Upper West Side Terrace with Pergola
Fifth Avenue Penthouse Overlooking Central Park
Battery Park, Manhattan Backyard Terrace Garden
Manhattan Backyard with Hot Tub Jacuzzi
161 Hicks backyard_reduced .jpg
WEBSITE VERSION 150_W_82nd_08-31-23__DSC8973 (1).jpg
131_E_81st_#5 Reduced.jpg 
who we are

Birch and Basil Design is a boutique, Manhattan-based landscape design firm specializing in the urban domain of rooftop gardens, terraces, and backyards. We believe nature and landscapes provide life-changing benefits

Terrace with fiberglass planters, tall birch trees, hydrangeas, a perennial garden, green roof, porcelain pavers, landscape lighting, luxury lighting, automatic irrigation, luxury furniture and restoration hardware furniture 
Featured Work

Terraces for a Financial Services Firm

These amenity terraces for employees are ideal locations for alfresco meetings, lunches and the like. Work is better when you can do it under a tree!

43 Great Jones before & after .jpg
43 Great Jones best daytime pic.jpg
43 Great Jones best nighttime pic.jpg
Kristin Monji, Principal and Founder of Birch and Basil Design 
Our Story

Hi, I’m Kristin

The principal, Kristin Monji, brings a California sensibility to East Coast gardens, having spent her formative years climbing trees and exploring orange groves in Southern California. Kristin is a landscape designer, horticulturist and certified arborist from Orange County, California. She is a graduate of the University of California, Irvine. 

Clients we worked with
Fasano Fifth Avenue logo.png
Screen Shot 2023-01-10 at 9.56.16 AM.png
Lenox Hill Hospital logo.jpeg
Screen Shot 2023-01-10 at 9.54.44 AM.png
Screen Shot 2023-01-10 at 10.03.28 AM.png
Screen Shot 2023-01-10 at 9.57.35 AM.png
Maxx Properties logo.png
RITM_BIG-ee969dad.png
Newrez_640x360.jpg

  • Chelsea Terrace

    Modern Lantern House Building Terrace Garden

    Portfolio
  • Rooftop garden and NYC penthouse terrace with views of new york city, tall trees, potted plants, flowers, outdoor kitchen and gas grill, landscape lighting and luxury patio furniture

    Upper West Side Penthouse

    This penthouse terrace runs the full length of the apartment, so we started out with the vision of making the terrace truly feel like an extension of the indoor space, just a few steps away. We created outdoor living, dining and kitchen areas, complete with a gas grill, surrounded by a garden of trees, evergreens and perennials.

    View Portfolio

Featured Video: Upper East Side Penthouse

2023 Projects Before & After Video

Watch the before and after transformations from five of our favorite projects from 2023.

  • Manhattan townhouse garden with cascading ivy and a facade with planters and window boxes

    Casa Cruz Townhouse

    We did ivy on ivy on ivy at this gorgeous beaux arts townhouse on East 61st Street for Casa Cruz. Five terraces and a rooftop full of greenery for guests to enjoy. Recently opened in NYC, Casa Cruz is known as an iconic A-list hangout in London and Buenos Aires.

  • Brooklyn heights backyard garden with custom cedar benches and seating, built in planters and an outdoor kitchen

    Brooklyn Heights Backyard Renovation

    This Brooklyn Heights townhouse got the full outdoor renovation treatment that included a new patio, custom built in cedar seating and planters, an outdoor kitchen with soapstone counters and a cozy raised seating area/deck under a fifty year old dogwood tree. We kept some of the mature plantings and layered in lots of new perennials and larger pieces to complete the look.