Using An Ecological Approach To Caring For Your Landscape

Robin in the Garden is an organic land care company doing consulting, garden care and landscaping to help you maximize the enjoyment of your property. We listen to your interests and assess your yard's growing conditions during consultations, design work and yard work.

Whether you would like to do the work yourself and just need expert advice or you want us to take care of all of the details from start to finish, we will enjoy the challenge of helping you give your yard the look and feel that you desire. We emphasize the use of native and low maintenance plants in our designs to reduce your future maintenance costs and labor. We use natural and organic gardening methods to increase the health of your landscape and its surrounding ecosystem.

Client Comments for Robin in the Garden

Certified Organic Land Care Professional

Connecticut Master Gardener

Ecological Landscape Alliance

Promoting healthy ecosystems in our own yards and community

Robin in the Garden is a landscaping company specializing in organic land care with an emphasis on native and low maintenance plants in garden installations. We've specialized in organic landcare since 2010.

We stress building healthy soil and matching plants to a client’s unique soil and shade conditions to encourage healthy plants.

Robin in the Garden is a sole proprietorship run by Robin Franklin. A biologist with a Master’s Degree in Land Resources, she has been certified in Organic Land Care by the New England Farming Association (NOFA) since 2008 and a certified Connecticut Master Gardener since 2010.

Licensed & Insured
HIC# 0629924

Affiliations:

Northeast Organic Farming Association

Native Plant Trust

Connecticut Master Gardeners Association

Ecological Landscape Alliance

The Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut

Ledyard Garden Club

Phone: 860-710-4466
Email: grngrl@robininthegarden.com

Certified Organic Land Care Professional


Mission Statement:

Robin in the Garden promotes the use of healthy, organic methods of lawn and garden care for clients and for public spaces in the community.

We think holistically of the client’s land as an ecosystem. A healthy ecosystem is self-sustaining, and a healthy yard provides more pleasure with less work. It also provides places for native birds, pollinators and animals to live.

HELPFUL ORGANIZATIONS

Audubon Society: www.audubonCT.org/
Connecticut Botanical Society: www.Ct-botanical-society.org
Ecological Landscape Alliance: www.ecolandscaping.org
National Gardening Association: www.garden.org
Native Plant Trust: www.nativeplanttrust.org
Northeast Organic Farming Assn.: www.nofa.org
University of Connecticut Extension Service: www.ladybug.uconn.edu
USEPA: https://archive.epa.gov/greenacres/web/html/index.html
Wild Ones: wildones.org/chapters-2

INFORMATION ON SUSTAINABLE AND ORGANIC LAWNS AND GARDENS

Harvard's highly successful on-campus organic land care program (Click here for more information.)
EPA brochure about 'Greenscaping', environmentally healthy landscaping and yard care (Click here for more information.)
EPA info about composting, sustainable landscaping, etc. (Click here for more information.)
EPA brochure about the environmental costs of current lawn practices and the benefits of sustainable landscaping practices, including reducing lawn size, gardening with native plants and reducing or eliminating synthetic fertilizers and pesticides (Click here for more information.)
Many links and resources concerning sustainable landscaping from the Audubon Society (Click here for more information.)
University of Connecticut Extension Service has lots of information about gardening with native plants as well as soil testing information (Click here for more information.)
Ecological Landscape Alliance (Click here for more information.)

VEGETABLE GARDENING

Lots of links to good organic gardening information from the Connecticut branch of NOFA (Click here for more information.)
National Gardening Association has a very complete pest library with good weed and insect pictures. Also important, pictures of beneficial insects! Its good to keep them in the garden! (Click here for more information.)
National Gardening Association vegetable gardening guidance (Click here for more information.)
University of Connecticut Extension Service has lots of information about vegetable gardening as well as soil testing information (Click here for more information.)

HEALTHY SOILS

U Conn Soil testing information (Click here for more information.)
U Mass Soil testing information (Click here for more information.)

WEED IDENTIFICATION AND CONTROL

National Gardening Association Weed Library Click here for more information.)

BENEFICIAL INSECTS and INSECT PESTS

National Gardening Association has a very complete pest library with good weed and insect pictures. Also important, pictures of beneficial insects! Its good to keep them in the garden! (Click here for more information.)
Attracting butterflies (Click here for more information.)

Robin in the Garden provides organic land care of clients' landscapes as well as consulting, planning and installation services for improvements in clients' yards and gardens.

The array of services includes:
  • Design and Installation of New Gardens
  • Consultation about organic land care and strategies for making landscape improvements that will increase your enjoyment of your yard.
  • Staging home landscapes for sale
  • Garden Improvements
  • Soil testing and interpretation
  • Spring clean-up- removal of dead leaves and plant material, planting, transplanting, fertilization, mulching, pruning and edging as necessary.
  • Summer maintenance, weekly or biweekly.
  • Fall Garden Clean-up
  • Vacation Care package—watering, weeding, weekly or bi-weekly.

Connecticut Master Gardener

Phone: 860-710-4466

Email: grngrl@robininthegarden.com


Ecological Landscape Alliance Member

WHY ORGANIC?

It is very satisfying to have a beautiful yard! It can be even more satisfying if you know that it is benefitting birds, wildlife, the natural world and the quality of our drinking and swimming water.

SYNTHETIC vs. NATURAL FERTILIZERS

When we put natural fertilizers on our yards, they build up the quality of our soil and make the plants that grow on it healthier and more insect and disease resistant. We end up with a healthier environment for people, plants, and wild animals.

If we use synthetic fertilizers, they often provide more nutrients than our soil and plants can readily absorb, leading to damaging run-off into our water supply. They can also damage natural beneficial organisms that are trying to build healthy soil.

ORGANIC vs. SYNTHETIC PESTICIDES

With organic pest control, When we do encounter a pest problem, if we are careful to use more benign methods of control, such as physical traps, soap or oil solutions, we will see very little collateral damage.

When we use synthetic pesticides, they very often can cause harm to humans and pets and kill beneficial insects that were feeding on pests https://ct.audubon.org/reduce-pesticides

Organic land care can be simple rather than complicated or mysterious. Managing your land in a way that makes your plants healthy and happy makes them strong enough to outcompete many problem weeds and insect pests.

There are many private organizations and government offices that recognize the power of organic methods and have lots of helpful information about how to do it (see our Resources tab). You can be rewarded with the sight of native bees, butterflies and birds sharing your landscape and with the knowledge that you are helping make the world a healthier place!

Phone: 860-710-4466
Email: grngrl@robininthegarden.com