How a Designer of Outdoor Spaces Spends His Sundays

reprinted from the NYTimes 11.13.2010. writer: Tammy La Gorce /photos by Anna Watts

Todd Haiman will often go for a hike outside of the city or visit the Brooklyn Botanic Garden for inspiration.

Since the onset of the pandemic, the landscape designer Todd Haiman has received “a ton” of calls from New Yorkers with terraces, yards and balconies and the means to transform them into wondrous fresh-air escapes.

“We’re looking to create an atmosphere for clients akin to a sanctuary, whether they want to read, have cocktails or simply appreciate a sense of nature within the urban environment.,” he said. Once a project has been completed, he and his team of gardeners maintain it through the seasons and years to provide a sense of continuity and stability.

Mr. Haiman, 60, grew up in Mill Basin, Brooklyn, and lives in Lower Manhattan’s South Street Seaport area with his wife, Elyssa Rubin, a chief financial officer who is between jobs.

COFFEE, BOOK

 I wake up at 7, take a shower and have some muesli and fruit and a cup of black coffee. I’m quiet because my wife loves to sleep late. Early morning is one of my favorite times to read, because my mind is pretty blank, pretty relaxed. Is absorptive a word? That’s how my mind is. Right now I’m appreciating “Caste” by Isabel Wilkerson, which is in fact a serious read. When I want something less intense I’ll read about plant materials, more natural things.

THE GARDEN CONSULT

Typically I will visit a property or a design site and analyze it. Sometimes the client is there, sometimes they’re not. Essentially I’m looking to present to them an idea of how to make the most of their space. I’m getting a sense of who they anticipate will be the users of this space, and how can I create something that works for them functionally. One client is 30 Warren, a building in TriBeCa. They understand that the outdoors is a sanctuary, and if you bring in extensions of nature, people are more relaxed. It affects them psychologically.

RESULTS

I have one client who, as soon as his space was completed, started taking his office calls and doing deals out on the terrace garden. He told me how happy he was to be in a place he actually wanted to spend time in. I felt so good hearing that. Several years ago I did a brownstone in Park Slope for a husband and wife who wanted their space to feel like a walk through the French countryside. Well, I know Brooklyn, grew up there and it’s definitely not the French countryside. But.. what you can do is take the essence of, the inspiration of, colors, plant material, sense of flowing water thru specific features to create that that atmosphere. That challenge was incredibly satisfying!

SUBWAY DIVERSIONS 

When I’m not at a site visit sometimes I’m managing gardeners. I take the subway. I listen to podcasts. There’s one called “Wind of Change.” It’s where there’s a rock song that was supposedly written by the C.I.A. that may have led to bringing down the Berlin Wall and communism falling. I don’t know if it’s true, but it’s cool. I’m also looking at the family group chat. There’s about 20 people on it. We do a lot of sharing of political jokes and accomplishments throughout the day.

DATE WITH NATURE

When I get home I’ll make my wife brunch, and together we might watch clips from “Saturday Night Live” from the previous night. Then we take off for nature. We might visit my daughter in Connecticut and hike some trails there. It helps me with work. If you’re perceptive and attend to what’s going on in nature, throughout the seasonal cycles, that knowledge can inform your work. Right now I’m excited over the deep reds and purples, blues of maples, viburnums and asters .

FORESTS IN THE CITY

Sometimes I’ll run over to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden with a friend who’s a bit of a “plant-nerd,” like myself.. The New York Botanical Garden is grand, there are acres of original forests there. It feels primeval, like bathing in nature. However, BBG is manageable in a day - due to it’s organization of '“garden rooms.” It'’s a completely transportive place to walk through.

LOVE CODA 

Depending on who I’m with, my wife and I may go out for dinner. Some friends are OK with eating out at a restaurant with an outdoor space, and some do not have the same comfort level. We all need to be respectful of one another during the pandemic. Then my wife and I will watch a film on Netflix, maybe an old black and white movie. I’m a big Orson Welles fan. Before bedtime, one of us will go on the Peloton bike while the other one practices yoga. Yoga’s important to me, I prefer to practice it late — it’s a nice way to end the day. Midnight is my bedtime. I do have a ritual: Before we go to bed, we have to kiss each other good night and say, ‘I love you.’ My wife is incredibly special. Every day she makes me feel blessed.

Sunday Routine readers can follow Todd Haiman on Twitter @thgardendesign or on Instagram @toddhaimanlandscapedesign.