The Nisky gardener creating beauty with purpose

March 31, 2026

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Happy Tuesday evening, folks. We’re dropping into your inbox a little later than usual tonight, but for once, we have a very good reason: We’ve been frantically searching for our sweet cat, Georgie, who disappeared from The 518 HQ for two nights.

The good news, dear readers, is that Georgie is home safe and sound 👏 A kind stranger brought him right to our door, but we didn’t get the chance to thank him. Does anyone know this man from the Mansion neighborhood? We’d love the opportunity to express our gratitude.

Today, we’re introducing you to Felicia A. B. Reid, a garden designer with a fascinating story and a gift for creating stunning, biodiverse landscapes. Her Niskayuna garden, which you can visit, serves as a living laboratory—showcasing both her artistic eye and her deep commitment to environmental stewardship. Now that spring has sprung, it’s an excellent time to meet Felicia!

—Phat X. Chiem & Karley Sullivan

Looking for a beautiful, biodiverse garden? Felicia Reid is the garden designer you want
📷️ Good Friend Ecological Gardens

This Nisky garden designer helps you listen to your land

Felicia A. B. Reid’s garden business began with an apocalyptic thought experiment.

Back when she lived in Albany, while working in state government and immersed in thinking about food systems, housing, and policy, Felicia started to wonder: “If anything happens to the food system, how would we feed ourselves?”

That line of thinking led to starting up a backyard garden behind her Center Square brownstone. Then that garden turned into an obsession. And the obsession turned into a business.

She now runs Good Friend Ecological Gardens out of her suburban home in Niskayuna, where she offers bespoke garden design; seasonal, locally-grown cut flowers, and private tours of her lush learning garden, which functions as both lab and proof of concept.

Felicia spent more than a decade as an attorney working in public policy before completing programs at several botanical gardens, becoming a Master Gardener, and making the leap into garden design full-time. What she brought with her was a policy brain, a researcher’s mindset, and a deep skepticism of one-size-fits-all advice.

“There’s so many people telling you how to garden,” Felicia says. “But when people are really yearning for and hungry for information about how to do something, you want to make sure that the ways you proceed are evidence-based.”

That means starting with the location itself. What are the sun and shade conditions throughout the day? What’s the microclimate? What was in the ground before? What’s your vision for success?

“Let’s figure out what soil you have, what it’ll actually be able to maintain, along with what you want,” Felicia says.

Good Friend specializes in rare and uncommon blooms, and native beauties 📷️ Good Friend

The last thing you want to do, she says, is head to a big-box garden store and buy a bunch of plants that look pretty. Chances are, they won’t last in your garden, and they won’t magically mesh together into an intentional, stunning landscape.

That practical, ecological approach is the backbone of Good Friend. She studies drainage, light, soil, wildlife, and how people actually want to live in a space. She’ll design for the hands-on homeowner who wants to plant everything themselves, or for the person who just wants a smarter plan. 

“There are people who would love to do it themselves,” she says. “Getting your hands in the dirt, you learn so much.”

The business now rests on three pillars: garden design, a flower operation built around what she can grow onsite, and educational tours. Even the flower side of the business comes with a bigger point. Felicia wants people to think more about where cut flowers come from, and what it means to grow beauty locally. Or, as she says on her website: “The gardens we create are what happens when environmental stewardship and responsible design reshape the relationships between people, place, and planet.”

Felicia is ultimately selling a mindset. She wants you to think about gardens less as décor and more as spaces of engagement and meaning. “You’ll never have full control of a garden, because that is nature—you can be a steward that gives as good as you get in return.”

The deets: Good Friend Ecological Gardens is based in Niskayuna. Learn more about working with Felicia on designing your own garden, and see a gallery of the Learning Garden through the seasons. Cut flowers are available from June to September.

Felicia is available to take on new clients for the coming season. Unlike other design services, all of her clients have the opportunity to visit the Good Friend Learning Garden during the growing season to see plantings and design come to life.

A word from our sponsor

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Designed specifically for women travellers, these trips offer immersive local experiences that support women-run and owned businesses in each destination. With an expert local leader out front, you could trek the lesser-known Chinchero to Urquillos route in the Peruvian Andes alongside an all-female crew, dive into Cambodia’s street food scene on a women-run tuk tuk tour, or unwind with a traditional herbal hot stone bath at a women-owned farmhouse in Bhutan.

First launched in 2018, Intrepid’s Women’s Expedition range is designed to break down barriers, foster discussion and create meaningful connections for travellers and locals alike.

🥘 We love this new thread in the Albany subreddit: What’s the best thing you’ve eaten in the Capital Region? Even for dedicated foodies like us, there’s so much on this list we haven’t tasted yet. A few we can personally vouch for: the dumplings at Mystic Momo, the pho dac biet at Mama’s Pho House (full review coming soon!), and Blu Pizza at City Beer Hall. Yum!

🥐 We can’t wait to try the new Oh, Honey Cafe & Bakery at 2976 Hamburg Street in Rotterdam. After working in the restaurant industry for 11 years and finishing the culinary arts program at SUNY Schenectady, Brianna Wells said she and her husband wanted to open a local spot. Get there for breakfast and lunch sammies, a variety of baked goods, cheesecake, and specialty drinks like matcha lattes. [News10]

🍽️ In other restaurant news: The TU’s Steve Barnes has the scoop: 15 Church in Saratoga has been sold. Even though the new owners make controls for pyrotechnics, they promise to continue the restaurant’s legacy of fine dining, but maybe with a lighter touch. Sadly, MoJo’s Cafe & Gallery in Troy has closed after just two years in business. We profiled them last May. And Jack’s Oyster House will have its grand reopening on Thursday at 5 pm, with $1 oysters offered all day (when you buy a beverage).

This 3-bedroom solid brick beauty on 2 peaceful acres in Glenville has just enough rustic flare to feel authentic, including exposed wood beams, refinished hardwood floors, a cozy fireplace, and a sunroom. The kitchen is homey and rich, the bathrooms are fresh and clean, and the upstairs features 4 vaulted ceilings and recessed lighting. Outside, you've got a spacious, new Trex deck overlooking a garden of lush mature perennials, and a deep meadow area. A two-car garage with generator hookups sweetens the deal.

The deets: 3 bd, 2 ba, 1432 sf., 2 acres. Asking: $499,900. Days on market: 3. See the full listing here.

Note: The 518 Weekender now publishes on Thursdays. Watch your inboxes!

It’s Easter Weekend! Get your egg hunt on at these events:

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

🎬️ RPI professor professor Nathan Meltz debuts his stop-motion animated short film, “The Golem,” screening with a live score at No Fun.

🍺 If you can’t seem to quit the 90s, get to Back to the 90s Trivia Night at Wolf Hollow Brewing Company.

🚲️ Capital Streets celebrates its 3rd anniversary at Lark Hall. Read our profile of the “fierce nonprofit fighting to reclaim our roads.”

🐰 Calling all devil bunnies to the Hex Goth Night at Lark Hall. Someone explain: Is this a reference to the song by My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult?

FRIDAY

🎸 First Friday Albany is back with a full lineup of music and art events all around the city. One highlight: Opalka Gallery at Russell Sage stays open late with Andrew Mollica performing 6–7p. Don’t miss the “Plastique” exhibition while you’re there!

🤣 April Fools Comedy Night at Nine Pin Cider will feature 3 comedians out of New Jersey. Now that’s fodder for some good laughs. If you go, remember that subscribers to The 518 get 10% all cider pours. Just tell them you’re part of “The 518 Crew.”

🏍️ For the first time ever in Albany, Monster Jam trucks team up with Freestyle Motocross (FMX) bikes to deliver gravity-defying skills and thrills. At the MVP Arena.

SATURDAY

🍸️ There are only a few tickets left for the Hannah Montana Drag Brunch at Common Roots Albany Outpost.

SUNDAY

🫖 Prince Tea House is now serving alcohol. Brunch mimosas, anyone? Read our review of this dainty Euro-Asian cafe.

MONDAY

🎸 Three legendary punk and hardcore bands—The Circle Jerks, Gorilla Biscuits and special guest Negative Approach—unite for this epic tour, stopping at Empire Live.

ART ON VIEW

Our music listings are now published separately on The 518 website. Click here.

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