Gardenessa
~ is a team of creative landscape gardeners brought together by Kristina Stykos, a musician and record producer whose warm season day-job has been gardening for two decades. Collectively they have beautified gardens and landscapes in many Vermont and Upper Valley towns, including homes and estates in Barnard, Bethel, Brookfield, Burlington, Chelsea, Corinth, Dummerston, Etna, Fayston, Ferrisburg, Hanover, Lincoln, Lyme, Middlebury, Newfane, Norwich, Pittsfield, Pomfret, Quechee, Randolph Center, Sharon, South Woodstock, Shelburne, Thetford, Vershire, Weybridge, Windsor and Woodstock as well as a handful further afield.
With an eye for composition, extensive knowledge of regional plants and a respect for the deeper spiritual implications of landscaping, they make a formidable team. They have traipsed the woods with shovels in search of native ferns, tended diverse gardens attentively through the often not-so-delicate seasonal shifts that affect plant populations, and set stones as focal point and backdrop to the almost-wilderness that is the north country. Each member of the group brings unique talents and an extensive background of on-the-job know-how; they all share an indefatigable love of hard work.
For Gardenessa, the process of collaborating with clients - supporting their dreams and practical considerations - is all part of a satisfying day's work. For in the end, a garden is much more than a garden. It's a relationship between its creators, its inhabitants, its visitors and the unpredictable energies of the natural world.