Brooklyn Planting

Wedding floral designer?... just this one time.

missybateson@gardener.com (melissa virginia bateson) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:08:00 +0000

Earlier this year, one of my best girlfriends fell in love with a very sweet guy and decided to get married.

We are all young creative and just getting by... So rather than asking for/receiving crystal bowls or Kitchen Aids, the couple asked their artist friends to contribute their talents for the event.

I gave the gift of floral design. We went for a whimsical French country/romantic theme. Mason jars and silver teapots as vases, loose bouquets with pops of warm color.

Making bouquets the night before.

This is sweet Brandy, the bride to be!

This arrangement is my favorite.

There are a few more great photos kicking around the internet... Hope I can track them down.

The wedding was beautiful, the bride was stunning... Everyone had such a great time.

Oh weddings...

Caliente!

missybateson@gardener.com (melissa virginia bateson) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 02:08:00 +0000

It makes sense. In May when I selected my window box flowers, I was STARVED for color.

It's fine, I enjoy how loud it is.

In the right window, I have a clematis vine that has survived four years in that small container.

Root pruning this plant each spring prevented the vine from becoming root bound and choking itself to death.

If a root system is naturally larger than the container it lives in, root pruning is necessary.

It's also important in this case because I like to plant annuals in the other half of the box.

There seems to be a little bit of everything. The orange flowers are calibrachoas, the yellow are lantanas, the fuchsia are petunias and the vertical light blues are salvia. I have a couple angelonia mixed on the right... it really is packed in there.

Things are tight but it's fine for these kinds of plantings. I will be changing it in a few weeks to the autumn style.

I'm thinking about mounting larger boxes. It would be quite a handsome addition to the facade of my otherwise blah building front.

Some beautiful french iron work perhaps?

We shall see.

Every day is a Saturday

missybateson@gardener.com (melissa virginia bateson) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 20:01:00 +0000

A quick project kick-starts a new store in Soho's back yard this past week.

Saturdays Surf NYC is a coffee & surf shop at 31 Crosby Street fulfilling your aquatic accouterments and caffeinated desires. It also just so happens to be the only surf shop in Manhattan if your looking!

Grab a cup o' joe and shoot the breeze out back next to one of the few planters I arranged. It's so nice back there, and the folks inside aren't too shabby themselves!

Saturdays used reclaimed wood for their interior shelving systems as well as the containers and benches out back. It looks so sharp!

You may have missed the big opening party last weekend, but Saturdays is open 7 days a week from 8am to 8pm!

I ripped this photo from their Facebook page of the opening party. (thanks dudes) Go on, "become a fan" of theirs!

Stop in, tell em Missy sent ya! Surfs up!

Really, September?

missybateson@gardener.com (melissa virginia bateson) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:44:00 +0000

It is just a day away. The summer is nearly gone... One that started off super soggy and is now somewhat warm, a good amount of seaside adventures (yes, NYC has amazing beaches), picking wild flowers in the rain...

and a good amount of garden maintenance work, Brooklyn Planting has almost completed our 3rd year! It seems like only yesterday that we were a small seed of a company. Now, we look into the future and may be expanding and morphing into a new identity.

There are so many new projects in the "green" urban communities now! Rooftop farms, back yard farms, to raising your own chickens... It has not only become important for our communities and self to get back to the basics but it's also a huge social trend, which I love. If becoming in tune with how your food becomes part of your meal, perhaps an appreciation and interest beyond the simple consumption will create a more interested youth.

The joy people get when they see they can grow a cherry tomato plant or have a whole slew of herbs at their fingertips, it's lovely!

I think of the old "give a teenage student an egg to care for" class in high school (which I never did)... What if each student was given a plant to care for? What about a class on growing your own food? OR a summer vacation project where they grow something!

Start small, both in the plant world and people world.

... Just some things I'm thinking about as we break into September.

I have some nice photos of window boxes in their full glory. It should be fun to see the 1st day planting pics and the three months later shots!

Support your local small farms!!!... oh did i ever post a link to my family farm in CT? My mother is Deb, the cutest little thing around. Wades Farm Fresh Don't mind the silly reporters in the beginning.

Terrarium making over at N.A.

missybateson@gardener.com (melissa virginia bateson) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:24:00 +0000

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

missybateson@gardener.com (melissa virginia bateson) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 01:48:00 +0000

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

missybateson@gardener.com (melissa virginia bateson) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:05:00 +0000

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

missybateson@gardener.com (melissa virginia bateson) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 03:30:00 +0000

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.

Ok, ok...

missybateson@gardener.com (melissa virginia bateson) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 03:19:00 +0000

I know.

I have totally neglected the blog. I've been easily passing the blame to my camera, which still has photos from March on it. It's easy enough to just go get a new cord to connect it (I think I left that 5 pin to USB cord in L.A.) ...

Man, I missed posting about all the amazing spring projects!

Getting it together for a MAJOR recap will be needed... considering I'm writing for another blog now!

YUP, I'm going to be a "contributer"... I will let you know when and where the first entry will be! The blog is about "how to make NYC more livable"...

So with that, I'm trying to come up with a little bio- which is soooooo hard! I keep doing funny entries and serious ones and rambling nonsense ones.

So let me get back to that- but I will DEFINITELY get that cord or a new camera this week- the thing is falling apart.

Hope to be back soon with some great photos from March- May... oh boy- SLIDE SHOW!

Happy Gardening!

Back in the Saddle

missybateson@gardener.com (melissa virginia bateson) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 17:32:00 +0000

It has been almost three solid months since my last report! Posting feels almost unfamiliar.

Well, winter is completely over!

Spring is officially here with all our April showers and early spring flowers!

Brooklyn Planting has been up and running for the past few weeks, dusting off the old tools and cleaning out some early garden beds and planting a few small containers here and there.

But before we get ahead of ourselves... lets talk Los Angeles!

I flew out mid January with intentions of volunteering with a friend of mine at Tree People for the Million Tree effort. In the end, I didn't plant as many trees as I would have liked but the completely new environment inspired a whole slew of ideas and directions!

On the flip side, I did some gardening at my friends house where I stayed... I think it inspired them because now they are planting so many new flowers and are constantly sending me updates!

Let the photos begin!

Welcome to Los Angeles, California!

This was my first experience with L.A.

They love/hate their highways out there.

On the Tree People grounds.

www.treepeople.org

LEED™ platinum-certified Conference Center at the top of Coldwater Canyon. Check the website for specifics, there are so many interesting forward thinking projects going on here! The Tree People staff work out of seven all-weather yurts organizing plantings or classes. (A "Yurt" is a round tent like structure. It's a modern interpretation of homes the nomadic people of central asian have been living in for over 2000 years.) Unfortunately I didn't take a picture of those structures...arrr.

It was such an interesting spot!

The grounds were pretty amazing... Look at the view of Studio City!!! The trails take you to the most breathtaking edges of the canyon.

An upside down photo of an upside down sign on a trail.

It says: Air is part of the city forest. People breathe oxygen into their lungs and breathe out carbon dioxide. Trees absorb carbon dioxide into their leaves and give off oxygen.

Looks like they were propagating some pine tree clippings in their huge greenhouse. So many new baby trees!

Off to the nursery.

Boething TreeLand Farms in Woodland Hills, CA.

Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful

Can you believe they sell palm trees at the nurseries out there???

The stock was all pretty familiar, a few things I consider annuals are perennials out there, that's mostly it.

Strapping down the trees to be delivered.

Riding my bike around.

This is a canopy tree and my favorite tree in all of Los Angeles. I think it lives on 4th Street in West Hollywood because that street had a bike lane. (one of the very few)

And a loving shot of my bicycle and the canopy tree. The scale of it was so impressive.

Classic alternating palm trees in Beverly Hills on the ride home.

This shrub has a great story. In the winter, the toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) would be covering most of the hillsides in it's evergreen foliage and bright red bunches of berries. Settlers mistook the plant for a holly and the story has it that the "father of Hollywood", H.J. Whitley, dubbed the area Hollywood on in 1887 due to the abundance of the "holly bush". Variations on the story are all floating around. But more or less, this was what was gathered. Mistaken identity!

Irises bloom in January and February... I'm sure in March and April and May... it's like paradise!

I was admiring this alien of a plant on one of my first days in town when a little old woman approached me. (Californians are incredibly friendly.) She told me it was an agave bloom. This Agave attenuata has a clustered base that can mass up to 4-5 feet. This flowering stalk can be as high as 10 feet! It's a monster!

Hollywood Forever Cemetery

It had the most beautiful unexpected treasures.

Like this bell tower at the front entrance covered in vines!!!

And these beautiful white roses mixed in with equisetum (horsetails).

This is a HUGE hydrangea. Look how little my friend Lauren is underneath that! It sits on the north side of the pond. During the summer months, old time/scary movies are projected onto the side of the mausoleum that sits in the center of that pond!! Oh L.A.

This is just a taste!

More to come! Lots and lots more!

I'm baaaaack!

missybateson@gardener.com (melissa virginia bateson) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 22:19:00 +0000

Well, it sure has been a while.

Gardening season was going full force through the holiday season. Closing down garden and laying the winter greens over all the flower beds, making garlands, dressing winter window boxes... it was fun. Decembers weather was up and down as per usual. One day was close to 70 and then I remember working one day all bundled up with temps around 25 degrees!

I will have lots of time to go back and post photos, talk at length about what happened in the garden scene in Brooklyn the past few months, as well as fill you in on my personal adventure of taking Brooklyn Planting across the country to Los Angeles, California.

Saturday I leave my office, apartment, pets and plants in the hands of two sub-letters thru March.

My wonderful friend Oscar has invited me to help his group, Tree People (treepeople.org), in planting trees for the city of Los Angeles as a part of the Million Tree LA effort!

I'm thrilled to help with such an important project.

Plant a tree if you can!

www.milliontreesla.org

www.millinotreesnyc.org

-There are so many organizations, publicly & privately funded, look for what you can do where you live... Or have your own adventure helping out our big cities!

Keep on keep'n on!

After the equinox

missybateson@gardener.com (melissa virginia bateson) — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 15:21:00 +0000

A Jacquemontii birch and Bloodgood maple tree went into a garden in Park Slope. These trees were planted along side the stone layers who were installing our blue stone patio.

In my design, a small wall made of brick will separate the stone patio from the lush garden.

I have to get over there this week to see how the brick wall turned out.

Over in Carroll Gardens, I was pleased to see some Rudbeckia still kicking. For winter interest, I leave the black cone centers of the rudbeckia to stand tall and dark against the snow... It is my 2nd favorite winter plant. 1st favorite is a snow dusted plume from a grass.

I planted two buttery white mums along side them in the large front garden bed as well as a mix of deep blue pansies to harden off before the winter. They tend to come back with little effort in the spring.

The Nepeta I planted last year is so happy in this front spot. (The blue gray mass with a few blue/purple flowers still around.)

In the front corner, a mass of the sweet alyssum annual flower makes such an impact with such little effort. These will go for a while longer. Such a good staple annual.

Oh these coleus. They have taken a beating this summer. The children who live in this house have a great time playing, sometimes including the plants in the fun... It's no problem though, the coleus bounced right back! They still look great.
Up on the balcony I removed the sweet potato vine and added a row of multi colored pansies. They are cheerful and fun. The kids can see them up close every time they leave the house and come home. It is a very Alice in Wonderland plant, such personality these little guys!
...

Another garden in Park Slope has me tending to her indoor plant needs. Last winter I installed a succulent tray on her dining table as well as three small floor plants in her heirloom copper pots.

The most difficult thing with indoor plants is the watering. Some plants require more water, some less depending on type of plant, time of year and the climate inside the house.

The succulent tray works well with neglect. These plants store water in their fleshy bodies so not watering is better than over watering which will cause it to rot. Succulents are also great because if you forget to water for a very long time, the stress won't show on the body of the plant as obviously as plants with delicate leaves.

The prayer plant works well to warm up dark corners. The stripes are really lovely and clean looking. It feels tropical without the overwhelming size and need for lots of light. A nice little pot for house, I'd say.

Fall is here. Things are shifting. Winter plans are starting to come together.

Bulbs are ordered and ready to be shipped at the end of October.

Slugs are making a come back in my gardens as the weather becomes cool and wet.

I met a new neighbor who will be opening a garden/flower shop a few doors down from Brooklyn Planting! They seem so sweet, I'm thrilled to have more garden oriented businesses in the area... maybe we could join forces! I will keep you posted with details of their opening.

Order your bulbs now!

In and around the city

missybateson@gardener.com (melissa virginia bateson) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 17:29:00 +0000

Autumn officially began today.

I purchased my first round of chrysanthemums and asters last week.

This window box has a few osteospermum african daisies, brown sedge grass, herbs sage and rosemary, russian sage, blue aster and an orange blaze chrysanthemum. Two of these new planters were delivered to a brownstone in BedStuy. The collection of perennials and herbs will fill in over time and give winter interest as well as fill the air with the scent of rosemary and sage.

...

I also took a little trip to PS1 in Queens the other day. This is what was up.

"P.F.1 (Public Farm One) is an urban farm concept that evokes the look of a flying carpet landing in the P.S.1 courtyard. Constructed from large cardboard tubes, its top surface will be a working farm, blooming with a variety of vegetables and plants."

Here is the link http://www.ps1.org/exhibitions/view/201

The exhibition runs through October 19th... I would check it out for the chickens at least.

My take on it:

Most of the vegetables look stressed and ready to harvest or die out. It was a competition, this was the winner... It looked so animated and the people to plant interaction felt awkward. It is worth seeing and stimulating the path for more urban farming.

Inside the museum is "That was then... This is now"... one piece specifically stood out.

Daniel Orteg

Controller of the Universe

(photo from the PS1 website)

There were a few things that I use every day in the garden in this amazing installation. Loved it.

...

Looking forward to the beautiful fall colors and bulb selections!

Hot time, summer in the city

missybateson@gardener.com (melissa virginia bateson) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 18:34:00 +0000

B. Planting took a few weeks to catch it's breath!

The business is growing. A few new gardens are on the roster which is keeping me busier than ever.

Most gardens are finishing up with the big summer show... Tuberous begonias are looking beautiful in my gardens right now... which is such a great way to add a bold color splash in a shaded area.

I love the high summer colors, they are strong and sometimes loud, just like the hot New York city summer day. The hydrangeas are playful and fun, the freshly clipped bouquets of the gardens are lively easy to replenish...

But truthfully, my favorite season is just around the corner. The late summer/fall bloomers and the trees with leaves turning a wild collection of reds and yellows. It's also the time of year we start the spring bulb color schemes. The thousands of bulbs I order every October get dug precious little holes in November with a pinch of bat guano and tuck it away for the winter and wait for it's show next spring.

Patience and Planning.

In the meantime, I fixed up the front garden in a Park Slope brownstone a couple weeks ago. It's seemed pretty easy with the bed being empty except for a single tree.

The birch tree is actually quite large so the root system was all over the place.

Birch's have especially thick and shallow root paths making digging tough. The soil was lacking some major organic nutrients and so dry. By adding organic compost, peat humus and a good amount of a balanced fertilizer, the new plants should have a good running start!

This is the after. All these perennials are all very low maintenance, they will do well in this shady little nook... it's subtle and inviting. Such a difference in curb appeal.

The cluster of light green on the left side of the bed are a few Tricyrtis (toad lilies), they bloom in mid fall. This plant is my ultimate favorite bloomer.

Although they are small and perhaps not the most flashy from afar, the intricate color and form just blow my mind.

They are so easy to grow and they love the shade.

This is not in bloom now, just showing you the flower.

In the back garden, I had to cut back a wild climbing rose that was taking over four other shrubs.

The plantings are a "woodland forrest meets cottage garden" look. The spring bulb planting here should be amazing, especially when the espaliered dogwood is in bloom. My oh my.

Elsewhere,

I found this morning glory snuck into a Brooklyn Planting window box in Prospect Heights.

I used a bit of soil from their back garden mixed with new soil... a seed must have been a castaway to the front window!!

Time to start preparing for the next flood of work! A few new garden installs, fall bulb designs and plantings, clean up, close down, plan my winter escape!

In the office

missybateson@gardener.com (melissa virginia bateson) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 06:27:00 +0000

Have you seen my window boxes?

They are so full! I wanted it to look like fire works, or a fiesta... Maybe more red accents next year.

The Angelonia is a great window box flower. It's common name is Summer Snapdragon and will last through the summer with minimal work and constant color.

This vine is growing up a wire and stabilized with twine, the wind is sometimes an issue. It's a clematis vine named Blue Boy. It is a sweet little blue flower that has a light fragrance. When in bloom, there are up to 4o at a time! So beautiful.

A window box can add so much to a city apartment. Indoor plants are one thing, but a small garden in a window...

July five

missybateson@gardener.com (melissa virginia bateson) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 20:34:00 +0000

My schedule is packed with summer-time adventures mixed with new projects and my steady garden maintenance work.

Most of my gardens are in full stride... There isn't much space for new plants this time of the year.

The wet weather in helping to keep everything lush, especially good since we will be getting into a hot July soon.

It was feeling a bit dry for a week or two there, some of my maple trees were showing signs of sun scorching. The edges were curling up and browning.

Not much can be done about it.

I worked in Tribeca cleaning up a terrace yesterday, pruning back what was getting overgrown, inspecting the health of all my trees and shrubs.

The rain started down heavy after two hours of work so I spent the last hour fertilizing and clipping roses under my umbrella because I forgot to bring my rain coat.

The maple in the photo above is a large bonsai. It lives in a 28'' wide pan and is pruned to twist around in a circle... I have been working on this tree for the past 5 years. In late summer, the helicopter seed pods (they are really called nutlets) turn a pinkish red. In the fall, the citron leaf color turns bright orange red, a gorgeous display.

This terrace apartment is being sold. My client is moving to a new place without a garden but we are planing on doing a few special window boxes. This has always been one of my favorite gardens.

Lamium will cover whole sections of a woodland forrest floor. It's a perfect bit of color for my dark flower bed corners next to the bunny cage and comes back every year.

A favorite plant for being so easy to maintain and super easy to propagate.

Oh the beautiful and elegant Annabelle Hydrangeas... These are like clouds or fireworks... so lovely after the rainstorm.

The Annabelle hydrangea sag heavily in the rain. Their flower heads get so heavy, some are 8'' across.

The yellow rose is turning a bit orange... Looking into a possible change in the soil balance.

This is the first year we put lilies in this garden.

We should have had them years ago, they are so feminine and elegant.

To buy a bulb in the fall for $4 and plant it with some good fertilizer then wait til July... Nothing is more satisfying and thrilling. My oh my.

I do wish we had a few Lilium Auratum... these are the largest of any lily species. Some can be up to 8ft. tall! The Auratum can hold up about 20 blooms on one stalk! So insane.
The lily came up behind a patch of Morning Light grasses, Miscanthus sinensis.

The roses.

And this is my best friend's favorite flower, the Verbena.

This flower has an interesting history. It's been associated with the supernatural or the divine, even stories of it being used to staunch Jesus' wounds after he was removed from the cross. Some legends say that boiling it into a tea and keeping that near will protect you from vampires.

Heat Wave

missybateson@gardener.com (melissa virginia bateson) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 00:52:00 +0000

The office has been nice and cool now that we installed the AC. It has been in the high 90's the past few days... heat index yesterday at 104 degrees!!

The plants needed extra water to take on the stressful sun. My window boxes are starting to fill out.

Orange calabrachoa skirt the front with a lavender on the left, purple and white angelonea and a clematis that just finished it's first blooming cycle... almost 3o blooms!!

I was going for a festive hot theme... sort of Spanish and romantic... once they all grow in together it will be perfect!

These snap dragons are thriving in my new back yard. Loving the new storage space for my extra flowers!
I am back outside tomorrow... 87 degrees seems like a much easier temperature to work in.

Rounding out May

missybateson@gardener.com (melissa virginia bateson) — Fri, 30 May 2008 00:44:00 +0000

This month has been quite busy! The pace has been manageable and the weather, perfect.

A few successes have been taking place... My rhododendron in the West Village that I was told never blooms had bloomed this week . It's quite exciting for the client. I took on this garden a few years ago, hacked it back the first year, gave it some love the next and this spring- it's back on track!

Her irises have also bloomed beautifully this week. They were transplanted from Sagaponac when her family moved years ago to the city. The yellow iris is still opening up.

The roses are battling an attack of the aphids. Those nasty little pests ruin everything! Ugh.

Half of my gardening time, if not more, is finding out what is going on with a sick plant or getting rid of some bug or disease that drifts in or just the constant battle with black spot.

...

Today I planted a garden in Park Slope that I cleaned out a few weeks ago. I ripped a ton of ivy out, painted the concrete walls, removed a bunch of rotting whiskey barrel planters and two lower rotted garden beds.

Before

After clean out.

After the annual planting today.

Snapdragons, lobelia, Angelonia, Coleus, Calibracoa, Leucothoe, Nicotina and Columbine were added to give it a sweet colorful country mix.

A corner "Before" view.

And the same corner after. It will be really nice in July when everything fills in and is full of color! I can not wait!

This is also the garden that has two naughty dogs that like to dig in the corners of the beds.

The naughty dog:

(But really, she is such a sweet dog.)

To amend their habits, we left Ace and Roxy one flower bed full of sand as well as mulched the flower beds with Ponderosa pine cones.

The cones work great! Ace cant find her footing and I imagine it pricks a little so she stays in the low sand bed! Problem solved. (Well, the new flowers may be tempting for her, we we shall see.)

On the home-front, I cleaned out my back yard and started a garden. I've been here for 5 years, so it's about time... but you know what they say, "A cobbler always has the worst shoes". I'm about to change that.

June seems to be looking good. I'm going to do a garden at one of my client's lake houses up state. I have an install to take care of in Williamsburg. Maintenance maintenance maintenance... it never ends.

Happy gardening!

a clean green

missybateson@gardener.com (melissa virginia bateson) — Mon, 05 May 2008 16:58:00 +0000

Brooklyn Planting installed the 1st major step in this new garden in Williamsburg.

This was a few weeks ago. The surf shed was painted a crisp white and the owners were trying with no luck to grow grass.

30 boxwood shrubs were planted along the perimeter of the two sections of lawn. These will be hedged into a clean line. It should look sharp by fall.

The sod was shipped in an installed by a great crew... It took about 4 hours for all things to be delivered, planted and cleaned up.

At the end of the day we had a lush green yard.

Now we are on a strict twice a day watering schedule to set the sod.

The neighbors were quite happy. After having the back yard be a run down puppy pit for many years, this is a much needed improvement for everyone in the building.

The next project is to make him an herb garden and a few container plantings.

Get dirty!

missybateson@gardener.com (melissa virginia bateson) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 18:04:00 +0000

This looks like a lot of fun! Go to the website to see the complete schedule.
http://www.nationalgardenmonth.org/index.php?page=nyc_grows
2008 NYC GROWS Garden Festival
Learn how from the experts at the third annual NYC GROWS Garden Festival, presented by Target, and co-hosted by the National Gardening Association and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, on Sunday, April 27, from 10 to 5, in Union Square Park South Plaza at 14th Street. There will be hands-on activities for the whole family, food and beverage sampling, chef and gardening demonstrations, a prize drawing totaling more than $5,000, and much more. See below for detailed information.

Demonstration Tent Schedule

11:00	NYC Parks & Recreation/New York Restoration Project	MillionTreesNYC
11:30	Target	Container gardening with Sean Conway
12:00	GreenMarket	Chef Colin Alevras, The Tasting Room, prepares his favorite dish with local foods
12:30	GreenMarket	Chefs Colin & Renée Alevras, The Tasting Room, prepare local foods family style
1:00	Organic Gardening Magazine	Cooking with Rodale author Dana Jacobi
1:30	Organic Gardening Magazine	Contributing Editor Willi Galloway creates an herb bookshelf
2:00	Target	Container gardening with Sean Conway
2:30	National Gardening Association	Urban gardening with William Moss
3:00	Ames True Temper	Planting trees in containers with Vicki Payne
3:30	The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company	Making Plant People with Rebecca Kolls
4:00	GreenPrints: "The Weeder's Digest"	The Greatest Garden Stories Ever Told with Pat Stone
4:30	NYC Grows Garden Festival Drawing	Prizes worth the trip (total value over $5,000)!

There are tons of great links on the website!

See you there!

Happy Earth Day

missybateson@gardener.com (melissa virginia bateson) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 23:29:00 +0000

I was helping out a fellow garden friend at Urban Landscape Concepts most of this week.

I went out to Long Island to the nurseries for trees, perennials and mulch. We filled the back of the 14' Uhaul box truck to the brim.

It was a great time.

Today we turned the soil for the new garden beds, dug holes for huge shrubs and trees. It is always an incredible task when it takes four strong bodies to heave an 8' shrub out of the ground, keeping the root-ball completely in tact.

I ended my day at a Brooklyn Planting garden which is in full spring bloom.

Very cute indoor and outdoor window box plantings.

My body is very very dirty and tired.

Hope you planted a tree today or did something great for our planted Earth!

Keep on keepin on.

Saving the planet is the new black

missybateson@gardener.com (melissa virginia bateson) — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 18:27:00 +0000

I came across this great new earth friendly tip for our web searches.

For those of you who use Google, try Blackle instead. It's Google with a black background instead of white.

The creators of Blackle say that a black Google would save 750 megawatt-hours a year.

A megawatt-hour is equal to ten thousand 100 watt light bulbs burning continuously for 1 hour.

Every watt counts.

www.blackle.com

**** Read the comment! Turns out "Blackle" isn't all it's cracked up to be. I will have to do a little research and see what's going on. It's good practice to not trust everything you hear without a little background check.

Spring container planting

missybateson@gardener.com (melissa virginia bateson) — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 19:40:00 +0000

It's an easy way to make people smile.

When Brooklyn Planting was installing these window boxes and container in a front garden, we had so many fans stop and chit chat about the flowers.

Purple fringe tulips, white ranunculus, dusty miller and a few while muscari will last for a while if the weather doesn't get too warm.

It looks so lovely from the inside looking out as well.

And as a bonus, the white ranunculus can be cut for a long lasting vase flower.

...

I, of course, use the rejects and plant them in my window box. It's a bit hogpog now, but I will pull it together by june.

...

This is a sweet collection of daffodils, pale yellow pansies and helichrysum under a climbing hydrangea.

There is a very beautiful perennial called nepita (cat mint) that is starting to come back in this flower box. It fills the front of the container with a misty grey blue leaf and flower.

Lets hope no heavy frost comes through!! Last frost is in late May so we have a little ways to go.

Ps. I'm loving my Zip Car. Two days of darting around the city and I didn't have to pay for any gas. Also, just dropping it off when I'm finished and not worrying about anything, it's a great feeling.

April showers recap

missybateson@gardener.com (melissa virginia bateson) — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 18:18:00 +0000

Brooklyn Planting has been full force these pasts few weeks.

The bulbs we planted last fall are all coming up.

Daffodils are in full bloom, pansies and violas are everywhere.

I have been pressing my plucked flowers and laminating them... I received a laminator for the holidays and am putting it to good use.

Now what to do with a laminated viola? - I don't know yet.

...

Last week I planted this very vibrant spring selection. These kinds of bursts of early color help kick things off in a budding garden.

*Purchasing flower tip: Buy flowering plants with the most buds, not blooms. That way you will get a longer show if you start just before they become beautiful.

This was just after I planted it. The crocuses now are balloons of purple around a sweet mix of soft spring tulips and daffodils.
...

Also, I helped out a few days this past week with an old gardening friend at one of his rooftop gardens.

These daffodils smelled amazing.

Our task was to move a few boxwood shrubs around and remove six spiraea. His client didn't like them after living with them for three years.

The look is more streamlined, clean edged and masculine at this garden.

The spiraea is a little more wild and naural with a woody bark to it.

Gardens are always a work in progress. Sometime things grow out of their spot or aren't looking as nice as it did three years ago. Things need to be adjusted throughout the life of the garden.

This is a spiraea in bloom.

This summer we will plant in the place of the spiraea a bold blue, 24'' tall annual called Angelonia.

We have lots of work to do on this garden. A party is planted for mid May so we will be focused on getting this garden back in order.

Workin for the weekend

missybateson@gardener.com (melissa virginia bateson) — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 14:23:00 +0000

I'm rushing through this because I still have to pack and run to catch a bus back to the farm for a family baby shower.

Dormant plants are all coming back to life, spring bulbs are growing tall and the forsythia in the neighborhood are glowing that strong bright bright yellow!!

I finished a spring cleaning at a garden in Greenwich Village this week. It has been tough with construction happening on the building next door. A brick wall next to our garden was removed causing lots of dust and brick pieces to fall into the beds... Not so bad though, the neighbors seem to be pretty respectful.

This rhododendron is one of the most anticipated blooms this spring. Apparently, for many years this one hasn't had more than 2 or 3 blooms. After a couple seasons of good pruning and a fertilization schedule we now have about 24 buds! I am so excited to see how it does.
I have always loved how the climbing hydrangea can go from a gnarly wall of brown vines to a fluttering mass of bright green leaves.

Daffodils and tulips with the horse and monkey.

Little kitty statue almost sitting on an early bulb, it could be a snowdrop... not quite sure.

In the foreground there are european ginger starting to come back... they are so elegant and great in this shaded garden bed.

Now I have to pack for northern CT weather... lots of thermals, it's cold up on the mountain!