A small unkempt urban back yard shared by two condominiums presented a blank slate for a series of new outdoor rooms for the owners who wanted a wonderful shared garden.

Turning in on itself, this new garden is paved with dark manganese brick and densely planted to the fence that now encloses the space. The landscape design is a collaborative effort between Sarah Nettleton and Tom Rose, a nationally recognized Minnesota artist. Nettleton also remodeled the upstairs condominium, creating a link with a window seat in the bedroom that is reoriented to face the garden.

The two private garden rooms, each with a terrace, are organized by Rose’s granite sculptures and separated by lush perennial and shrub plantings. In the winter, the stones and paved areas blanketed by snow appear as sculpture.