Earlier this week I was super excited to see that The Awl published a feature on tiny urban gardens — including mine! Writer Jessica Machado came to visit us a few weeks ago and check out the work we’ve been doing, and I’m so pleased to see her article.
Also included in her round-up is one of my favorite Brooklyn gardening blogs – Chris Phillips and Rich Powell of Brooklyn Roof Garden. And as a bonus, Jessica also solved the mystery of who maintains one of my favorite South Slope gardens (on 6th Avenue near 16th Street, close to my old apartment) — Michiko Okochi!
Check out the full article over at The Awl while I go fill up the ol’ watering can.
After whining about my creative rut last night, I decided I needed to feel a little less sorry for myself and go forth and be inspired. So I fired up the good ol’ Flickr pool and started digging. It’s been too long.
Boy was it a kick in the pants. Seeing all the good work folks are doing around Brooklyn was unbelievably inspirational. From images of late night taco trucks, to Mermaid Parade revelers, to portraits of those living fleeting, everyday moments, I was really overwhelmed by many of the works I’m seeing these days.
Check out a few of my recent favorites below and be sure to pause a beat and let the mood of each wash over you!
Untitled, by Barry Yanowitz:
“Tacos!” by Jonathan Percy:
Untitled, by Christine Renee Miller (via David Pexton):
“Helvis at the Mermaid,” by Leanne Staples:
“DAY 707: BAGS OF CANS,” by Bill Sweeney:
“2011 Coney Island Mermaid Parade,” by Sean Hopkins:
Untitled, by Claire Voelkel:
Tonight, I had an opportunity to catch up with a couple of fellow photographers. Naturally, the conversation turned to our creative inspiration and we all kind of admitted that it’s almost non-existent these days. I’m not sure if it’s the heat or the million-and-one projects I’ve been batting around between work and the renovation, but it seems that my creative drive has been whittled down to around zero. Do they sell creative viagara?!
Sometimes I think my inertia is due to an overwhelming backlog of photos that I *could* be working on, or the feeling that my workflow isn’t the greatest. Well, no work is the worst workflow of all, so I’m going to try and get this ball rolling by posting some bright and summery images from my Instagram stream. If it weren’t for Instagram, these days I’d be running on fumes. I am just in love with its engaging UI and easygoing user community – it really is a joy of an app and makes shooting with my iPhone so fun. Though it’s no substitute for the satisfaction of getting out there with the clickety-clack of an old film camera, it really does provide some creative momentum.
Now to start brainstorming how to get back on the horse. Where are you finding your creative juice these days??! I’d love some ideas to get the ball rolling again!
P.S. If you’re an Instagram user and you haven’t discovered Inkstagram, get over there!
This past week, Zach’s parents were in town visiting and they fell in love with the Brooklyn Botanic Garden while they were here. I can’t blame them — it’s one of the major walking-distance perks of living in Crown Heights! In fact, buying a membership was one of the very first things I did last fall after closing on the house, and it seems like every week I go there’s a whole new section of the garden I see blooming, or a section I realize I’ve never visited before. Walking through the BBG is such a nice opportunity to force myself to relax after a busy week, reflect and slowwww dowwwn.
Many of our conversations this weekend centered around discussion of what we should do with our little garden in the front yard. Zach’s mother is a devoted gardener who gave me plenty of food for thought about ways we could build out the garden with hardscape and lots of plant suggestions to bring more color and fragrance to the fold.
We’re really happy with the progress so far, and I realized while I was photographing my herb bouquet this weekend that I hadn’t shared more of the progress photos yet!
We did the initial overhaul one month ago over Memorial Day, and this is what things looked like after Week One:
All those little baby plants! We were so proud of ourselves for all that hard work. It seemed like for many of the plants (salvia and yarrow in particular, but the creeping jenny and sedum too), it was slow going to get established and not look bludgeoned after a hot day in the sun. I can’t even tell you how many times Zach or I got home from work and worried about how wilted the garden looked. Thankfully we did get some good soaking rains that week, and they really helped everything settle down.
Here’s what the garden was looking like after Week Two:
It’s a bit hard to tell from these pictures, but everything started to look a lot greener and healthier. The buddleia and salvia filled out, the herbs went gangbusters, and the containers on the stoop got too big for their britches so we had a lot of replanting to do. During Week Three, I decided to feed the plants with a general fertilizer (okay, I’m not proud – I used a really watered down Miracle Gro solution because I was too lazy to go to the store and get the good organic stuff) and we got more rain, of the gentle soaking variety.
And now after Week Three, the vision is starting to come together:
It’s really exciting to see the plants fill out as intended, but I’m getting anxious to plant a few more herbs and flowers for color! Hopefully I’ll get a chance this weekend to head to the greenmarket and shop. Can anyone recommend flowers they love to grow that would be happy getting planted at this late stage in the game?
Meanwhile, here are a few glimpses of what’s happening in the garden right now!
This lovely yarrow has sprouted wonderful tiny flowers:
The jade plants have come outside to keep the tiny cucumbers company:
Our kale is growing huge:
Lots of little tiny tomatoes are cropping up everywhere, and the sight of bees has taken on new meaning for me:
Clockwise, from top left: Thai basil, buddleia, sedum and calamintha:
While still small, the lavender smells DIVINE:
Two more varieties of yarrow stand tall with lacy fronds:
The sedum has really taken off, and so have my Portuguese hot peppers:
And finally, an unidentified plant I just don’t have the heart to pull. Anyone know what this is?
Wednesday, July 13th, 2011 by Jill
tags: garden
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