Have you see the cover of the new New Yorker?
Yup, we’ll be spending the long 4th of July weekend up on our roof too. Just wish we had a hammock.
Image: The New Yorker
30 Jun
The New York City Roof Gardening Meetup
The first New York City Roof Gardening meeting will be held next week. Head over to Meetup.com for all the details. (No I didn’t create the group myself!)
29 Jun
Best Roof Garden Plants: Armeria maritima ‘Duesseldorf Pride’
We have an Ameria maritima ‘Duesseldorf Pride’ growing in a small container up on our roof garden. It looks like a mound of grass. The green is nice, but quiet. Easy to miss when it isn’t flowering.
But . . . look at that same grassy mound a few days … and there’s stems with bright pink flowers boing-ing around like antlers. We were just up on the roof watering and found two new flowers. We swear those weren’t there on Friday. We been researching more about this plant tonight, and we read that the game may be over — it stops blooming in late June to early July, so it sounds like the show may be over for this year.
We bought our Armeria maritima, also called “sea pinks”, at Liberty Sunset Nursery, Red Hook, Brooklyn. The guy working there said the plant would work well since it can tolerate the wind and pollution on an urban roof garden.
Next year, we need to grow something in the middle of the table. I think we should transplant the Armeria maritima to an umbrella planter. It seems like if we sat around our patio table long enough we could just about watch the flowers pop up.
I found out sea pinks are also grown on the roof garden at the Ballard branch of the Seattle Public Library.
Images: SD State, HydrotechUSA
26 Jun
Chris and Diana’s Red Hook Rooftop
Check out this roof garden in Red Hook, Brooklyn on Apartment Therapy. Diana and Chris built the furniture with palette wood scavenged from the streets of their neighborhood.
Image: Apartment Therapy
26 Jun
M and P’s Jersey City Roof Garden with Tomatoes and Koi
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.
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!
“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.
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
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
We put together this pink pot from plants on sale at the Greenmarket yesterday.
- Thriller: Anisodontea Slightly Strawberry
- Filler: Drought tolerant white verbena
- Spiller: Pink Frost sweet potato vine
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
Our friends on Willow Street in Brooklyn Heights sent us some pictures from their spectacular roof garden. Pretty amazing!
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
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:
- Veranda Round Table
- Charcoal Arm Chair … we skipped the cushions since we didn’t want the clutter.
- Bristol Umbrella and Stand
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
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!
Brooklyn Roof Garden 