High Summer

Suddenly, miraculously, it seems we've stumbled into high summer here in New York City. July 4th has come and gone, we're plunging our way through yet another heat wave, and plants everywhere are panting for more water. This kind of weather can be hard on city-dwelling plants. They live in an oven of concrete, metal, gas, and exhaust. People swim by, lost in their own fog of sweat and deadlines. Even with all of this--given time, attention, care, and lots and lots of water-- the growing things of New York can thrive.

I present to you, our garden.

by: Asia

The Difference a Month Makes

Just about over a month ago Kelsey and I decided we were ready to send our little indoor seedlings out into the world. We planted two straggly tomatoes and one squat king pepper. This was my first foray into large container gardening and frankly I wasn't completely convinced the plants would thrive. This how they looked when we first set them out:


By mid-June the city was gripped in heat. Kelsey and I succumbed to the greedy gods of the electric bill and put in our air conditioner. Each day after work I'd trudge out to water the increasingly dusty soil until I finally began waking up early to tend the garden. I had dreaded this point in the summer-- that thick transistion into high summer when I'd have to haul out to water my own plants before I dragged myself into Manhattan to water other people's plants all day long. In truth, this has become a precious part of my day. Watching my garden grow into the morning sunlight opens up a stretch of me that often closes the moment I step out of my house and begin the grind of pushing my way from one subway to another. There is not even a word for it. But there are pictures.

Since we set out our seedlings they have sprawled, ballooned, climbed, and exploded their way into something incredible. Look-- this is the difference a month makes.


Makes me think-- maybe we all grow that much, that fast, that raucously... there just might not be any pictures to prove it.

by: Asia

union square flower spree

with $40 dollars as our budget and 17 empty tin cans + a chunk or two of flower bed to fill in the garden with color, we actually ventured into manhattan on a saturday (!) to the union square farmers market.

flowers so beautiful our eyes wanted to eat them. instead we FILLED an entire ikea bag with the most delicious dahlias, salvias,begonias and vines, ventured back to our brooklyn bungalow...

and ate summer squash and hotdogs with lemon spritzers.

planting pictures to come...

by: Kelsey

Surprises

We've had some surprises sprouting up here in Brooklyn. Not only have almost all our seeds come up into lovely dollops of seedlings, but there are wildflowers growing into every corner.

First came a rose bush that climbed out of our neighbors backyard and over the fence, spilling wave after wave of delicate pink blossoms at the foot of our garden.

During the brief tide of these unbelievably fragrant flowers I clipped as many of the quickly wilting buds as I could and squirreled them away in our apartment. For two weeks I placed handful after handful of newly opening buds in jars and sat them on any available surface.

There are also shy purple flowers that have shot up in great waterfalls around the back of the garden. They only open their tiny violet faces in the afternoon sun so most days when I trudge home after work I've already missed the daily display.

There's also been some truly unique wildflowers that seems to just march over on their own and settle in just fine by themselves.

Take her for example.
Who is she?
What is she?

All I know is she's the only one of her kind out there and it don't seem like she cares one lick that she's all by her lonesome.

The real stunners in the garden, however, have been these pink wildflowers.

This exuberance of pink is starting to carpet the whole yard. They've grown up to my hips and have even started to spread into the dreaded "pine tree dead zone." They are gorgeous and fast and wild and I will challenge anyone who tries to cut them out.

by: Asia

Random Scenes of Contentment

by: Asia

Thinning the Lettuce

Kelsey and I squatted down in the backyard to finally confront the overwhelming clumps of our garden's all star seedling-- grandpa admirer's lettuce.

With some real gentle maneuvering we thinned out the two modest rows of bushy heads and found that our count had multiplied into over fifty seedlings!

That's fifty heads of lettuce people!

Who wants some summer salad? By mid-July we'll be begging you all to become herbivores.

by: Asia

Seedings

May was a tempermental mistress this month-- from freezing cold temperatures, to sweltering heat waves and even a prediction of hail! Each day we read the sky, tested the air, and consulted the internet. Can we plant the sage yet?? The rosemary? The tomatoes? Well, the patience and soothsaying paid off and we've got tons of little guys sticking their heads up.

and our early riser.... grandpa's lettuce!

and we finally had a cloudy sunday to plant all our seedlings. these little guys arrived via snail mail over a month ago from seed savers! Black eyed susans, lavender hyssop, ground cherries, peppers, and two lanky tomato plants.

by: Asia