Archive for the ‘Summer 2009’ Category

26 Jun

M and P’s Jersey City Roof Garden with Tomatoes and Koi

Posted by Chris P in Summer 2009. Tagged: , , .

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Take a look around the Jersey City roof garden M & P share with their dog Caruso. There’s a couple of firsts here: we’ve never seen roof garden tomato plants this huge . . . and we’ve never seen a rooftop water garden before.

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M’s morning glory vines are climbing a rope trellis he made. See how the vines will cover the rust stains dripping down the roof!

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“The tomatoes got HUGE then waterlogged but i think they were saved. The watermelons are doing well too,” says M. They covered up their tomato plants with garbage bags to protect them from these record breaking June rains.

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M and P, thanks for these amazing roof garden photos.

Ready for even more roof garden photos? Check out the Wonder on Willow Street in Brooklyn. And for more roof gardening pets, click over to Nico the cat.

Images: M in Jersey City

25 Jun

Blackbook’s Brownstone Brooklyn Stoop Garden

Posted by Chris P in Summer 2009. Tagged: , , .

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No roof access? No excuses. Why not plant a garden on your stoop … or windowsill … or the tree well in front of your building. Scrounge up some space this summer.

But before you get started, check Blackbook for sage urban gardening advice. #10 is the best: Spend the extra couple of bucks on quality potting soil, it’s worth it.

They’re right. We’ll confess: R* and I potted some plants in soil from the dollar store. It made a muddy mess and taught us a lesson. Now we cab back to Brooklyn with huge bags of $$$ soil from Home Depot. If you pay plenty for plants, spring for the extra money for quality potting soil and treat yourself to a cab ride home.

We home Blackbook publishes a follow-up post with more pictures later on in the summer.

Image: Blackbook

25 Jun

A Pink And Green Container Garden

Posted by Chris P in Summer 2009. Tagged: , , .

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We put together this pink pot from plants on sale at the Greenmarket yesterday.

The Anisodontea can grow as high as three feet. We’ll see about that. We like how the vine coordinates with the Slightly Strawberry (silly name!) flowers. We plant white flowers in every pot we can for night vision.

More about Thriller, Filler, Spiller design concept here . . .

24 Jun

Willow Street Wonder . . . Stunning Brooklyn Rooftop Garden Photos

Posted by Chris P in Summer 2009. Tagged: , , .

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Our friends on Willow Street in Brooklyn Heights sent us some pictures from their spectacular roof garden. Pretty amazing!

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frog and sedum roof garden

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Thanks for the pictures, CQ! Send more soon!

More rooftop garden pictures:
Gardening in the Sky photos
The Roof Garden at the Caledonia

Images: CQ

23 Jun

Patio Furniture Now On Sale

Posted by Chris P in Summer 2009. Tagged: , .

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We bought this patio table and chairs from Crate & Barrel early this spring. We wanted something sturdy since our rooftop space is shared by everyone who lives in the building. We also wanted to find sturdy chairs that would stack for storage in the winter. We also needed an umbrella that could stand up to the wind.

Here’s what we picked:

All of these items are now on sale! So if your roof garden still needs furniture, this is a great time to order. We liked this patio table because the tiles cut into the top give it some personality.

Don’t forget to ask them how long it will take to deliver to you. Also, remember that delivery all the way up to your rooftop could cost extra. Many retailers charge an extra fee per box, per flight of stairs.

You might also want to check out the outdoor furniture sales at:

22 Jun

Help Us Pick Plants: One More Rooftop Perennial Container

Posted by Chris P in Summer 2009. Tagged: , , .

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Hey, so we’re adding one more container to our roof garden … and we really need your help.  We’re hoping to put bold flowers and lush-looking plants that will be able to handle  rooftop conditions .

I’m just about ready to push the buy button on this cart from White Flower Farm, but I’d like your advice on my choices first. How did I do?

  • We already have a red salvia that’s going gangbusters on the roof, so I thought adding a purple salvia would be smart.
  • Heuchera is my new favorite plant and I’d like to try one in our garden. Heuchera Obsidian can tolerate full sun and the near black leaves look exciting and low maintenance.
  • The Ganzania kerbasiana Tanager has bright flowers with dark centers that would set off the heuchera. But it might clash with the purple salvia?

I want to place the order tomorrow, so we can hopefully pot them this weekend. What do you think? The salvia would be a thriller, the heuchera a filler . . . but I don’t think the Tanager is really a “spiller.” I could try Creeping Jenny, or can you suggest another spiller?

The Sedum Mr. Goodbud would live in a different container, under more dry condditions. Mr. Goodbud should look good in the late fall, after most other things have died back.

It feels like we’ve already spent a small fortune on plants and keep saying we’re going to stop buying plants . . . then we keep going back for “just one more.” Is this a sensible purchase or are there some better options for us? Thanks for any help!

22 Jun

Catherine & Larry’s Blooming Balcony in NYC

Posted by Chris P in Summer 2009.

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Head over to Apartment Therapy to see tour beautiful balcony garden on Park Avenue in New York City. This terrace has a lush full feeling that I wish I could duplicate on our rooftop garden.The ivy adds this wild feeling. Vines play a similar role in O2B’s garden.

We added ivy “spillers” to our geranium container last week. R* is trying to train our ivy to grow up a piece of wrought iron piece we salvaged from an old bench. I hope the ivy will add some atmosphere up there.

Image: Apartment Therapy

19 Jun

The Roof Garden at The Caledonia

Posted by Chris P in Summer 2009. Tagged: , , .

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Last night I went to a part last night for Sferra linens, held on the sun terrace of The Caledonia, a posh new apartment building just off the High Line in West Chelsea. Even through the rain clouds, this Manhattan roof garden is stunning. It looks like the plants were carefully chosen to stand up to all the wind and unpredictable weather.

I wish I’d brought a better camera to share a sharper sense of the place, but wow — check this out! There was also an outdoor bar and kitchen too.

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Here’s another photo with the Maritime Hotel and the Port Authority building in the distance. Does anyone know what these purple flowers are growing in the long boxes? Any Caledonia residents have more pictures to share? The best part about the Caledonia’s garden is that it over looks two or three more roof gardens along with this view of the Hudson River. Thanks for having me, Sferra.

17 Jun

Spillers for My Thrillers

Posted by Chris P in Summer 2009. Tagged: , , .

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I didn’t learn the Thriller, Filler, and Spiller design concept for container gardens until I read about it in Fine Gardening. Of course, I read these instructions *after* we planted our containers.

Tonight I’m going to add some jazzy spiller plants to live with our thrillers. I’m adding these white low-growing petunias and some white and green ivy. I chose white flowers because they show up the best at night, when we’re usually up on the roof. I hope they will be able to endure the wind and summer heat.

This yarrow wasn’t doing well and looked super ugly so I had to pull it out. First casulty of the season. Maybe it couldn’t take all the rain?

Thrillers, Spillers, and Fillers make me think of the first album I ever owned:

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16 Jun

Best Roof Garden Plants: Sedum

Posted by Chris P in Summer 2009. Tagged: , , .

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If you’re a first time roof gardener like me, I recommend trying some sedum. Sedum, also called stonecrop and sometimes mis-spelled as “sedom”, is a succulent — a chubby look plant that stores up water and can grow in hot spots with poor soil. You can see my sedum in the front left of this picture.

Sedums are great New York City plants because they don’t mind the intense heat. Most sedum should be able to manage a cold winter, stored right on the roof, and then come back strong in the spring.

White Flower Farm and Blue Stone Perennials sell a bunch of different sedums. I’m considering buying another one. Next year, I’d love to grow a mixed succulent container like this one.

We’re in the middle of a super rainy patch of weather here in Brooklyn. It is too much water for my sedums. Fine Gardening’s primer on creeping sedums explains: “While even the poorest soil can nourish sedums—and poor or little soil is actually their preferred medium—good drainage is the key to growing them. Too much moisture, especially standing water, will do what no drought can: It will quickly kill a sedum.”

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Its looking like at least three more rainy days this week, so we’re going to either bring the sedum inside or find a way to cover them. Plant umbrellas perhaps?

I’m considering re-potting our sedums in a different soil mix — with some sand and gravel — to create the dry well drained soil they enjoy.

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