13 Jul

Brooklyn Apartment Window Box

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

brooklyn_apartment_window_boxes

Happy Monday! We walk past these window boxes every morning on the way to work and wanted to share them this morning.

These Brooklyn window boxes hold piles of petunias, a bleeding heart bush, and some pansies peaking out too. We’re inspired by how big these window boxes are and by how much dimension they have.

brooklyn_windowbox_closeup_apartment

These window boxes prove that there’s always space to grow something. Check out more of my window box posts here. If you don’t have a back yard, how about a roof, a stoop, a tiny tree pit, or a window sill like this one.

12 Jul

How Can We Make This Pole Look Better?

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

pole_eyesore_roofgarden_lantana

Our roof garden sits in the center of our roof. Our chairs stare out directly at this rusty exhaust pole. We hung a lantana there and strung up solar lights, but we want to do more. We need your help . . .  what else can we do to make this pipe look better?

We aren’t able to paint the pole or sit pots at the base.  Any solution needs to hang from the pole. This is a windy, full sun spot, so the plants need to be tough.

Do you have some suggestions?

12 Jul

Use Shoe Organizers to Create a Wall Garden

Posted by Chris P in Summer 2009. Tagged: .

shoe_organizer_wall_garden_apartmenttherapy

Could a shoe organizer make a comfortable home for a bunch of plants? We found this whimsical planter on Apartment Therapy.

shoe_organizer_wall_garden_timeoutny

Then we found step-by-step instructions on how to make a shoe organizer garden on Time Out NY and Instructables. We’re wondering how these look after a full growing season, so we’re going toscour the web for more pictures.

11 Jul

Under Construction: Marie’s Manhattan Roof Garden

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

 

Building a roof garden in New York City

 

Marie from 66 Square Feet is building a new roof garden. Check out her construction photos on her site. What a project!

Image: Marie from 66 Square Feet (thanks for sharing!)

10 Jul

Our Roof Garden Rose is Blooming

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

roof_garden_rose_herbs

I gave two heirloom rose bushes to R* for his birthday — Yesterday and Cottage Garden from HeirloomRoses.com. The heirloom roses are small when they arrive. We chose these roses bushes because  “own root” plants don’t get transplant shock and are more able to adjust to the rooftop conditions.

The roses have only been in their containers for a month and one already has a single bloom.

To allow for growth, we planted the tiny rose bushes in 16″ pots and co-planted the roses with herbs.  We picked sea-side varieties that should be adjusted to the windy conditions.

We didn’t plan the color scheme, but the orange-y rose sure looks great with the verigated sage and dark purple basil. As the roses grow, we trim back the herbs.

8 Jul

Best Reference Book for Urban Roof Gardeners

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

citygardeners_cover_fullI learned about a new reference book at the NYC Roof Gardening Meetup last night (A big thanks to our group organizer and hosts, Peter and Kathy!).  Multiple members of the Meetup praised The City Gardener’s Handbook: The Definitive Guide to Small Space Gardening by urban gardening expert Linda Yang. I ordered the book as soon as I got home from the meeting.

The book is available from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Shop and Amazon.com.

7 Jul

NYC Roof Garden Meetup Tonight

Posted by Chris P in Summer 2009. Tagged: .

NYC’s roof garden Meetup is tonight. Will I see you there?

7 Jul

S and D’s Roof Garden Tomatoes Are Fruiting

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

tomatoes_roofgarden

Now that we finally have some warm sunny days, S and D’s Brooklyn roof garden is really taking off. The best part: their tomatoes now have fruit on them. They grew all these tomato plants from seed!

PicturesFlat

Here’s pictures of their roof garden that we posted at the beginning of the season.

If you have some photos or a progress update of your roof garden — from Brooklyn, NYC, or far beyond — please get in touch with me through this form or tweet to @bklynroofgarden.

Photos: S and D

3 Jul

Tour Gayla’s Toronto Roof Garden

Posted by Chris P in Summer 2009. Tagged: .

yougrowgirl_roof_garden_photo

Ready for more great roof garden photos? Gayla from You Grow Girl just posted her June roof garden tour.

1 Jul

Slightly Strawberry Looks Simply Sickly

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

strawberry

We planted our pink and green container last week. While the white verbena is flourishing, the two Anisodontea Slightly Strawberry plants look sick. Leaves are curling and turning yellow. Any advice?

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