The Pleasure's All Mine



While doing my morning walky-runny thing in Prospect Park, I stop to eat. Am I the only one who does this? I found a whole new bank of raspberries (not the one above, mind you). I snacked from four different patches yesterday. Some where close to the flavor of blackberries, some mildly sweet, but most were still tart and seedy.

Creatures have not yet taken an interest -neither human, furry, feathered or six-legged. The gettin is good. As for a map, I will draw this much -stay away from the greensward, hit the paved-path woods. Bring a can, the next two weeks should be prime for picking.




Early Morning Asclepias



My single milkweed, butterfly weed, or Asclepias tuberosa, has grown to new heights this year. Last year it remained about 6 inches tall. This year, it tops the fence -probably due to all the competition and I am glad to see it could handle it. It is surrounded by yarrow millefolium (the white field yarrow), ordinary garden yarrow (yellow, with fuzzy gray leaves), and Allium sphaerocephalon.

So far, no butterflies.

This is the yellow lily, flying above a cloud of aster leaves, backed by a chorus of phlox.

Thank you swivel screen.



The Call To Farms



On Saturday I received an important looking envelope - 'Official Business.'

In it, a courteous seasonal park ranger named Thaddeus explained that my number had risen to the top of the line and that if I was so willing, despite the late date, I should put in my paperwork for plot assignment. I am one step closer to citizen farmer.

I thought it best that I run on down to the garden to see how things are shaping up. Have many of the plots been taken? What was left, after all, I was number 14 on the waiting list. I would get the worst plot in the whole place, wouldn't I? Like the one below.

Well, this one never changes, but it did seem a little trim, a weed pulled here or there.

I found that it even had old and tired raspberries.

Remember this plot from my last trip -the field of green bean dreams.

Well, look at it now! Someones' gonna need a combine.

Even this side, has, well, more gardeners. This side was all weeds last September.

And look at that - a rickety composting corral (made of plastic lumber planking, no posts, front cross-member seems a bad idea). One of my imaginary sessions with the Fed was how we must have composting for our vegetable waste -'nuff of this rat baloney!' I was, am, and will be highly skeptical of anyone who claims rats in the compost and as it happens, some of those folks happen to garden here.

Now choosing a plot, that is tricky. First off, I probably won't get either of the three I listed as first choices despite the fact that it appears no one is gardening there. That said, I picked my three, and cross my fingers.

Plot A12. It's in the northwest corner, near an opening in the picket fence. Three sides are pathways and it has its own spigot for possible timer-drip system, but it looks like someone has begun tackling the dense mat of mugwort. My would-be neighbor has a chain-link fence.

Plot C12 is another option. It's weedy, but the border of daylilies charms it a bit. Water is across the path, limiting the drip idea. The previous tenant's CCA treated timbers are strewn throughout, giving me pause. Soil testing is planned, anyhow.

It does come with an old steel gate.

And milkweed.

Plot F12 I did not photograph, but no worries, it looks just like the others, but with 1/2 the water pressure. My request was mailed off today, complete with fee, application, and other compliances. Now to ready my mattock.


The Cosmos



The last of these lilies.

Echinacea taking off where all else had died -the dead zone.

Right behind those, the cosmos (why 'cosmos'?) Cosmos bipinnatus begin to flower. Today I've pulled three of these and moved them to fill in some areas in the front yard garden. They transplant surprisingly well, given their large size and the heat. I give them a shovel-full of our home-made compost and a gallon of water. Planting in the evening is best, but today's went in this morning.

The beans are growing vigorously.

And our first brandywine flower turns to fruit. There is order in the universe.


Chicken And Rice, Halal Cart Style


In a time pinch, I grab the 5 dollar chicken and rice at the Halal cart outside of work. Today, I had an extra 5 minutes, so I went to 60th street, towards Columbus Ave. I saw another Halal cart and thought enough to give it a try. The first question asked after I ordered the chicken and rice was, "Plain rice or spicy rice?" Spicy rice, of course. The rice was darker and the meat was whiter than at the other cart. Hot sauce please, also thicker and darker.

This Halal cart chicken and rice was superficially the same meal as the cart outside of our building, but in taste and texture, another meal altogether. First, the rice was a basmati type, light and long -not the firm, short grain rice of the nearby cart. The rice was also white, not tinted warm and light red, but had been colored by the collection of spices added. It had hints of ginger, cumin and cardamom and was fire hot. The whole dish was less salty too, and without the reddish coloring on the meat. The light, loose rice and small chunks of chicken were harder to pick up with the plastic fork, causing me to eat much slower than I normally would (eating while working has led me to be a rapid eater, shame on me). The heat led my nose to run, fabulously hot was this 60th street cart.

Now I have it in my mind to try to get to try all the carts within 5 minutes. I'm glad that these Halal carts are not being trucked out of the same depot with the same ingredients and recipes. I've not been cooking much lately, in a cooking funk I suppose. I need some new inspiration, I need to have some new meals out.


The Sidewalks Of NY



Abruptly perhaps, the hydrangea breaks the long line of black-painted iron fencing. Some say it's out of control -a jungle. The beauty of gardening on the corner -it's a crossroads of opinions.

In the front garden, it's all hot colors. Fabio, my upstairs neighbor, speaks no English, but points to these and says 'muy bueno.' He likes red, hot pinks, and oranges -the colors of the moment.

These lilies have yet to open. I expect them to be a brilliant yellow with dark spots. Right now, they look like elongated lanterns. As the heat cooks on, many front yard flowers will fade, but at the least there will be lilies like these.




Pit Farmer

I thought I'd check up on this here pit farmer. Things growing nicely since my last look.

Around the corner, a stray. Cast out of a hastily eaten tomato, dropped by a bird, came with the compost, the spoils of a BLT? It should make contact with its brethren around on Church.

Further down the block, opposite side, corn in the pit.


Speaking For The Trees -A Tour Around The Block

I've been wondering what to do with my tree pits lately. My wife and I have held them off from becoming arm pits, but as the days go by, more dog poo piles on. We need some nice, low iron fencing on three sides. Then I'd like to plant some temporary things, perennials maybe.

Down the cross street, someone has put up these little snow-fences. Nothin' to look at, but works.

Around the block on Church Ave, there's this pit. We got rubber-coated shelving supported by metal tubing. The garbage is still collecting though.

This planted by someone who finds growing vegetables a necessity. That's alotta tumaduz! Good luck!

Two doors down, someone has poured asphalt mix into the tree pit.

Another door down, the new tree has garbage bags as its neighbor. Its really tough for these trees on the commercial street. Many already look beat up, broken branches and scraped bark.

Around the corner, about midway down my other cross street, I find this birch tree. An unusual choice, and I am doubtful it was selected by the city, although maybe. I rarely see birches on city streets -it's such harsh conditions after all. Yet I have seen a successful birch on River St., in Williamsburg, in a rather protected location with little traffic. Another successful one is in Red Hook, on Beard St., I believe. Love birch trees.

This one has been labeled 'DURAHEAT'. Let's hope so. Not many gardeners on this block.

This stretch of my neighborhood has seen more than its share of new street trees since the Brooklyn Tornado (photos). And will probably see more because here, they keep on dying.

Its easy to see why. They are being planted too close to a mature stand of maples with a canopy too dense to allow in any light or water, and with roots sucking the life out of the already poor soil. The small tree pits aren't helping much either. Did I mention all the dog walkers in the adjacent building?

The crowns of the last three trees planted before one turns onto my block are dead, suckers sprouting from the rootstock of some. Does anyone actually look at the conditions before planting?

I've been wondering about who is responsible for making the million individual street tree choices of the Million Trees program. I don't mean organizationally, but who are the individuals responsible and how do they make their determinations? Are they urban foresters walking (probably driving) along the streets in midsummer? I really don't like seeing these dead trees, it's such a shame. Maybe this building is cursed? The new tree planted two years ago on its north side, although lacking any competition from other trees, has died as well.






Good Prospects



Today I had some red and some black raspberries in the park. I was caught eating only once.

These roses (swamp rose, Rosa palustris?) are blooming as well.

The bees adore them.

These roses, molded from putty, are called...?

Again, they're called...and can we eat the fruit?

I found these high bush blueberries. Today I ate just one.

Every year I pass by this forsythia shrub, on a path south of the lake. Invariably, it has this yellow venation on the same branches each year.

Are all leaf variegations the result of endemic viruses that do not kill the host plant?


Love A Rainy Night

ooh ooh.

The plants have been growing like mad this year, rainy nights or not. The beans, this is them two days ago. Today, they're 8 inches tall.

The tomatoes put on another few inches last night. All, but for the orange mystery tomato given to me by a neighbor -those seem to be short and stocky (lower left). Even the borage added a few more inches.

We pulled some old iron pot stands out of storage.

The painting of the house has begun this morning. Turns out, the man with the paint brush told me, that he's only painting one side of the house -the side that faces our side garden. Apparently, the only reason he is painting the building at all is because the landlady has some leftover paint from his painting of her building. So one side will be painted. He seems reluctant to mess with our plants, and I understand that.

Allium sphaerocephalon and some lilies. Alliums should've been staked long ago.

Bees love the borage.

Sidalcea malviflora (yes, the partygirl).

Morning coffee and deadheading.


Redoing Dinky Rink



Construction has begun on the new ice skating complex in Prospect Park. I don't ice skate.

How quick the plants or weeds (mostly smartweed, some jewelweed) fill up the drained parts of the lake.

Despite the fact that I do not ice skate or roller skate, I feel pretty good about this work in the park. I am not one of those New Yorkers who can't seem to stand anything new. I like new things, especially if the integration of the project is well-considered and the scope of renovation extends beyond the project's focus.*

What I like most about this project is that it is bringing attention to the part of Prospect Park that has seemed to get so little attention over the last 20 years. I will withhold my judgement until complete, but a few things below I hope will finally be addressed because they are all near the new rink.

The horrible euonymous hedgerows near the parking lot, please something more in tune.

The broken benches in the concert grove.

The disintegrated paving around the whole of the lake.

The forever broken staircase leading to the concert grove and the ratty euonymous hedge.

Restore the old planters; pull the large maple trees out of them before its too late.

Restore the concert grove to its intended splendor. Abe Lincoln lives here now, don't move him.


*I was for the O-12 olympics -2 weeks of crowds in summer -big deal! Private money would have come out of the wood work to improve all kinds of facilities that would then be used by the public and I can almost guarantee we would have gotten more subway improvements, bike lanes, etc. out of it.


Charcoal and Trees


It's true, I haven't been in the park since a snowstorm in February. Its funny, ahem, but gardening and blogging has seemed to take over that spot of my day when I used to go. I must make it a habit to go more -the air was honey.

I noticed these signs as soon as I entered at the southwest corner. A neighbor says they've been there for months.

Charcoal ring near the tree.

Signs have gone up explaining the rules of BBQ.

And more of these bins have been placed.



Everything Is Better In Manhattan


On the Manhattan weather page of Wunderground this morning, it says the humidity is at 39 % with a dewpoint of 36 degrees F. Those are wintery conditions. The temperature reads 60.3 degrees F.

On the Brooklyn page, it says that our humidity is 80% with a dewpoint of 63 degrees. Our temperature is 69 degrees F.

A dewpoint close to the temperature generally means that we feel uncomfortable, sticky or damp. I have not yet been out, but my wife reports that it is not dry and comfortable, but like moving in slow motion, jeans heavy.

Maybe the Manhattan gauges are set to suggest comfort for all in Manhattan, and to convince those not in Manhattan to come in.

Borago officinalis

Borage is blandly named, but its constellations of flowers approach something more exotic. Its easy for me to imagine this plant a staple of middle eastern gardens and fields.

Intriguing from a distance, up close it captivates. The lilac tinge of the flowers before turning very blue, the spines a visual fuzz, and the rose madder stems are all gorgeous and the bees love them too.

The stems are beefy, upwards of an inch or more in diameter near the soil. Heavy rain weighs borage down, but the stems curve upwards.

Never before has a flower made my apartment building look so good.


Love The Hardscape, But...

I'm thrilled the DOT has redone the traffic circle at the southwest corner of Prospect Park. It was roadway wild west before they imposed some structure to our driving and walking.

Car lanes have been restricted to one or two in each direction, bike lanes and traffic lights have been added, traffic light timing is better coordinated for all users, the horses now travel around the circle instead of bisecting it, and high-curbed barriers restrict the crazy maneuvers of so many drivers. One thing though...

Who chose these plants?! These low ball-shape junipers/cedars (?) did not last the winter.

And when will they be replaced?

Looks to me like young cedar.

Even in the park this new traffic infrastructure houses these mostly dead shrubs. High heat, cold winds, dry, salt spray -what should be planted there?


Goings On In The Side Yard



The side garden is going along well. But I cannot continue without the bad news brought to me by the landlady this morning: "We're having the house painted." What? Thanks for mentioning that earlier. I can't even feel much other than irritation. The funniest part was after I had acquiesced, saying that gardening on someone else's property does have its consequences, she said "Payback's a bitch." What? Payback? I can only assume these were poorly chosen words. Our landlords have been decent to us, not raising the rent and allowing me to garden, but I can say with some confidence that if my landlady actually noticed a flower and went over to take in its scent, the flower would recoil from her face. Painting our rotting building, yeah -that might hold it up for another year.

The basil making minor strides to overcome the height of the borage.

The dead zone. All the seeds we planted here died -so I planted two coneflowers. Is it the heat from two sides of concrete or is it corner dog pee, or both? The soil here is dead, dry, no worms, no bugs, lifeless. I pulled up some poly that was about 8 inches down. Good luck echinacea.

The alyssum, literally an explosion, tolerates our mild foot traffic.

Gaura blooming well.

Dame's rocket, consistently deadheaded keeps providing flowers, motivation for more deadheading.

Lily yesterday.

Lily today.