April 2011
13 posts
5 tags
I Had a Dream
I woke up from a dream yesterday that I was standing around a potting table in a misty garden center being schooled by a grizzled old lady about the right way to plant a seedling.
It didn’t involve “tickling the roots” as Jamie Durie had told me on TV. Instead, it involved using a plastic fork to jab the everliving shit out of the roots before planting.
She vigorously poked...
6 tags
Blowin' Up
I waited all winter to be able to grow stuff and now I finally got what I wanted; Panthy’s Garden is suddenly blowin’ up! My strawberries have flowers? Yet again I’m pleasantly surprised by my own ignorance. Did you know strawberries have flowers? I didn’t.
My grape vine has buds! Despite being yanked around by roofers trying to fix a roof leak, it’s back,...
4 tags
Bricks Are More Plentiful Than Chainsaws
Everywhere in Brooklyn are remnants of days gone by when urban gardening wasn’t so hip. There wasn’t a bunch of whipper snappers like me, preaching on high about heirlooms, rainwater collection and composting. There was just gardeners with gardens like this:
Talk about locally adapted regional plantings. A real arborist could tell me what this is, if it’s still living, or what...
7 tags
The Panther's Windy Place
Gardening is a risk. The dead Japanese Holly in the corner of the garden is testament to the fact that nothing is forever, especially when you do something wrong, in which case, it’s much shorter than forever. The name of the game is to take risk, but calculated risk. As in TI-82 type risk.
In a mildly daring move to harden off my seedlings before planting them in the upcoming week, I put...
7 tags
We Can't Be Stopped
Yesterday I had the feeling that in roughly two weeks, it’d be winter all over again; a complete seasonal skip over the spring and summer, right back in to the biting wind, frozen garbage piles and intentionally mismanaged snow plowing. Sweet dude.
But… the vomit blossoms are in full bloom and of in another great show of spring force, the fine folks at the Brooklyn Grange rooftop...
4 tags
Where's the Party At?
I went up to Ma Dukes for the weekend to get a look at the progress of the East Coast’s Largest Clematis Vine, pictured here last year.
Expecting to fight through throngs of picture-snapping tourists, I found the vine all by its lonesome, still deep in its winter slumber not doing much of anything. Turns out, Massachusetts is about two weeks behind us seasonally.
What was in season was...
3 tags
Grandma Love Vibes
I love this garden to death. I stop to admire it every time I walk to get a bagel. Depending on the next closest holiday it gets a tiny makeover to match.
As you can see here, Easter is imminent.
Always super crisp and full of color, this tiny garden radiates the love that its owner puts into it. Located just under the Manhattan Bridge this little sill garden throws off grandma love vibes...
7 tags
Grow With What You Got
Growing in the city is not about having space to grow, it’s about growing in the space you have. If you live anywhere that’s even barely exposed to sunshine, you can grow something. Hell, if you live in a dank, subterranean, converted closet of an apartment and have electricity, you can grow something. Look, I’m not going to tell you again. DON’T MAKE ME PULL THIS CAR OVER....
6 tags
Panthy's Backside
You know those big totes that your mom stores Christmas stuff in? And you know how much damn room they take up in the closet and how heavy they are to lift down once a year? And how you are always like “Ma, seriously, we gotta get rid of the nutcrackers, they’re just TOO HEAVY!”
I have 20 of those bins, that will be filled with potting mix, compost and growing goodness....
8 tags
You Have Entered... the Last Frost Zone
As of this coming Monday, Panthy’s garden will be in the Last Frost Zone for New York City which is the opposite of a No-fly Zone and it’s for plants, and has nothing to do with airplanes. Got it? Within this spring sweet spot it should be relatively safe to plant without the threat of frost killing everything you put in the dirt. Of course, there’s no guarantee that it’s...
5 tags
Green Roof Garbage Can Holders
New York is home to all sorts of innovations, bike lanes that are subsequently scraped off the street, subways that run with military-like precision (Libyan military) and of course, world-class pizza stations on every corner.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the latest in urban garden innovation is currently blowing up the streets of New York (in a hip hop way, not in a terrorist...
7 tags
Handsome Contest
Despite howling winds of well over 20 knots, I had first full day of real deal gardening in months. My clothes smelled like sweat and dirt, I had a mild sunburn and the pleasant relaxed feeling of “I did a lot of work” and “I drank three beers.” Among my achievements was the construction of a salad tote. As you may have guessed, its lovely dark soil hides very advanced...
6 tags
Get Seedy: Hudson Valley Seed Library
If you’re a psycho like me, there’s a good chance you did your seed research months ago (possibly on the toilet) while flipping through seed catalogs and making mental notations. If you’re a normal person maybe you’ve only just started to think about what you’re gonna plant in the next couple of weeks. Lucky for you, winter refuses to fuck off around here and...
