2 minute read
ENTREPRENEUR
Start me up
American Joe Ingenito runs a landscape gardening business in Brussels with a largely expat clientele
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© Elena Giampaoli
After moving from San Francisco to Brussels in 2005, I launched Urban Gardens in 2008 with an ad in The Bulletin when it was a weekly magazine. As a sole proprietor, only employing seasonal consultants, it has been quite rewarding over the years to see the business grow from nothing. Our concept is to bring high-quality, maintainable design to private and commercial settings. We specialise in greening urban spaces with the creative use of containers, planting, paving and vertical gardens. We provide one-time design and installation, consultations, general garden care and regular maintenance to refresh outdoor spaces with colour and interest for every season. I do a lot of terrace work and try to bring nature to the urban environment. For container gardening, I like mixing edibles with annuals. I think geraniums are still one of the best reliable annuals available. Even though they’re quite common, they can be used with other plants for a truly unique look. Mix them and other flowering annuals with herbs, grasses and leafy vegetables such as rainbow chard. When planting in pots, use the largest size possible – your plants will be happier and you can have a greater variety and mix. Layer the pots by size and height to create a natural feel.
During lockdown, people have been spending more time at home and appreciating their outside space. Lack of light is one of the biggest problem for gardens in Brussels, but with proper orientation and use of plants, terraces can be more lush than many gardens. Even if you have a garden, I recommend growing produce in a raised bed for better drainage and to prevent soil being compacted, and it makes it easier
to control pests such as snails. The best tip for preventing plants from getting stressed and more susceptible to disease is to not under- or over-water. Remove diseased leaves or pests and only water at the base of the plant, into the soil, and avoid water on the leaves.
I think everyone should think of sustainable practices in their everyday lives whenever possible, not just in gardening. I try to build it into all my projects with awareness of rainwater collection, low-maintenance plants suitable for Brussels, and the re-use of materials. In a recent project, a client wanted to get rid of two old wrought iron lamp posts lying in the garden, but we recycled them by adding a planter box on top, transforming them into raised planters.
urbangardens.be
Would you like to introduce your business on these pages? Get in touch with us at expattime@ing.be
