Real estate developer Ryan Eichhorn transformed a nondescript lot on Elm Street into a visually appealing, eco-friendly spot.
BRIDGEWATER — Boxwoods and yews. Yawn.
The evergreen shrub, a classic landscaping go-to, is ho-hum.
Credit Ryan Eichhorn for thinking outside the box at Easton Gardens, his new, eight-unit apartment complex in Bridgewater.
Eichhorn’s a Willy Wonka for adults.
You won’t find any Everlasting Gobstoppers here, but you’ll be gobsmacked by Eichhorn’s creative genius.
Everything — including Irish moss growing between sidewalk pavers — is edible.
No toffee apple trees, but apple and pear trees bear sweet fruit, nonetheless. No snozzberries, either, but plenty of blueberries, strawberries, thornless blackberries and raspberries.
The 37-year-old real estate developer and contractor transformed a nondescript lot on Elm Street into a visually appealing, eco-friendly spot.
“I turned my company into an organic company,” Eichhorn said of his 4-year-old business, Eichhorn Enterprises, which builds new or renovates existing housing with “very unique comps.”
Thyme, an aromatic herb, has a double purpose for Eichhorn. It’s a walkway border plant, but “you can use that to cook or marinate chicken and potatoes,” he said.
He snapped a sprig and rolled it between his palms to release its heady scent.
“Just smell that. When the wind blows, you can smell this around the entire place,” he said.
Irish moss? Whip it up in smoothies.
Rather than the aforementioned boxwood, Eichhorn planted thornless blackberry bushes that in time will grow into a 5-foot hedge in front of renovated apartments to create “a nice barrier wall, but full of berries,” he said.
Likewise, in front of newly constructed units, he planted Pink Lemonade Blueberry and strawberry bushes that also serve dual purposes — ornamental as well as edible.
Tenants, he said, “can walk out the front door and pick fresh strawberries,” as he plucked a vibrant red berry from a vine. “Here, this one’s ready. Try this,” he offered. “They’re really good.”
They are — sweet and juicy.
“That’s what makes this place so cool.”
Heidi Paul, borough mayor, agreed.
The before look was “pretty run down,” she said.
“He gave it life. I just thought it was awesome,” she said. “It’s its own little sanctuary back there. I love it.”
The courtyard features what Eichhorn calls an “urban tea-spice garden” all for consumption by residents. Thyme, basil, cilantro, sage, dill, spearmint, peppermint, oregano and parsley grow in nine whiskey barrel planters situated in a rock island.
Cherry Falls tomato plants creep from two container baskets flanking a pergola adjacent to another lush garden that attracts hummingbirds, butterflies and pollinating bees — approximately 12,000, he estimated — living in two hives on the grounds.
“This is all edible stuff in here,” Eichhorn said of a mix of wildflowers, sunflowers and special plants he ordered online. “Most are high in nectar — a lot of plants butterflies want.”
The courtyard centerpiece is a massive, 30-foot round, three-tiered fountain. Chocolate doesn’t cascade from it, but almost as delightful, this fountain has colorful LED lights to complement holidays — red, white and blue for the Fourth of July; red and green for Christmas; pink for breast cancer awareness.
And seven blueberry bushes are planted in front.
An outdoor barbecue grill and a fire pit with cooking grate, plus comfortable seating areas, are also courtyard features.
Eichhorn did his research, too, asking folks what they’d like to have in a rental property.
“Over the years, a lot of people would say, ‘I wish I had a garden.’”
Easton Gardens residents all got “Golden Tickets” — their own 12-by-12, preplanted, raised beds — populated with choices of beets, tomatoes, eggplant, celery, Brussels sprouts, green beans, peas, limas, hot and mild peppers, broccoli, zucchini, cucumbers, lettuce and kale.
“I think it’s wonderful,” said tenant Tawny Branz. “I grew up gardening. I love it.”
She likes that she can pick ripe, ready-to-eat strawberries that smell and taste like strawberries, she said.
“I am impressed,” Branz said of the edible landscape. “It is a really great concept.”
All garden plots are walk-ins making everything reachable, Eichhorn said.
“We maintain it. They can just use it. We do the footwork for them.”
Crops, only planted May 22 and most from seed, are lush and robust.
“It’s the soil,” Eichhorn said. “It makes a huge difference what you plant your stuff in.”
For the record, compost is the best, he said.
On the far side of the property, Eichhorn planted a 10-by-70-foot supplemental garden with 10 rows of sweet corn, extra tomato, pepper, eggplant and broccoli plants. And what he calls “arts and crafts” vegetables — large pumpkins to carve at Halloween and golden squash to make birdhouses. In the fall, cornstalks can be used to decorate the place.
As a small business, Eichhorn said he can’t compete with “the big guys,” and thus can’t add an amenity like a fully equipped exercise or gym facility.
“I’d rather give them something they can eat and enjoy.”
Eichhorn extended the “green” concept inside, too — “organic ceilings and walls” made with ground plant fiber.
Walls and ceilings, equipped with indirect LED lighting, change colors, too, Eichhorn said — “really unique.” All units employ smart technology.
“Really, what I like is something different,” he said.
Eichhorn has similar projects in the works in Monaca and Patterson Township. In Patterson, he wants to build a housing development for people 55 and older with an added bonus: a recreational/nature park for their grandchildren, whom he said spend too much time playing video games.