Straight Dirt: New York’s Premier Landscape Designer Tells it Like It Is.

Straight Dirt is Steve Griggs’s “tell all” book about the inner workings of a landscape design firm in the TriState area. Griggs has been designing and installing residential backyards spaces in affluent areas in and around the New York metro area for the past thirty-five years. Straight Dirt is not a “how to” book on doing your own backyard. Rather, it gives expert insight on how to work with designers and contractors to create dream backyards and rooftop terraces in New York City. It includes segments on design and execution, with special sections on Grigg’s favorite plants, dos and don’ts for pools, and an invaluable list of tips on how to deal with your landscape contractor in “What Google Won’t Find For You.”

Griggs combines an artist’s sensibility with a commitment to client satisfaction. His passion is contagious and tell-it-like-it-is attitude gets the job done. He transforms every environment from ordinary to extraordinary, and the book is a masterful reflection of his work ethic (“Do it Once, Do It Right”) and attitude, (“Anyone can shower you with roses. I bring the thorns…and the cutter. Translation: Don’t believe the B.S. I tell it like it is” ).

Loaded with pictures from six showcased homes and stories from a handful of clients, Straight Dirt not only illustrates the various elements of landscape design and construction, it also gives the reader insight into how clients should feel at the completion of their project: “I had spent much of my life dealing with designers and contractors. Steve is very much unique. He is an artist and is someone who tacks on pride to what he does. What he created for us is extraordinary. We are grateful.” —Linda and Regis Boff

Straight Dirt is to the point, oftentimes funny, and the reader will never look at your backyard the same again.