This contemporary rooftop garden in Midtown Manhattan features a custom-built outdoor kitchen and continuous custom-built wood planters made from ipe (pronounced e-pay), a hardwood with a 30-year life expectancy. We recommended this modular kitchen unit because it shipped in three separate pieces, which were easier to get in and out of tight Manhattan corridors and elevators than a single unit would have been. The countertop was added after the rest of the kitchen had been assembled and helps create the look of a single, continuous piece. The design also includes a grey wrap-around sofa, extra large umbrella, and an outdoor rug. The plantings include cherry trees, boxwoods, Hollywood junipers, Thunderhead pines, and creeping Jenny. It’s nice to have a mix of evergreens, trees, and flowering plants combined together so that there is always something interesting to look at in every season.