« Brooklyn Co-Housing Moving Closer to Reality? Delays at 317 16th Street »
August 15, 2008
Garden of the Day: A Decade in Coming
South Slope reader and professional gardener Rachel Prince sends us this report about her home turf... My garden has been 10 years in the making so far. The granite cobblestones were there in the beginning defining a bed at the back with three scraggly hemlocks in it. We dug the trees out as well as yanking out tons of English ivy. The patio we made out of stone salvaged from Vermont. We have since salvaged stone from all over the neighborhood; sills, marble mantles, bluestone pavers etc., which we plan to build with someday and now use as benches as well as dry laid stacks with planters on them in our front courtyard. The garden is mostly shrubs, perennials, roses and vines. I have deep affection for tulips, tree peonies, hellebores, roses, clematis, viburnums, blueberries and winter hazel. I have grown moonflower vines, passion flower vines and clematis up the clothesline ladder over the years.
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.brownstoner.com/mte/mt-tb.cgi/5847
Comments
This is THE most beautiful garden I have seen on Brownstoner. its very charming. I want to roll around on that grass...
Posted by: Dora Chica at August 15, 2008 10:43 AM
I agree that this garden places in the top 3 of this series so far and, possibly, at #1. Beautiful! What are the dimensions and exposures? And, does the professional gardener care to disclose who she is? Some of us may want to avail of ourselves of her expertise.
Posted by: Brooklynista at August 15, 2008 10:49 AM
Totally agree - this is the nicest garden so far. It's absolutely beautiful.
Posted by: PLG30 at August 15, 2008 11:04 AM
#1.
Hands down.
You'd think you were upstate.
Or at a British countryside manor.
Posted by: Prodigal_Son at August 15, 2008 11:06 AM
I'm positively green with envy. One of my favorites, as well. Beautiful.
Posted by: Montrose Morris at August 15, 2008 11:13 AM
Love.
Posted by: MacD at August 15, 2008 11:16 AM
It is nice, an English cottage garden, but I can't see how people think its head and shoulders above all the other gardens we've seen. I like the use of the washing line ladder.
Posted by: dittoburg at August 15, 2008 11:19 AM
#1 hands down. Gets my vote too.
I can't wait until my foundation plantings are that big and lush and well established too! Ten years, eh? Okay I'll hang in there and keep feeding the roses.
I love the use of salvaged stone and marble. I want to do that too. I'd like to get some architectural salvage pieces.
Posted by: traditionalmod at August 15, 2008 11:44 AM
OK, I want to know how those beautiful tulips survived Squirrel nation. Please tell me!!!
Posted by: donatella at August 15, 2008 11:49 AM
In the 3rd photo, what's the plant in the green pot to the left of the hellebores in the whitish pot?
Posted by: ownhs at August 15, 2008 12:07 PM
Wonderful! the sunlight splashing across the yard, the hammock, the fragrances... mmmmmmm... :)
Warm and inviting.
Posted by: bren at August 15, 2008 12:23 PM
So beautiful! Of course - hanging the hammock on the clothesline ladder! What a great idea!
Posted by: mlaurice at August 15, 2008 12:36 PM
Just lovely -- congratulations. I'm jealous of your tulips and roses. Do you have lots of sun? And like Donatella I'm curious to know how you fend off rapacious squirrels.
While I'm posting, anyone know of a local source for half-size Belgian blocks, aka cobblestones? I'm looking for the 4" x 4" ones to pave an area too small for the full-size version.
Posted by: NeoGrec at August 15, 2008 1:05 PM
I used an herbal organic insecticide spray on my tulip buds and squirrels stopped eating them. The plant oils in the spray didn't taste too good.
Posted by: traditionalmod at August 15, 2008 1:14 PM
NeoGrec - Try the city - they removed about 20 million of them from the plaza at the north end of Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint two years back. No-one seems to have know where they are now though.
Posted by: dittoburg at August 15, 2008 1:15 PM
Our South Slope backyard also had a few dozen of those cobblestones when we moved in. (And we re-used them too.) We were told that they were used as ballast on ships coming in from Europe and free to the dockworkers for the taking. We also found a couple of the dockworkers' grappling hooks (think On the Waterfront) in the cellar.
Today's garden is beautiful. I especially like the swath of green.
Posted by: 16Street at August 15, 2008 1:41 PM
what a gorgeous retreat. i've been loving the south slope in a myriad of ways.
Posted by: Fjorder at August 15, 2008 2:00 PM
Wonderful!!!!
Posted by: Park Sloper at August 15, 2008 2:38 PM
PRETTY Pretty pretty!
Love that you have the grass while so many others are paving.
Love it!
Posted by: TownhouseLady at August 15, 2008 4:20 PM
I love how the plants in the border are arranged - looks like there's always something blooming throughout the growing season, which can be hard to manage in these small urban spaces.
I'm curious - what kind of viburnums do you have? And were you able to harvest any of your blueberries before the birds got them? thanks for sharing!
Posted by: petunia at August 15, 2008 4:28 PM
dittoburg - I've heard the same thing. Those 'belgian blocks' where ship ballasts and were reused for streetpaving.
Posted by: 1842 at August 15, 2008 4:28 PM
I will show this to my family to prove I am not crazy when I salvage hunks of stone from the street. Absolutely gorgeous.
Posted by: Brenda from Flatbush at August 15, 2008 6:21 PM
Dear Lisa:
I find myself wondering if you could offer some advice about products you use that deal with the issues of ants, misquitos, squirrels, waterbugs and other similary pesky visitors. I am new to having a back yard, and like many on this forum, find that after the beginning of July it is impossible to enjoy my garden up close and personal. I don't like the idea of using poisons that will be unhealthy for the soil and my dog, but other than bringing out the big guns, I don't know what really works. You said you garden professionally, so I figure you have to deal with this issue a lot and could possibly provide some useful information. Thanks.
Posted by: MacD at August 15, 2008 7:57 PM
hey thanks for the nice comments about my garden! my husband is the lawn man, kudos to him! overall we use organic fertilizers and pest control (and tolerate some damage.) mosquitoes are a fierce issue, no solution yet. tulips i plant very deep - 8" or so... they might nibble a little after they come up, but not devastating. nasty-tasting herb sprays help at that stage. crocus i cover with chicken wire after planting. they don't bother the next season. the plant in the green pot is a tree peony. the viburnums are carlesii and farrerii nanum (sp?)and we get handfuls of tasty blueberries(love their spring blooms and fall color too)! i get 6+ hours of sun on most of the garden, some neighboring trees provide more shade in some areas like the patio which is quite welcome!
Posted by: rayrose at August 17, 2008 11:49 AM
Latest Restaurant Additions
-
Bridgeview Diner
added February 9, 2010 12:00 PM in Bay Ridge -
222 Franklin Street
added February 8, 2010 12:00 PM in Greenpoint -
La Petite Provence
added February 5, 2010 12:00 PM in Carroll Gardens -
Purple Yam
added February 4, 2010 12:00 PM in Ditmas Park -
Kasia's Restaurant
added February 3, 2010 12:00 PM in Williamsburg -
myThai
added February 2, 2010 12:00 PM in Bay Ridge -
Vinnie's Pizzeria
added February 1, 2010 12:00 PM in Greenpoint, Williamsburg -
Vesuvio
added January 29, 2010 12:00 PM in Bay Ridge -
Sue Perette
added January 28, 2010 12:00 PM in Carroll Gardens -
Radegast Hall & Biergarten
added January 27, 2010 12:00 PM in Williamsburg
Post a comment
Please be patient while your comment is published. It may take a moment.