The Plant Gallery designs, plants, and maintains gardens in Uptown and the Garden District. The Garden District earned its name, and so did Uptown. These are some of the most storied gardens in New Orleans: formal courtyards, wrought-iron fences draped in fig vine, camellias, and sweet olive growing under a century-old live-oak canopy along St. Charles Avenue. Landscaping here has less to do with transformation and more to do with stewardship. For more than 30 years, we’ve worked within the area’s historic character and its preservation rules rather than against them.
Designing Within a Historic District
The Plant Gallery designs landscapes that meet historic preservation requirements in the Garden District and Uptown. Much of the Garden District falls under preservation oversight, and Uptown’s character homes come with their own expectations. That shapes the work in a few ways. We lean toward formal, symmetrical designs that suit Greek Revival and Victorian architecture, keep plant palettes restrained and period-appropriate, and make hardscape and softscape choices that respect the streetscape. The aim is a garden that looks like it has always been there.Â
Gardening Under the Live-Oak Canopy
The Plant Gallery designs shade gardens for the oak-canopied lots of Uptown and the Garden District. The same canopy that makes these streets so beautiful also keeps them shady, and most flowering plants and sod want sun. So an Uptown garden comes down to choosing plants that do well in dappled and full shade, then designing for texture and foliage in the spots where blooms simply won’t perform. Â
Shade-garden workhorses for Uptown & the Garden District:
- Evergreen structure: cast-iron plant (aspidistra), boxwood hedging, sweet olive, sasanqua camellia, and groundcoversÂ
- Seasonal bloom in shade: camellia, azalea, impatiens, caladium, hydrangea, ginger
- Walls & wrought iron: climbing fig (creeping fig), star jasmine, climbing roses, evergreen wisteria
- Courtyard containers: ferns, palms, and seasonal color that can be rotated
- Water features: fountains add movement and the sound of running water, bringing a shaded courtyard or garden to life
Courtyard & Small-Lot Garden Design
The Plant Gallery designs courtyard and small-lot gardens in Uptown and the Garden District. Lots here tend to be deep, narrow, and shaded, with the real garden tucked into a side yard or rear courtyard. These intimate spaces are something of a specialty for us. We work with container and raised-bed plantings, vertical greenery on masonry and iron, quiet drainage solutions for small enclosed areas, and lighting that turns a courtyard into an outdoor room after dark.
Landscape Lighting for Historic Homes
The Plant Gallery installs landscape lighting for historic homes in Uptown and the Garden District. Good lighting brings out the architecture and the oak limbs after dark while staying period-appropriate and out of the way. That usually means uplighting in the live oaks, soft path and façade lighting, and fixtures that all but disappear during the day.
Water Features for Courtyards & Historic Gardens
The Plant Gallery designs and installs water features for courtyards and gardens in Uptown and the Garden District. A fountain gives a walled courtyard a center of gravity: the sound of moving water softens street noise, cools the air, and adds a focal point that reads as original to the house. We keep the styles period-appropriate, from tiered and wall-mounted fountains to cast-stone basins and quiet recirculating designs scaled to a small side yard.
Weddings & Events — Uptown & Garden District Venues
The Plant Gallery provides wedding florals, rentals, and lighting at Uptown and Garden District venues. This is wedding country, and TPG is already the florist behind plenty of celebrations across the area. We cover the neighborhood’s signature venues and historic mansions, from garden-party arrangements to full ceremony installations and event styling, all delivered locally.
Areas We Serve
- Garden District
- Lower Garden District
- Uptown
- University area
- Audubon
- Touro
- Irish Channel
- Warehouse District
- The Greater New Orleans area
FAQ
Yes. We design period-appropriate, formal plantings and hardscape that fit the historic character and meet the area’s oversight requirements.
Shade specialists like camellia, azalea, cast-iron plant, ferns, sweet olive, caladium, climbing fig, and star jasmine. We design for foliage and texture in spots where blooms won’t thrive.
Absolutely. Courtyards and narrow side yards are a specialty, including containers, vertical greenery, drainage, and lighting.
Yes, including florals, rentals, and lighting for the area’s historic homes and event venues.