Terrarium making over at N.A.

Check out the blog I write for once a week!  Every thursday, something new for New Yorkers to do to enhance their green in such a brown & grey city.  This weeks post is a pretty good one, try it out!

The Terrarium Project at Naked Apartments

If your looking for a place to live, or are in real estate, this site links both parties together for an easier way to find a great place to live.  The blog just helps you settle in nicely. 

ENJOY!

Rainy season

June Gloom is all the buzz.  

We have been having a good amount of rain recently, which is fine by me- I love the rain.  But my poor plants are starting to feel the effects.  

These containers are planted with colocasia, sweet potato vine, nepeta, and no longer wave petunias.  I had a few deep purple wave petunias for a rich color burst but the rain just kept these beds super moist, causing mold to grow and kill off the softer plants.

I'll replace them this week I suppose. 

But with all this rain, my Cornus Kousa Dogwood is going NUTS!  So many flowers- it's a little unreal.

Spring is on it's way out.  I dug up all these pansies and will save them for the fall.  Replanting them in rich soil, cutting the back hard ... They should be great in September/October when I am ready for them again.  

The pansies below were replaced by bright red calibrachoa, fuchsia wave petunia, yellow lantana, lavender angelonia, blue annual salvia and apricot portulacas.  

- But that photo will come when they get nice and established... it's a bit dainty at the moment.  Patience, patience.

And finally,  

Late in the day downtown. 

Brooklyn Planting has some things in the mix.  New gardens, possible new business ventures, that new blog I'm writing for!

Which reminds me- Thursdays, check out my urban gardening tips at Naked Apartments !  

Dig around!

From Spring to Summer

I have a new camera, finally.

It works like a dream and I was able to use my original memory card in it so I could view the old photos from my Los Angeles trip through May. 

A few days before leaving L.A. I had the chance to visit Huntington Botanical Gardens. 

http://www.huntington.org

It was March so most plants were still dormant for the winter- which gave me the opportunity to sit in on an amazing lecture. 

It was on the art of Tussie-mussies!

"Tussie-mussie" is a term from the 1400s in England for small, round bouquets of herbs and flowers with symbolic meanings.  There were thought to be other bonuses to having a small cluster of sweet smelling flowers.  Holding them up to your nose would mask smells and was thought to purify the air a bit. 

There is a cute website that has a list of the Victorian flower meanings:

http://victorianbazaar.com/meanings.html

This is a tussie-mussie I made for my friend zack. It lacked meaning because I just wanted to give him a purple and orange burst on his desk.

So here's a bit of Brooklyn Planting that the old camera was holding hostage from this past spring.

This was from the lake house upstate that I occasionally garden at.  It is such a pleasure to work there. 

...

And these are just a couple shots I will be posting to the other blog I write for... (nakedapartments.com/blog)  

Window boxes make even the view outside more enjoyable.  

And this one will be about finding ways to get plants up off the floor on on tables.  Think vertically in NYC.  It's all we have. 

Glad to be back blogging. 

Lots of fun projects on the horizon.  Stay tuned!

Contributing

Fun new work!  

I'm now a contributing writer to a new blog that focuses on making New York a bit more livable.

The company is called Naked Apartments, scandalous- I know, but it's a really cool group that helps brokers and renters make the most of the apartment hunt... sign up at their home page if you are interested. 

My first post went up today.  I just wanted to introduce the public to a few good places to find plant material.  The more you see what is available, you can decide what you are interested in and then start asking questions like light requirements or watering needs.

Check me out!  I guess my bio isn't up yet... meh. 

http://www.nakedapartments.com/blog/

Thanks Shankar!

P.S.  My camera is dead.  The battery area is busted and won't turn on anymore.  I now need to get a card reader for my March-May pictures as well as a whole new piece.  UGH.