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January 26, 2006
Jelena
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Is it global warming or just the result of an unusually warm January? This Witchhazel (Hamamelis x intermedia Jelena) is blooming at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden this week, and there is another one looking just this bright in Central Park.
Posted by gardenguidenyc at 06:48 PM | Comments (0)
Flower Vigilante
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A friend passed along a story from The Downtown Express about Bella Meyer. She and her coworkers have taken it upon themselves to spread a little floral joy in Lower Manhattan, by distributing tiny posies to pedestrians, and to sometimes flummoxed subway riders. They also occasionally leave little floral offerings in unexpected places. Bella owns Fleurs Bella, a high end floral design studio; we love the idea that when she's not creating fabulous arrangements for fabulous people she's running a guerilla operation to improve the outlook of regular New Yorkers.
Posted by gardenguidenyc at 11:03 AM | Comments (0)
January 23, 2006
Winter Lectures
Winter seems to get shorter every year, which is a problem for gardeners, who gratefully use the winter months to clean tools, plan for new plantings, place plant and seed orders and, of course, read and study. This winter there are a number of interesting lectures that are well worth marking down on your calendars.
At the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, you can sign up for two different series: the seventh annual American Gardening series on February 16 and March 16, from 10am-12pm; or the series on the American Landscape:Ideals, Influences, Innovations, which includes lectures on February 13, March 13 and April 3.
On February 15 from 8:45am-3:30pm, Atlantic Nurseries will be sponsoring Creating Great Gardens at the C.W. Post Campus in Brookville, New York. Speakers include the renowned horticulturist Allan Armitage. For information, call 631-586-6242.
Lastly, Wave Hill has two more lectures in its 2006 Horticultural Lecture series--one on February 22 by Topher Delaney and the other on March 22 by Bunny Williams, both taking place from 6:30-8pm at the New York School of Interior Design, 170 East 70th Street, Manhattan. For telephone reservations and tickets, call 718-549-3200 x216.
Posted by gardenguidenyc at 05:37 PM | Comments (0)
January 18, 2006
Tempting Tropicals: 175 Irresistible Indoor Plants
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This is the book for all of us who have tried to grow something indoors and failed for one reason or another. And we are not talking here about philodendrons and ivy. Zachos throws the door open to all sorts of exotics, plants whose names summon up great pleasure: jasmine, passion flower, frangipani; and plants whose names just make you scratch your head: baseball plant, fire flash, purple waffle. Along with excellent chapters on light, water, grooming, diseases and pests, and feeding, Zachos describes each plant's very specific growing requirements. You get the sense that these are all based on close, first-hand observation and experience. The book manages to be both a useful reference book (and we are always looking for truly useful garden books) and a handsome gift.
Posted by gardenguidenyc at 10:25 AM | Comments (0)
January 11, 2006
Composter
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There is nothing that makes a gardener feel more virtuous than composting. It's good for the environment and the results are gold for the garden. But composting in a city apartment is tricky. The smells, the mess, and the flies are somehow more disgusting in an urban setting where it's not convenient to dash out a couple of times a day to tip the vegetable parings into the compost pile. And if you share an apartment with someone less environmentally dedicated than yourself, indoor city composting is probably where he or she draws the line. So this product, Nature Mill's Automatic Composter, which we saw advertised in Treehugger, seems like a great idea. It's a self contained unit, you just put the material in the top of the machine (it takes meat and fish as well as vegetable matter) and empty the tray full of freshly made compost every two weeks or so. This is not a low budget solution to indoor city composting, but it is much more appealing than a worm bin under the sink- at $399.00- it's worth it if it delivers on its promise. This machine could save marriages!
Posted by gardenguidenyc at 05:28 PM | Comments (0)
January 04, 2006
More Scott's Sponsorship
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Citygardenguide was horrified last fall to discover that Scott's Miracle-Gro, the country's largest lawn and garden care company was sponsoring the new Home Garden Center at the New York Botanical Garden. We had thought, naively, that NYBG was pursuing organic options as far as fertilizers and garden products were concerned. Now we learn that Bryant Park is also receiving help from Scott's. We aren't as upset about Bryant Park partnering with a company that promotes non-organic gardening methods, because we have come to look on BP as a giant planter, and the park is so dependent on corporate sponsorship that this one makes sense. But the suspicion occurs that Scott's Miracle-Gro (one company now) is pushing back against a growing tide of organic gardens and gardeners, and is looking at more blue chip garden sponsorships to counter its image as the chief purveyor of chemical, anti-environmental gardening solutions. Is the Central Park Conservatory next?
Posted by gardenguidenyc at 04:02 PM | Comments (0)