Hot to Pot

Memere's Christmas cactus

2009-01-14T11:21:00.003-05:00

I took a clipping of my grandmother's Christmas cactus so I'd have something living to remember her by. The last time I was at her house, it was very large and in blossom. I really hope this one grows roots so I can transplant it soon. I have it in water now, by the window so it gets some sun. No roots yet!

Orchid tales

2009-01-13T12:06:00.003-05:00

I don't know about any of you, but right now is the time of year that my orchid is usually dormant. I have special patience when it comes to orchids, however, because I attribute my interest in gardening to them. About 4 years ago, I worked in an office where it was perfectly chic to give and receive an orchid as a gift, but as soon as the flowers would die, the orchid plants (pot and all!) would end up in the garbage. I didn't know anything about them, but I just knew that couldn't be right.

So began my orchid rescue mission. I became an expert trash picker, which was slightly awkward since everyone else there thought they were dead. I think there was a time when I had five rescued orchids at home! I happened to live above a very cool gardening shop, and took one of them down to find out if it was still alive. The lovely girl who worked there showed me how to look at the roots to see if they are healthy, how to re-pot it and how to take care of it. I've had pretty good luck with orchids ever since. I say pretty good because I had a few shrivel up and die on me (I wasn't that great at remembering to water back then!) but I still have one happy little one, who you've seen here before, and I get a flower about twice a year.

Here's some orchid advice on Shelterrific, a favorite blog of mine.

Cutting back, in more ways than one

2009-01-12T21:36:00.004-05:00

Remember this sweet little goldfish plant? The one we made a special hook for outside on our deck, the one that was so happy in the sun all summer? Well, once sweet little goldfish came inside, it started throwing down its leaves in protest. So this weekend, I couldn't take it anymore and went nuts trimming it back. I've heard that these plants go through dormant periods and sometimes drop their leaves in the process, but this was getting to be a bit much. Anyone have any advice?

Change you can count on

2009-01-11T19:24:00.010-05:00

A lot can happen in six months. This became evident as I searched through my iPhoto albums for the perfect comeback post. On New Year's Day I took the two photographs you see above of plants I had moved from my Brooklyn roof deck to a rocky hillside in northwestern Connecticut, and I was searching for images of what the same plants had looked like last summer.

It's remarkable what's changed since these photos were taken. This country has changed dramatically—we have a new president taking over shortly (thank goodness, though I don't envy the guy his job right now), and we are in the middle of an economic crisis like none most of us have ever lived through, with millions of people losing their jobs in the last couple of months alone. Personally, I have lived through some of life's harsh lessons since last August—one week before closing on the apartment of our dreams, the bank decided against the very attractive mortgage they were initially offering, and we lost the place. A week later my beloved grandmother, the center of the universe for no fewer than 30 children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, succumbed to the illness that invaded our lives just under a year ago.

With so much changing so quickly, I can't help but think of these dead-looking perennials, which blossomed with such promise just months ago. And in these uncertain times, I must say I'm holding on to one thing I know for sure: that they will bloom again soon. With everything falling to pieces around us, at least we have that.

Stretching her legs

2008-08-22T08:25:00.002-04:00

Last weekend my husband and I were actually here in Brooklyn and not driving to this place or the other, so after weeks of saying we would hang a hook for this plant, we finally set to work and did it. It was a big job: He used a drill to get deep into the brick, since we get quite a bit of wind out there and anything hanging would need to be very secure. And now our lovely goldfish plant can finally stretch her little legs!

Late bloomers

2008-08-22T08:23:00.001-04:00

There is nothing that could make me more happy this week than seeing our sunflowers bloom. They are everything that summer is, and at the end of the season, when everything else is looking kind of leggy and spent, these little beauties are a welcome addition to the family.

More Maine

2008-08-14T08:11:00.001-04:00

My mother-in-law and I went to Broadway gardens, a nursery in South Portland, and walking through the aisles and aisles of flowering shrubs, annuals and perennials, we found ourselves pointing, oohing and aahing we were like little girls in a toy store. Everything we saw we wanted to bring home for the garden! But we only had cleared a small patch for the moment, and decided to restrain ourselves and do one section at a time. We came home with this gorgeous pink showy dahlia, white Gooseneck Loostrife, tall, elegant Heather Queen Mexican Hyssop, Mexican Evening Primrose, and Salvia. What was still in the garden that I left: Astilbe and Balloon flower.

Back in Maine

2008-08-14T07:57:00.007-04:00

Last week we were in Maine and although the roses had finished blooming for the season, these spectacular beauties were putting on their show. After a few days of much-needed rest, I set to work rethinking two small sections of the garden.

I began work on the corner, under a sweet little apple tree where the only ground cover had been a few layers of leaves. I planted 6 little myrtle plants, which creep in a vine-like manner (or so I hope) and 2 big daddy hostas, which look a bit like they are from the age of the dinosaur, but bring great texture to shady spots. I also transplanted some previously existing coral bells that had settled into the stone wall -- now they are in a cluster to the right of the tree (see photo above hydrangea).

The Garden Challenge: Maine

2008-07-18T07:29:00.004-04:00

My mother-in-law's house in Maine has a beautiful patio that overlooks the ocean. Along the border of the patio is a garden that has some real gems in it, like the roses in the photo below. However, it needs some work, so I took some photos of the trouble spots to give it some thought.

Two hydrangea bushes, planted for my sister-in-law Jessie's wedding.

Problem: this plant blooms in autumn but looks like THIS all summer long.

This corner is doing well, I think, with lily of the valley and a large hosta.

More to come...

Garden with a view

2008-07-09T12:37:00.001-04:00

Sometimes I forget exactly how lucky I am to have this garden, this spectacular view. All I have to do to remember, though, is think of the first time I saw it. I remember how romantic it felt to sit out here with my husband with a glass of white wine, back when we were first dating. I couldn't believe a space like this actually existed in New York. It was like what every young New Yorker dreams of, especially this young New Yorker, who had been living in a dank little box in the East Village. (A dank little box whose view was not of the beautiful neighborhood garden next door, but instead of a brick wall.) The amazing thing about the roof garden is that it is very quiet. Almost shockingly quiet. Sometimes you can hear a party on the roof of a building a few blocks away, or faint echoes of a concert at the McCarren pool, but mostly you only hear the bird who has learned to imitate the sound of a cell phone ring. I have to remember to go out and have coffee out there, even when it's very hot, and be thankful that it is mine, at least for the next year. Because who knows where we'll end up next.

Retail Therapy

2008-06-30T07:21:00.003-04:00

All I was doing was taking a walk on a lazy Sunday afternoon. It just happened to be a walk toward Sprout Home on Grand Street in Williamsburg. And I just happened to find a few new friends there. I got a hanging plant called a goldfish plant, or Nematanthus wettsteinii, that grows tiny orange flowers that look like goldfish, hence the name. Then I picked up some basil, which we never got around to planting this year, and two containers of pretty verbena to fill some holes in the garden. And then, I stumbled upon a plant I've never seen before: a cranberry. More pictures to come.

Kale and chickpea soup

2008-06-30T07:18:00.002-04:00

I skipped the chorizo and added carrots, and the soup was fantastic. Our kale did us proud!

My first rose bush

2008-06-29T15:28:00.003-04:00

This is my very first rose bush. I bought it in Litchfield County, Connecticut, at a nursery called Paley's, with the help of my sister-in-law, who is lucky enough to work there. I wanted something a little more hearty and less precious than the typical rose bush; something you could imagine stumbling across at the side of a road (which I have since done -- there are tons of these on 11th avenue and 24th street bordering my favorite playground in the city). It's a fairy rose bush, thus named for its tiny light-pink, fairylike clusters of flowers, and I think I've found the perfect rose for me. It is a repeat bloomer; unlike most other varieties, it blooms all summer long. Unfortunately, before I realized this, I cut back a few branches thinking it was done, but Rosie doesn't seem to mind. She's still blooming anyway. And how else does a new gardener learn? (Note: in the top picture, which was taken this morning, the flowers around the bottom of the pot are not roses...I added them for when she stopped blooming, before I knew she wouldn't.)

The other roses I love are beach roses. I think I'll try to add some to the garden next summer.

Meet the misfits

2008-06-29T14:07:00.002-04:00

There is a part of the roof deck, right up alongside the window, in the shade, that at the moment looks more like a plant hospital than the layered, beautiful, lush oasis I had in mind. Right now it holds a funky jade plant, a leggy aloe that we thought was on its way out but appears to be turning green again, a fern that was mugged from the Connecticut woods, lots of morning glories that were planted from seed and are sort of tangled and tattered, and pots of seeds planted weeks ago that have failed to germinate. Do I accept that no garden is perfect, and let this crazy cast of characters limp their way through the summer, or start weeding out the ugly ones and bring in some new plants?

Ready to eat?

2008-06-28T12:28:00.002-04:00

Take a look at our beautiful kale. I don't think it's grown any in the last two weeks -- it may be time to harvest. Know any good recipes for kale? I like the looks of this kale and chickpea soup recipe from Epicurious. I'll let you know how it turns out.

And today, she opens

2008-06-26T08:40:00.001-04:00

Annual question

2008-06-26T08:08:00.003-04:00

We still have some holes in the garden, both in places where nothing was planted and in places where my perennials have finished their shows. Should I get some annuals to fill in the holes? Is it too late to start with perennials?

My moon

2008-06-26T08:04:00.004-04:00

Yesterday I was wondering what this funny-shaped new growth was next to my English ivy. Was it the ever-spreading morning glory, who shows up in nearly every pot we plant? But no...the shape of the leaves is distinctly different. And then I remembered that I planted some moonflower seeds a few weeks ago, after soaking them overnight as the package instructed (they have a very hard outer shell, looking something like a popcorn kernel). I can't wait to see how they do!

Lady Orchid

2008-06-26T07:42:00.002-04:00

Speaking of that orchid...here she is, opening up again. First picture is of the new roots, and above, her new buds.

Bing! I have flowers!

2008-06-25T08:11:00.003-04:00

This morning there were all kinds of things going on in the garden. First, this perennial flower, which I bought last year not even realizing it was a perennial, has sprouted some flowers! I don't know what this guy is called

Anyone know?

Welcome

2008-06-24T22:21:00.002-04:00

Over the past two years, I have been surprised to discover that I have developed a passion for gardening. Used to be I couldn't keep anything alive at all (something about remembering that plants need water was just too much for me), and now look at me! I'm responsible for a whole roof deck of container plants, and that's not to mention the rescued orchid that is about to bloom again in my living room. Okay, well so is my husband, who is quite the gardener himself, not to mention builder of decks, installer of watering systems, and tender of vegetables. More about him later. But, on this blog I'll be documenting the garden's progress with photographs and observations, and, of course, since I'm a beginner, asking anyone and everyone for advice.