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Photo by : Maura Mcevoy .
Allison Fonte ’s predilection in plants are as eclectic as her preference in furnishings . American creep phlox thrives beneath Asiatic bamboo ; there are Japanese paint fern in one corner of her Manhattan rooftop haven , European raving mad gingers in another . They ’re all grow in an external raiment of containers — streak black terra - cotta pots from Mexico , matte black Israeli urn , and non-white brown Indonesian cadaver vessels — group around a tent that ’s tally out with objects from around the macrocosm : Guests sit on canoe seats from New Guinea or on an Indonesian bench , and Maroc lanterns rod on a pair of Thai bronze pelting drums that serve as side tables .
When Fonte affect in to her apartment in 1995 , she enunciate , “ Obsession took cargo area . '' A business and marketing partner ofPompei A.D. , a retail - design firm that has create stores for , among others , Anthropologie , Urban Outfitters , and the Discovery Channel , Fonte matte up a garden was “ a necessary , not a sumptuousness ” in her life sentence . She craved a place she could retreat to at the end of a busybodied day or after her frequent trip-up to the far corners of the Earth , seeking artifact and idea for the workshop .
Before Fonte make her leafy resort , she covered the horrifying tar expanse with sweet - smelling cedar tree decking . Already an amateur nurseryman , she read everything she could find on flora and became a regular at the local baby’s room . There she bought matured perennials ( “ I did n’t chafe with seminal fluid or baby plants ” ) , including six 12 - foot - tall chicken groove bamboo . For a succulent look , she stuffed each bamboo ’s commode with chase after plant life such as genus Vinca and bacopa . gilt flame honeysuckle , Clematis Treasure State , and other climber shinny over trellis , while the grassMiscanthus sinensis‘Autumn Light ’ add its feathery texture to the mix . The nursery delivered the largest plants . Fonte hail taxis to transfer the others , as well as dozens of bags of pot soil , and lugged all of it up four flight of steps of stairs to the ceiling .
In outpouring 1997 , Fonte brought in artist and design adviser Lillian Maurer to help make the bench turn well for out-of-door living . The issue of privacy came up properly away : Some 50 apartments have a view of the plot of ground . The pair wired low - cost reed showing ( spending just $ 100 for the entire orbit ) to the inside of the perimeter ’s wrought - iron railing . A collapsible shelter , they decided , would allow a cosy haven while anchor the garden as a whole ; Maurer take out up a design and took it to a commercial tentmaker . She drape the resulting 7- by 7 - foundation claret - colored canopy with ready - made cotton fiber curtains . The weatherproof tax shelter , set up off - center on the rooftop , divides the infinite into three out-of-door rooms : a seat area under the 9 - foot - high acme , a sunbathing area , and a shade garden . The crimson chromaticity of the covering cheer Fonte to append plants with red and orange flowers — including bee balm , sedum , and crocosmia — to her containers .
An inexpensive plastic fountain filled with Japanese hack stones and draped with variegated English ivy , add the speech sound of burbling piddle to the delicious scents , textured greenery , and bright blooms . “ This garden , ” says Fonte , “ is the secure investment I ’ve made in my wellness and happiness . ”
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