outdoor space to add garden experiences to their lives. Himsben Design Studio gave an engaging presentation to iLandscape 2022 on the challenges and rewards of creating tiny garden spaces in the urban environment. We sat down for a chat to dig into the details with Clare Johnson, ASLA, Director of Design & Marketing.

Defining small

When it comes to city lots, all of them are considered small by most landscaping standards. But how ‘small’ is that, really? “To us, small, is a standard Chicago backyard which is around 500 to 600 square feet,” says Johnson. “For those, we see a boatload of potential. We consider spaces tiny if they are anything under that, down to a balcony which was 50 square feet. For that project, we installed containers, seating, and plants to maximize a space for a client in a high rise downtown.” These small outdoor spaces became critical during the COVID restrictions for giving people places for fresh air, sunshine, and a way to be social safely. Himsben saw a dramatic increase in calls as people started looking at their yards and thinking critically about how to make the most use of those spaces. “We had so many city clients contacting us in 2020 because outdoors was the only way they felt safe gathering with people,” reported Johnson. “We created many little, intimate gathering spaces for people so they could celebrate birthdays, holidays, and so forth. They’d even pull out the outdoor heaters for an extended season.”

Small gardens must be multi-functional to be feasible in an urban situation where the space is restricted. Large suburban lots can accommodate different areas for entertaining, play equipment, growing food, meditation and more. In a city lot, you pack it all into the same area. “The benefit of small spaces is that they can be so multi-functional,” observed Johnson. “Many times, our client’s small area needs to function as a gathering space, a play space, a dog space, plus it is also the thoroughfare into the house, and might be the only one. It needs to be low maintenance in the city and very easily upkept. Often, people see these small spaces and don’t think you can do much with it. We present other opportunities and creatively think about how to create an outdoor space where all that’s possible and looks good.”

The Himsben team is focused on finding the best solutions to the small spaces of a city environment. “We pride ourselves on finding a solution,” stressed Johnson. “We do have a project minimum, yet we are mindful of the financial needs of clients. We want to work with a wide range of homeowners and meet

our clients where they’re at in respect to budget. We have to be truth-tellers sometimes. We tell them to send us their inspiration and Pinterest boards, and sometimes we have to coach them through what’s really doable. We feel strongly about education as well. We like to be that source to demystify landscaping for people as best we can.”

Keeping it social

Because of client requests for entertaining or social spaces, most of Himsben’s designs have hardscape elements. “Maybe it’s a city-thing, but some sort of patio gathering space is in 90% of our projects,” says Johnson. And because most of these outdoor spaces are in densely built environments, it can feel a bit like a fishbowl in terms of privacy. “We work with a lot of vertical elements since we’re working in smaller square footages. Things to bring aesthetics and privacy and interest up from the ground level. We work with a couple of companies for durable custom planters that will fit into small spaces. We call it a ‘soft border’ utilizing plants or plants in planters to create a sense of privacy and softness without being harsh. We also create a lot of decorative screening. In the project featured at iLandscape, we created a custom privacy wall and built ipe wood planters on it to soften that edge so it doesn’t feel so stark.”

Working within a heavily built environment with a long history of being developed and used presents its own set of challenges. The first challenge is working in tight spaces. City lots are constricted spaces with difficulties presented by neighboring buildings, narrow gangways, and weirdly configured alleys. “The machinery that we use, the techniques that we use, are very different because we’re working with maybe 40 to 42 inches of clearance to get into a Chicago front yard or backyard using the gangway,” reported Johnson. “So, we have the smallest equipment you can find in order to expedite the process without damaging property. We also deal a lot with the shadows that are cast by neighboring structures and the small microclimates found in the city because of the proximity and density of buildings.” The Himsben crews work on a tight timeline and get creative on staging projects, so materials are on site exactly when needed without necessitating storage. Installation work is scheduled so elements are completed in a day or two instead of weeks of waiting on materials or permits.

Basic care

Another challenge is water. With the roller coaster of climate change and weather becoming more extreme, rainfall has to go somewhere. “If you’re the one taking water in from your neighbors and the alley, what do you do?” mentioned Johnson. “I think that problem is universal for our area. 30 to 35% of the people that are calling us are doing so because they’re having water challenges. We get a handful of clients a year that have water cascading into their back yard. We’re working with an (continued on page 42)

(continued from page 41) institution right now in Rogers Park where their building has sunken so it creates a river every time it rains. They aren’t redoing the building, so how do we catch water, keep it off walkways, and keep it beautiful?” Himsben evaluates each site and its water situation thoroughly. “Sometimes we feel like we’re archeologists.”

A turf solution

One surprising solution to managing water has been synthetic turf. Conventional lawn often doesn’t work in deeply shaded situations, high-traffic areas where you are balancing entertaining and kids and pets, or random flooding during storms. Himsben has found that synthetic turf can be the ideal solution that is foot-friendly and engineered to move water into rain gardens or catchment systems. “In terms of softscape, if a decade ago you told me I’d be speccing so much synthetic lawn, I’d be shocked,” chuckled Johnson. “Because of climate change, because of water, we are seeing an uptick in the interest in synthetic turf. Stormwater management has created a need for a great softscape material that also provides drainage opportunities. We excavate and put down a gravel base that also acts as a catchment. We’re doing a lot of it nowadays to provide soft space, play space, dog space, and water catchment all in one.” Rain gardens have also become an important component to handling water in a beautiful and beneficial way.

We’ve negotiated the tight gangway, sorted out the random flooding, installed synthetic turf that’s foot-friendly and free draining, now what? What sorts of plants work best in small spaces with significant shade and odd mixes of microclimates? Himsben finds that in many cases, native plants offer the most benefits, hardiness, and stubborn flexibility. “We almost primarily spec native plants,” commented Johnson. “We use plants that are very drought tolerant or plants that can have some soggy feet when we’re installing rain gardens. It is largely (continued on page 44)

(continued from page 42) because clients want low maintenance and natives provide an educational opportunity to showcase beautiful beneficial plants that are also tough, resilient, and easy to care for.” Of course, sometimes a client’s aesthetic preferences may be more formal or specific and that’s when the Himsben team works to find a balance between customer desires and ecologically friendly. “We use many species that facilitate pollinators or migratory birds, plants that help support the city ecosystem. We’ve found that clients really like the fact that they can support their neighborhood ecosystem. As humans, we like to feel like we’re helping. There’s a uniqueness to the people who put their flag in the ground and own in the city and deal with the city. We often find that they want to be a part of something that’s aiding the environment. I cannot think of anyone who hasn’t had neighbors and the environment in mind when thinking about their landscapes.”

Beyond natives, many of Himsben’s

clients are also interested in growing their own food. If sunlight is plentiful, the other challenge is soil. Chicago has a long industrial past which means many soils are contaminated if they haven’t been compacted by construction. “We only grow edible plants in raised beds or planters,” reported Johnson. “We educate clients that you can absolutely control everything that goes into your planters for success in growing vegetables, herbs, and fruits. It ensures that it’s safe, because the city has a colorful history in terms of soil contaminants.”

Small spaces dictate that tree choices are small and ornamental. One of Himsben’s favorite tree choices is serviceberry for its four-season beauty, ability to handle shade, and benefits for pollinators. Japanese maples are also very popular for their elegant structure and small stature. In shade, they spec the whole range of native sedges and ferns interspersed with lowmaintenance choices like hosta and heuchera. They do incorporate evergreens but have moved away from spruce due to (continued on page 46)

(continued from page 45) its disease issues. Chamaecyparis, juniper, and shrub arborvitae add layers of winter interest and colorful texture. Hydrangeas are also a go-to choice for their durability in shade and sun. “We tend to provide a lot of color and texture. The clients want to know what the maintenance is, and cutting back once, is really what they’re willing to do,” commented Johnson.

Adding small and tiny garden spaces not only can be beneficial to your bottom line, it also creates important oases in the urban fabric and knits neighborhoods together. “I started my career at the Chicago Botanic Garden in therapy and healing spaces,” said Johnson. “The number-one thing you have to make people feel in a space is safe. Everyone deserves safe green spaces and I think that’s one of the biggest benefits of a neighborhood. And if you see someone caring for their space, you’re going to want to care about your space, as well.”

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