Garden of the Day: Contained in the Slope

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Got a garden space you want to share? Send us a note. And now, architect Ryan Enschede, responsible for the innovative restoration of this Kensington interior, has been having some fun atop his own roof.

When my wife and I began looking for a larger apartment a few years ago, we were lucky enough to find a space with a generous rooftop terrace. Although I had never shared my family’s gardening enthusiasm (I was the urban dweller) suddenly I was caring for a few inherited potted plants. The next year I decided to grow a few vegetables… and this year I grew a productive vegetable garden in containers. Looking ahead I hope to do more with our space along the same lines. We love to cook, and having fresh vegetables again, right from our own roof, is truly a joy. Because we are on the roof, all the plants are growing in an assortment of purchased and found containers using store-bought potting soil, augmented with fertilizer and compost and watered from a hose. Our space’s greatest asset is having all the sun we could want, but the wind can be intense and breaks and tips the plants. We have been working out the kinks of rooftop composting, and my long term goal is to develop as close to a closed loop as possible, utilizing collected rainwater and composted food scraps. I also hope to work out a watering system that requires less attention from me than the hose.

In looking around I continue to be amazed at how completely ignored the wonderful rooftop spaces of NYC are they must be the city’s single greatest underutilized asset. I think there is great potential for these spaces, both for welcome relief from the pressure of the city as well as for growing quality food right where it will be eaten, and I hope this idea will continue to take off.

Click through for links to past Gardens of the Day posts.

Garden of the Day: Outdoor Tiki Bar in Kensington [Brownstoner]
Garden of the Day: Skinny Space in the Slope [Brownstoner]
Garden of the Day: Starting with a North Slope Blank Canvas [Brownstoner]
Garden of the Day: Instant Pond [Brownstoner]
Garden of the Day: A Decade in Coming [Brownstoner]
Garden of the Day: Clearing the Brush in Carroll Gardens [Brownstoner]
Garden of the Day: Gardening Through Weather Woes [Brownstoner]
Garden of the Day: Low Maintenance in The Slope [Brownstoner]
Garden of the Day: Refining in Boerum Hill [Brownstoner]
Garden of the Day: On the Edge of Carroll Gardens [Brownstoner]
Garden of the Day: Rocking in Rockaway [Brownstoner]
Garden of the Day: Carroll Gardens Make-over [Brownstoner]
Garden of the Day: Whispy in Williamsburg [Brownstoner]
Garden of the Day: Kensington DIY, Four Years On [Brownstoner]
Garden of the Day: Ornamental Edibles [Brownstoner]
Garden of the Day: Center Slope Evolution [Brownstoner]
Garden of the Day: Brooklyn Japanese? [Brownstoner]
Garden of the Day: DIY in Bay Ridge [Brownstoner]
Garden of the Day: Serenity Now in Cobble Hill [Brownstoner]
Garden of the Day: Potted on Putnam [Brownstoner]
Garden of the Day: Cemetery Views [Brownstoner]
Garden of the Day: Made in the Shade [Brownstoner]
Garden of the Day: Praiseworthy in Park Slope [Brownstoner]
Garden of the Day: Crown Heights Verdant [Brownstoner]
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]