In parts of Northwest Philadelphia and the adjacent suburbs, Chris Mattingly designs plant beds with the know-how of an engineer and the heart of a farmer. A Maryland native with a degree in civil engineering and soil foundation science from the University of Maryland, Mattingly moved to Chestnut Hill in 2012 with his wife, Dr. Allison Chan.

Before founding Backyard Eats, Mattingly worked in landfill design and maintenance, but that work did not align with his environmentalist values, and backyard gardens clearly do. “It is great to live in a community of people who want to share the magic of homegrown food,” he said. “My first customer came from a classified ad in the Local.” 

Mattingly has since moved back to Maryland, and the company is now run by his operating partner, Mike Bennett, an Ambler native who lives in Conshohocken. Bennett, a former investment bank employee (Wilmington Trust) and touring musician with the rock band Apple Juice Jones, began growing food and doing home contracting and waterproofing when he wasn't riffing on the guitar.

 Bennett went to LaSalle College High School and got into gardening as a hobby. “I met Chris in 2020,” he said. “He said he was moving back to Maryland and was looking for someone to run the business, consult, and design. We met at Chestnut Hill Coffee once, and that was it. … We have 10 full-time employees and three part-time for the season. We used to get all of our customers from the immediate area, but now we also get some from Bucks County, the Main Line and even upper Montgomery County.” 

Backyard Eats has planted 150 gardens, from a raised 3 feet by 8 feet bed, pots on patios, to 250 square feet with additional fruit trees. “Some of these folks could run a farm stand from all the food they are getting,” Bennett said. “A big project might require onsite working for two weeks, but most take about three to five days to build, and the maintenance would be a couple hours every week. All clients do planting along with us. With some we just do the heavy lifting. Everything we do is edible — perennials, medicinals, pollinators.”

Although Bennett's gardening proclivities take up most of his time, especially at this time of year, his musical aspirations are still in bloom. His band, which plays rock, folk, and jam band-type music, has been performing for 10 years, and will soon be releasing its third album. Any money made from the album will be donated to the Teddy Kradzinski Foundation. 

“Teddy was the driving, creating force behind the band,” said Bennett. “We are still releasing songs he had written and superimposing his voice. I went to La Salle High School with him. He died at age 28 from a fentanyl overdose. I have also been in recovery for seven years. [Kradzinski and Bennett] reconnected through recovery and were roommates for eight years.”

The Backyard Eats operator doesn’t limit his outdoor projects to gardening, either. Bennett and his girlfriend Briana Carcione, a Doylestown native, make a fuss over Sadie, their six-year-old rescue pit bull. “She was used for breeding,” said Bennett. “She is very sweet. And we are trying to have backyard chickens.” 

For more information, visit backyard-eats.com. 

Len Lear can be reached at lenlear@chestnuthilllocal.com.