Pittsburgh Courtyard Garden
Community Space for Church of the Ascension and its Neighbors
Making room for rest in the city
I was invited in 2023 as a garden designer to help create a plan for the recycled stone that was removed during remodeling at Church of the Ascension in Pittsburgh, PA.
Right around that time, I had also happened to listen to some new research on using the edges of property spaces to invite neighboring community in. I immediately thought about our church property and what an opportunity it has in a built-up area in the city of Pittsburgh. The North Oakland neighborhood is the busy site of several universities and graduate schools, teeming with students and professors alike. It is also in the middle of the hospital and medical research communities in Pittsburgh. So this property, used well, could be a blessing to hundreds every day, in addition to the large congregation of over 500 strong that gathers here to worship each Sunday.
It has been a beautiful process to have support from my family (including my husband and all three teens) and our Garden Collaborative for work days last November as we began the hard labor of removing the compacted turf by hand, regrading the site, wheelbarrowing tons of dirt indoors (for more gardens!) and using our topsoil to build the garden beds areas.
I like it best when work is done in a sustainable manner so that everything you do contributes to a total gain for the property as a whole. All of our topsoil was recycled, so that we did not need to bring any in, all of the stone was used in an adapted design for the walls, and permeable paving was used to decrease the risk of flooding while also giving a safe surface that will stand up to extreme city foot traffic.
So lets take a look at Before & After in the Courtyard at Church of the Ascension…
Before: 2024
Recycled Stone
The Planting Plan
New Walls from Recycled Stone: 2025
It is not at all easy to build a formal wall from recycled stone, but my husband
did a beautiful job! He was apprenticed to a mason many years ago, before he left that line of work for editing, writing children’s nature stories, and marketing. But he dusted off his old tool kit for me to make this design come to life at the Church of the Ascension. Isn’t it beautiful?
Prepping for planting
While James finished the walls, I worked to rake out the planting beds that surround the Courtyard. I put in a few stakes where the trees will be placed:
My Garden
By Thomas Edward Brown
A garden is a lovesome thing, God wot!
Rose plot,
Fringed pool,
Ferned grot --
The veriest school
Of peace; and yet the fool
Contends that God is not --
Not God! in gardens! when the eve is cool?
Nay, but I have a sign:
'Tis very sure God walks in mine.
The Children’s Garden
This small area tucked back into the shelter of the building seemed to me the perfect place to invite tired parents to take a rest while watching their small children totter about. The large stones in the second photo are well secured in the ground, and the smaller pile will be used a decor around the garden beds. This area still needs a coat of pea gravel to protect little feet from the durable limestone that makes the base.
See more of the planting plan and mood board on my Pinterest account for: Church of the Ascension Stone Courtyard & Children’s Garden
The Contemplation Garden
Inside the church building is a garden that is surrounded by glass on three sides and stone on the south. It is a terrarium sort of garden, and a quiet retreat from city life. It was a shambles when we started with it last fall, and it too has a gravel walkway and still needs all of its green plants. In here, the palette will be green and shady, with many woodland garden favorites.
See more of the planting plan and mood board on my Pinterest account for: Church of the Ascension Contemplation Garden.
Before:
In Progress: this March
Looking forward to sharing After photos this summer when the planting is in!
Q: Would your church and community enjoy having gardens like these outside? Love to hear!
Want help with your garden plans this year?
Fill out a Garden Owner’s Form on my design website, Julie Witmer.com, so that we can schedule a garden teleconference this spring! I work with clients all around the US and help them with everything from small questions about planting to large remodels and total designs. I will be sharing a few more of my garden designs here on JWG this year, but you can find a larger portfolio here.
Related posts:
I have shared some thoughts previously on Gardens as Sacred Spaces in my video class, which is available to all JWG paid subscribers.
This so lovely! As a Christ lover and garden designer, this fills my heart with joy that you are beautifying this sacred space. Side note, my husband is getting into stone work, so there’s that also. The walls look lovely and I look forward to seeing pics of the finished results.
I’m loving your work. I’m anxious to see the progress and completion, even though a garden is never finished. Thank you.