Gardening
May 12, 2008
Garden of the Day: Bushwick 'English Garden'
Here's a garden report from the Bushwick front:
We moved to Bushwick in early '04. The backyard had been in shambles for years, from what we could tell. Broken down chainlink mended with shoelaces and bbq grills. Seriously. Rubble everywhere. And a 'yard' that was basically a giant weed factory. And as you can see from the before shot vs. the recent shots, part of the old pathway had been covered in a dirt slide. That was a fun discovery: I was planting something and hit concrete. I felt like an archeologist.
Besides a few key elements worth keeping: giant old hydrangea, big old rose bush, a rose of sharon bush and the center concrete planter full of a sedum variety, everything was DIY. Except installing a simple wood fence. We built the yard bit by bit due to the usual budget constraints after buying a house. Pretty much everything you see in the 'after' pictures was either bought online in bulb form (Brecks, etc.) or purchased at Home Depot. There were a few cool plants we got at the Gowanus Nursury, but a good 95% of the yard is simple, straight up plantings and varietals found at your local HD. We also prepped the soil (half assedly) and seeded grass. It's far from perfect but 100% of our own making. Our goal was to create an overrun english garden, of sorts. and by planting bit by bit over the first 2-3 years, we've really seen the garden and yard come to life.
Check out more photos in the slideshow above and in the Flickr set linked below.
Bushwick Garden Photo Set [Flickr]
Garden of the Day: Another Greenwood Heights Goodie [Brownstoner]
Garden of the Day: HGTV Does Greenwood Heights [Brownstoner]
Garden of the Day: PLG Make-Over [Brownstoner]
Submit Your Garden for 'Garden of the Day' [Brownstoner]
May 9, 2008
Garden of the Day: Another Greenwood Heights Goodie
The garden fun continues in Greenwood Heights today. From the horse's mouth:
Our backyard is a small courtyard which had a prison-yard vibe when we bought the place 4 years ago. We designed it ourselves hired some terrific guys to build it for us (ipe deck & cedar trellis) and have been working on the plantings ever since. It's the perfect spot for bbq's and outdoor movies. We also built a minimalist stucco flat roof shed/playhouse which is not pictured.
We're loving this. Comfortable but modern.
Garden of the Day: HGTV Does Greenwood Heights [Brownstoner]
Garden of the Day: PLG Make-Over [Brownstoner]
Submit Your Garden for 'Garden of the Day' [Brownstoner]
May 8, 2008
Garden of the Day: HGTV Does Greenwood Heights
Some people have all the luck. When this Greenwood Heights resident moved into her two-family house back in 2005, the back yard consisted of "a mess of concrete and brick featuring a giant dog house and what was advertised as a koi pond (essentially a hole in the ground, lined and filled with water and some goldfish)." After having some workers break up the concrete, she was starting from scratch. After getting one estimate of $35,000 to create the garden she wanted, she had to get more creative. This included applying to be the subject of a HGTV show called Urban Outsiders. After a five-month selection process, she got the thumbs-up. She had to pony up the $7,000 for materials but HGTV provided the labor and know-how. The result? Well, a picture's worth a thousand words.
Urban Outsiders Photo Set [Flickr]
Video: A Lounge Garden [HGTV]
Garden of the Day: PLG Make-Over [Brownstoner]
Submit Your Garden for 'Garden of the Day' [Brownstoner]
May 7, 2008
Garden of the Day: PLG Make-Over
The first submission for Garden of the Day comes straight outta PLG. When the owners bought the house four years ago, the back yard was nothing more than concrete and chain-link fencing. (Check out the last photo in the slideshow for that "before" shot along with a view of the deck mid-construction.) "The rocks for the wall we got from a neighbor renovating their basement," writes the owner. "The ground in the center has crushed bluestone and the borders have our perennials and some ornamental trees. We are starting some roses and honeysuckle on the arbor." Sweet!
Submit Your Garden for 'Garden of the Day' [Brownstoner]
April 21, 2008
Gardening on the Mind
With the arrival of warmer weather last week, homeowners' thoughts are turning to their gardens. Unfortunately, it may be too late to plant those perennials, according to this post from last year. It's the perfect time to plant annuals however. We've been having trouble the last couple of years finding the right plants for the shady side of our garden. The smoke bush we planted last year, for example, did not exactly thrive in its original position, so we moved it to a sunnier spot last weekend. And good suggestions? If you're looking for inspiration, check out these photos from last year's garden tour.
November 7, 2007
Closing Bell: Time to Brown-Bag Your Leaves
If you try to dispose of your leaves in a regular plastic garbage bag in the month of November, you might get hit with a ticket from the Department of Sanitation. During prime leaf season, property owners are required to use paper lawn and leaf bags that can be found at many local supermarkets and home stores like Home Depot, Kmart, Lowe's and True Value. And, believe it or not, there's method to the madness: Using the paper bags to throw out the leaves enables the city to turn the leaves into compost—which it turns around and gives back come springtime. For residents of community districts 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18, there are two dates to set the leaves out: November 10 and November 24.
Fall Leaf Collection Program [NYC.gov]
October 18, 2007
Expert Tips for Autumn Garden Care
Before you know it, the ground will be frozen and you won't feel like hanging out in your backyard for a while; in the meantime, there are some things you can be doing to help your garden put its best foot forward next spring. We asked Susanne Kongoy, the owner of Boerum Hill's GRDN, for some tips on tending to gardens and backyards during the fall. Here's what she told us:
-Fall is still a great time to plant or transplant, perennials, trees,and shrubs. Water until the ground freezes and mulch.
-You'll find plenty of perennials, trees, and shrubs on sale now at your favorite garden shop or local nursery. It's a great time to find bargains and fill in those holes in the garden.
-Plant hardy bulbs now! It's finally cooling off, which means it's time to think about planting tulips, narcissus, crocus, allium, etc. Bulbs are so easy, and squirrels don't like narcissus!
-Indoor gardeners should consider planting paperwhites and amaryliss for December blooms.
-It's time to redo that tired stoop pot! Switch out summer annuals for fall color or dwarf evergreens that'll get you through the winter.
-Mulch with free compost from the Department of Sanitation. The last compost giveaway is this weekend at Fish Kills on Staten Island, and it's definitely worth the trip. Check out www.nyccompost.org for more info.
Any other suggestions you can think of?
Photo by xmarcus
September 5, 2007
Gowanus Nursery May Be Uprooted. Again.
A zoning thicket may force the Gowanus Nursery out of the Red Hook location it moved to less than a year ago. The city is apparently kowtowing to pressures from the space’s landlords, Jack LoCicero and Eric Nocera, and considering rezoning a couple of parcels on Summit Street—including the one the nursery occupies—for residential use. The nursery, which sells hard-to-find plants from specialty growers, moved to the Red Hook space from 3rd Street last November. If the new zoning is approved, the business will be kicked to the curb this May. The nursery’s owner told us a May eviction would be particularly hard on the business given its seasonal nature, and that when she moved to Summit Street she had every expectation of signing a lease renewal this year. The city’s zoning whimsies seem particularly misguided in this instance, since they may result in the closure of a unique business that barely got a chance to make a go of it in its new neighborhood. According to Gowanus Lounge, if the zoning change goes through, the nursery could be replaced by a building that’s almost 12 stories high, while a story in the Brooklyn Eagle says the landlords are currently planning a four-story, 35-unit development.
Gowanus Nursery Appeals for Help Fighting Likely Eviction [Gowanus Lounge]
Housing Could Evict Popular Brooklyn Plant Nursery [Brooklyn Eagle]
Gowanus Nursery To Get Boot from 3rd Street [Brownstoner]
Gowanus Nursery Open [Brownstoner] GMAP
August 7, 2007
Bed-Stuy and Boerum Hill Can Rest on Their Laurels
The greenest thumbs in Brooklyn can be found on stretches of MacDonough and Hoyt streets, according to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. The organization named MacDonough between Stuyvesant and Lewis avenues in Bedford-Stuyvesant and Hoyt between Atlantic Avenue and State Street in Boerum Hill the winners of its 13th annual Greenest Block in Brooklyn contest. MacDonough Street took top honors among residential blocks, while Hoyt was cited as the borough’s greenest commercial block. "Our hard work and commitment to keeping our block beautiful has had many positive results, including cars slowing down to take in all the surrounding beauty,” said Wilma Atwell, MacDonagh Street's Greening Coordinator. More than 230 blocks participated in the contest this year.
Bed-Stuy, Boerum Hill Have Brooklyn's Greenest Blocks [Gothamist]
June 12, 2007
Botanic Garden Brings Brownstones to D.C.
As part of an exhibit at the U.S. Botanic Garden, the folks from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden have recreated a brownstone façade and filled the front garden with a host of plants from the BBG. "Celebrating America's Public Gardens," which features twelve representative gardens from around the country, kicked off on June 7 with remarks from Representatives Charles Rangel and Yvette Clark. BBG first built the exhibit in Brooklyn, then dissassembled it and shipped it down to D.C. where it now stands at 100 Maryland Avenue through October 8th. Sounds fun to us—we just wish they'd been able to muster a bigger stoop!
Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Brownstone Garden in Washington D.C. [BBG.org]