February 21, 2006
Hanging Pots
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If you are interested in modern design and plants and gardens, there are not a lot of design options out there; the gardening world is still very traditional, and modernists tend to be more interested in form and new materials than plants. So we were pleasantly surprised to learn about this wall hanging on Land+Living. Designed by Vincent Vandenbrouk for a French firm called Edition Compagnie, it's made of either 8 or 12 terra cotta pots suspended with stainless steel cables. We thought it looked so cool we immediately tried to figure out where to hang it and started to fantasize about green walls. Alas, the fantasy dissolved when we thought about the challenge of putting actual plants in those pots and watering them regularly.
Posted by gardenguidenyc at 04:05 PM | 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)
November 07, 2005
Help for Aching Backs
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As we have mentioned several times lately, it's bulb-planting time, and for many of us that means sore backs and aching knees. This Ultimate Strap On Gardening Stool might be just the remedy for those ills. It's a seat that straps on and allows you to sit comfortably and work low to the ground for an extended period. Originally developed in Europe for milking cows (does anyone milk cows by hand any more?) it is light weight - 4lbs.- and has proven surprisingly helpful to those working on vegetable farms or in plant nurseries where much of the work is done kneeling or crouching. As kneeling and crouching are exactly the problems most of us encounter planting bulbs we thought this might help!
From Cleanairgardening via Treehugger
Posted by gardenguidenyc at 10:41 AM | Comments (0)
October 16, 2005
Planter
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A decent planter is hard to find. Especially if you're searching for one that doesn't look as if it was created in the 18th Century, weigh a ton, or come straight from the discount pile at Wal-Mart. So we were pretty thrilled to find these at the shop at Wave Hill. The metal (feels lighter than steel more substantial than aluminum) cubes come in three sizes 12" 18" and 24". And you can lift them with one hand...unfilled of course.
Yes, it is the middle of October, and not exactly the season for planting pots, but Citygardenguide firmly beleives that you gotta grab'em when you see'em.
Posted by gardenguidenyc at 04:13 PM | Comments (0)
June 03, 2005
Petal Post
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Found at the Chelsea Flower Show - an ingenious system for sending single blossoms through the mail. Petal Post has developed a box about the size of a medium sized hard-back book. Inside it has a small pipette attached to a white card. A blossom, presumably from your garden, goes into the water filled pipette (similar to the ones used in a corsage) and you close up the box, which has a handy address label on the outside and presto..send the flower to a friend.
The boxes come in sets of 6.
Posted by gardenguidenyc at 03:11 PM | Comments (0)
May 16, 2005
Plantarium
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Line up a couple of these on a windowsill and enjoy your own indoor garden. The beauty of them is that you can plant just one seed and then watch it grow under perfect conditions. The secret is all in the gel that feeds the plant until you are ready to put it in your garden--or give to a friend. The planter comes with your choice of seeds: basil, tomato, eggplant, melon, lavender, poppy or sweet pea. Look for them up at the brand-new, beautifully re-designed gift shop at Wave Hill in the Bronx. (Beware: the manufacturer claims the gel is non-toxic but at the same time recommends that you not get it on your hands, so use care in handling...)
Link: PlantariumPosted by gardenguidenyc at 01:45 PM | Comments (0)
May 05, 2005
Home Depot
Citygardenguide is not particularly keen on box stores--one of the good things about living in New York is their relative scarcity--but we are ALWAYS looking for a good deal on plants and garden products. So when the new Manhattan Home Depot stores took out big ads touting their Indoor Garden Centers we thought we should take a look.
Sad to report, the Indoor Garden Center is more dismal than you can imagine. For starters, the lighting, which is probably flattering to plumbing fixtures, makes everything look plastic. We had to finger the spathiophyllum and a number of other plants to make sure they were real. The choice of seasonal plants is pathetic. There were about a dozen potted roses in terrible condition, some potted tulips in pink foil paper which looked as if they had missed Easter, several diseased mandevilla vines.... you get the message. A group of standard hibiscus in neon colors were still looking presentable, but the pickings were very slim. Traditional indoor foliage plants appeared to be a better bet and were decently priced, but grouped together in that light they resembled a display in a less than elegant office lobby. A large collection of orchids looked healthy, but the selection of hanging plants left much to be desired. There were lots of ornamental pots but relatively few with simple clean designs.
Feeling that we had to find a redeeming feature, we moved on to the garden products; potting soils, fertilizers, and gizmos. We found an intriguing watering device which can keep a plant watered for three weeks. There were many sizes of potting soil (Home Depot seems to have an exclusive deal with Miracle Grow and Scotts). When we asked if there were any organic products, the salesperson looked at us as if we had said a bad word, and said no. We moved on...
Posted by gardenguidenyc at 07:08 PM | Comments (0)
May 03, 2005
Veggie Love
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We found this tableware set on the web blog/magazine Land+Living. Called Veggie Love, the utensils were designed a couple of years ago by the firm Lift, whose web site is long on hip, cool and humorous, but short on actual information, so it is hard to figure out if you can buy a set for your next dinner party. But this is clearly the kind of cutlery that every gardener should have!
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Lift has also designed an ecologically sensitive sandal for your summer wardrobe. The Johnny Appleseed Sandal has phytoremediating seeds embedded in the sole (phytoremediating plants clean toxins in the air and water), and as the sandals wear out, the seeds are liberated. Each step has a positive impact on the environment. Such a beautiful idea! Unfortunately, the sandals are only in design phase...maybe next summer!
Link: LiftPosted by gardenguidenyc at 09:19 PM | Comments (0)
April 11, 2005
Mail-Order Raised Beds
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Bad earth--compacted, contaminated, rubble-filled, or all of the above--is the scourge of the city gardener. The solution to the problem is often raised beds. For those of us who aren't too handy with tools, or who can't see ourselves struggling home on the subway with building supplies, this raised bed system could be a godsend. It is available by mail order, versatile, aesthetically fairly inoffensive, and we think even we at Citygardenguide could probably put it together!
Link: Scenery-Solutions
Posted by gardenguidenyc at 12:20 PM | Comments (0)
April 04, 2005
Garbage Flowers
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Citygardenguide usually disdains artificial flowers, but came upon several unusual fakes attached to some tree grates in midtown Manhattan. Garbage Flowers are made from "recognizably recycled" products. These witty riffs on our throwaway culture are reminiscent of some of the funkier designs in community gardens. (Check out the fence, made out of flattened, cut-out cans, at La Plaza Cultural on East 9th Street and Avenue C to see what we mean.) While we wait for real flowers to bloom, go to the Garbage Flowers website and get in the mood for spring. As their motto says "unlike regular flowers garbage flowers do not die!"
Link: Garbage Flowers
Posted by gardenguidenyc at 11:03 AM | Comments (0)
March 15, 2005
Plants and Seeds
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One of the great pleasures of winter for gardeners is reading seed and plant catalogs. As soon as you open the first page of the first catalog you get a strong and welcome whiff of spring. For those with backyard gardens, it is time to start figuring out what you want to grow this year, and don't take too long about it. In the Northeast, seeds for peas and other cool weather crops go in as soon as the ground can be worked (around St. Patrick's Day in Zone 5) so sharpen your pencils and get your orders in.
Here is a list of favorite catalogs to get you started...
The Cook's Garden
800-457-9703
Specializes in boutique lettuces. Think Lollo Rossa, Maserati, Rosalita, Red Sails...If you want to try ten different kinds of basil this summer, this would be the place to buy the seeds.
John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds
860-567-6086
All kinds of interesting vegetables-Supersette Fava Beans, American Purple Top Rutabaga, Cotton Candy Pumpkin-plus old-fashioned flower favorites, including Lavatera, Heliotrope, and Only the Lonely Nicotiana.
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Renee's Garden
888-880-7228
The Renee of Renee's Garden is Renee Shepherd, whose original seed catalog, Shepherd's Garden Seeds (now incorporated into White Flower Farm), introduced international seeds to American gardeners in the 1980s. Gourmet vegetables and wonderful varieties of cottage garden flowers, including 24 different kinds of sweet peas.
Heronswood Nursery
360-297-4172
Famous for offering unusual varieties of plants gathered from all over the world, this Pacific Northwest nursery continues to tempt gardeners with treasures such as double-flowered Hellebores and the giant-leaved Gunnera.
Fedco Seeds
207-873-7333
This 130-page catalog printed on newsprint is for the serious large-scale gardener. No-nonsense, no-frills, no extras, just chock full of every seed that you are looking for, all at very reasonable bulk prices.
Avant Gardens
508-998-9405
No seeds at this family-run nursery, just lots of plants, both annuals and perennials. Fourteen different kinds of salvia, sixteen varieties of pelargonium, grasses and sedges, trough plants—in short, every plant you would love to find for your garden, all well grown and well priced.
Graines Baumaux
Cruise this French organic seed company's website (you should be able to navigate with your high-school French) and you will be ready to plan a potager this summer filled with unusual European varieties.
Posted by gardenguidenyc at 03:47 PM | Comments (0)
Willow Cloche
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The gardens at The Cloisters are a favorite destination for us. We are particularly enamored of their wattle edging and garden supports, all of which are made from material coppiced on site. For those of us who are less handy, this willow cloche from France imparts some of that old fashioned, handcrafted aura to a garden. Or just put it on a table and admire it.
Link: L'Atelier Vert
Posted by gardenguidenyc at 01:57 PM | Comments (0)
March 10, 2005
Best Garden Bag
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The best-looking garden bag happens also to be one that is so sturdy and well-made that we just know it will last forever. It is the perfect size for lugging around for spring clean-up chores or for holding all those daylilies you dug up and need to move. It is available from Womanswork, and you won't be sorry if you buy two!
Link: Womanswork
Posted by gardenguidenyc at 06:54 PM | Comments (0)