we grew this! eastern eggs florentine

I guess it was around Memorial Day that Ian and I planted our veggie garden, this nice 6x8 raised bed that the previous homeowners installed. We're using the Square-Foot Gardening technique in hopes that we'll be able to grow more types of produce than we otherwise would using the row technique. So far, it's working fabulously well, and even though we're experiencing severe drought (are you sick of hearing about this yet?), things are growing really well -- including our bok choi, an Asian cabbage that looks kind of like a mix of celery and chard, shown here in the center right soon after it was planted.

a pleasing palette

While the contractors are hard at work inside the house, the plants are growing, growing, growing outside. Ian has been a trouper, watering nearly every day -- and the weather forecast suggests there’s no end in sight. (Sorry.) I’m especially pleased with the results in the front garden.

I put in a few perennials, but since we’re planning a major revamp this fall and don't want to stress stuff out by moving it, I added mostly annuals. The previous homeowners had planted a number of spring-blooming perennials and the enormous hostas, which were fairly easy to work around -- their foliage is a nice uniform green, and they blend in nicely.

a vacationing container gardener's saving grace

Ian and I are recently back from a very refreshing, very lovely, very inspiring week in Washington State. The two of us have quite a bit of freedom because we don't have kids or pets, but as you've read, we are the proud caretakers of several potted plants. So, in order to keep them alive (without anyone's help) while we were gallivanting across Kitsap Peninsula, I set out to devise a fuss-free watering system for container gardens.

I ruled out two popular ideas right away: We don't have access to a spigot, so that nixes the drip system option suggested by many container gardening blogs. I also didn't want to lug all the containers inside and store them in the bathtub, as advised by others. I reasoned that the plants would have been shocked by the darkness, and some would likely have succumbed to root rot. Plus, some pots had been struggling with a bit of a Japanese beetle situation, and I refused to introduce those pretty but nasty bugs into our home. So, that left me to tap into my limited memory of high school physics. And dare I say, it turned out pretty well?

We rescued wine and beer bottles from the recycling -- one for each container, chosen according to pot size. The morning of our flight, I filled them up, tipped them over, and jammed them into the soil. The idea was that, as the soil around the bottle dried out, more water would drip down.

When we returned, I nervously checked the balcony. A few of the plants looked a little droopy, but nothing a hearty watering didn't fix. The tomato fared the worst with a few yellowed branches, but, oddly, some new and well-developed suckers replaced them.

Next time we go away for a week in the summer, I'll probably double up on bottles -- especially if scorching temps are predicted (we reached just 80 degrees). This amount of moisture would probably have been ideal for a five-day trip. But overall, our plants and I are quite pleased with this experiment.

Have you tried a container watering system like this? What did you think?

this year's garden

It is already the first official weekend of summer, and I realized that I never told you about this year's container garden. Well, there is one. And it's my best yet, if I do say so myself. 

Things started out a little rough. You may recall my post about starting seeds. Well, of all those dozens of little sprouts, two have survived. They're some variety of pepper, but in all the insanity and disorganization (I do not recommend labeling your seeds with generic non-sticky Post-its), I'm not sure which. Maybe we'll get lucky and they won't be the same. Nevertheless, I learned a few things in the process -- most importantly, I think, is that when the editor of Birds & Blooms offers you her spare grow lights, you should take them even if you have a south-facing window. Anyway, I humbly accepted a very robust tomato plant from my dad and purchased two other peppers from the garden center, so we won't go salsa-less this summer (perish the thought).

Once my ego recovered and my thumb started to regain a little tinge of green (and it finally warmed up), I made a few more trips to the garden center. Now we have three herb planters (with a few flowers mixed in), two hanging flower baskets (with a few herbs mixed in) and one pot designed to attract butterflies (no luck so far). Here they are:

Herb planters, clockwise from top left: cilantro,

Tuscan Blue rosemary, chives, Opal Innocence nemesia, mint,
sage, purple viola, Lanai Royal Purple verbena, Italian parsley,
Greek oregano and Angelface Purple angelonia

Butterfly planter, clockwise from top left: Graffiti Purple

pentas, Bandana Pink lantana, fuchsia portulaca, yellow viola
and portulaca foliage

Hanging basket no. 1, clockwise from top left:

Aromatica White nemesia (yeah, really a dud so far),
Supertunia Citrus petunia, Electric Lime coleus, Landmark
Yellow lantana, lemon thyme and Bandana White lantana

Hanging basket no. 2, clockwise from left:

Superbells Saffron calibrachoa, Dark Opal basil,
Superbells Coralberry Punch calibrachoa, Sweet Georgia
Deep Purple sweet potato vine and fuchsia portulaca

Looks like the colors of the year are yellow, purple and pink. Wonder what that means? And what have you planted this year?

PS: I got the idea for these photos from a spectacular book about container gardening, Continuous Container Gardens by Sara Begg Townsend and Roanne Robbins. I've been working with Roanne for an article I'm doing about winter containers...she's fantastic.

nesting know-how

Since we've been having such great bird activity here, I thought I'd treat our visitors to a spring treat: nesting materials. The great thing about a project like this is that it takes next to no time, plus it's free. Just gather a few spare household and garden items and secure them outside for your feathered friends to discover (read more details here). Our neighborhood birds have their choice of cotton yarn and some dried-up strawflowers from last year's containers -- I cut both into 4- to 8-inch pieces. Then, I piled it all in a clean wire suet feeder and hung it on the balcony. So easy.

Come and get it, birdies!

spring fever, part 2

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm happy to announce our newest development: Five days after being planted, the tomatoes and tomatillos have sprouted! Can you believe they grew this much overnight? I checked at about 11:30 p.m. and nobody was poking out of the soil yet.

spring fever, part 1

This morning, I woke up and immediately I knew: It was time to defy my winter blahs and do something springy. Today I would plant my tomato and pepper seeds for our container garden. Ian and I had already saved seeds from a bell pepper and a hot chili we cooked with, so I ran out to Stein's (a local garden center chain) and bought container-friendly tomato seeds, plus some tomatillo ones (right...not official tomatoes, but something that's easy to start from seed that we want to make room for on the balcony). Here's how I did it.

These are the supplies I used...pretty self-explanatory except maybe the aluminum sheet cake pan (with a cover) and the circular brown things. Those are cut-up toilet paper tubes that I've been saving for this very purpose. Though peppers and tomatoes transplant pretty well, one can always use an extra safeguard. When the seedlings are ready to be moved into larger containers, I can just plop each tube in the soil without disturbing the root system, and the cardboard will decompose over time. 

First, I spread a thin layer of soil in the tin.

Then, I nestled the TP tubes in the soil and arranged them in six rows -- one for each variety: Containers Choice Red tomatoes, Oregon Spring tomatoes, tomatillos, bell peppers, poblano peppers, and chili peppers.

Next, I filled the tubes with soil using the cute little hand trowel Ian bought me for my birthday.

These are the bell pepper seeds we so lovingly cleaned and dried. My dad taught me this trick. I loved that we could taste what we'd be growing -- no guesswork required.

The seeds need to be 1/8 to 1/4 inch deep, so I just sprinkled a few into each tube, poked them in a tiny bit, and added a thin layer of soil from the tin.

Last step: watering. A slow, steady stream into each tube does the trick. I'll check them daily to be sure the moisture level is good. The soil should be damp, but not soaked.

I covered the tin to keep the moisture in and to reduce the draft. There's a hole on one edge of the cover, so the air should circulate sufficiently. I'll keep an eye on this, too. The tin is in the sunniest window, right next to Sprout. Some of the seeds may germinate in just three days, according to their packets. I'll update you soon!

Have you ever started seeds? What were your tricks? 

baby, it's cold outside

All is well here in our little corner of the world. I'm about ready for bed (my new job -- which I love! -- requires me to wake up hours earlier than I had when I was freelancing full time), but wanted to share this photo with you. It's our "winter garden," complete with two bird feeders -- their patrons spend as much time playing and fighting among the branches as they do eating. You may say it's a clever way to distract people from them (the apartment rules on them are quite ambiguous).

I'm pretty proud of the planter, which contains an armful of broken boughs donated to my cause by a woman at a tree lot, plus some red dogwood and variegated boxwood branches. Can you think of anything else I can add to it? I'm considering it a work in progress.

back at it

Yikes! It's been a while since I last posted! Take that as a good sign...business is booming, and I've been able to write and edit to my heart's content. Check out this piece from Birds & Blooms magazine, on newsstands now.

Today I want to show you some photos I shot recently while visiting my folks. They've put a huge amount of work into the gardens at their house, and I like to brag about it to whomever will listen (or read, as it were). We've even spotted neighbors coming over to take pictures.

A few items of note: The next photo features a large wooden structure called a pergola, which we built earlier this summer. More accurately, Dad and Andrew did most of the work while Mom took care of her stomach-flu-stricken daughter (me). Also, they have six finned pets in the pond out back: Carrot Top, Calypso, and the Fab Four -- John, Paul, George, and Ringo. They'll spend winters at their very own basement resort. And with that...

Lastly, since I promised I'd include garden updates, here's one of our hanging baskets. I planted the nasturtium seeds in June (they're the orange-flowered, round-leaved plants), and they've just started to bloom. The other plants are Flambe yellow strawflowers and purple sweet potato vine. In a few weeks, I'll add a color-to-be-determined chrysanthemum to the center of the basket.

in full bloom

There are only a couple of weeks before Ian and I move into our new apartment. One of the most exciting aspects of the space? A balcony! (Not a fire escape but an actual it's-legal-to-display-things-there balcony.) We've decided to do a little container garden featuring ornamentals, tomatoes, and herbs. My dad gave me three tomatoes he started from seed, and we also got one -- plus a baby rosemary plant -- in last week's CSA box.

Last night, we made a trip to Stein's to buy the flowers. I'm quite satisfied with the results (and am well aware that I've packed a lot in here...it's worked in the past, so we'll see what happens!). Here's what we've ended up with:

• Saffron Superbells Calibrachoa: A vine-y plant with little yellow trumpet-shaped flowers with a burgundy circle around the center 
• Bloodleaf: A purplish-green plant sans blooms
• White Geranium: A flowering plant with fuzzy, ruffly green leaves and groups of white flowers
• White Madness Petunia: A plant with sticky, prickly leaves and white trumpet-shaped blooms (and don't ask me to give you seeds...the tag prohibits unauthorized propagation)
• Magenta Madness Petunia: Same as above, except with (yep) magenta flowers
• Tuscany Burgundy Verbena: Another vine-y plant with clumps of deep burgundy flowers with white centers

Can't wait for the plants to fill in! Have you planted anything this year? How's it doing?

playing with dirt, part 2

I just came in from digging in the compost barrel. Its contents are hardly recognizable, warm and kind of slimy, but somehow not in a gross way. I even found a little worm (see the top left of the newspaper scrap)! The best part, though? The soil smells delicious -- it's rich and moist without the slightest hint of rotting produce. And now for the results you've all been waiting for: After a week and a half, the newspaper is still legible. Only a week and a half to go. Any predictions?

playing with dirt

My mother-in-law, Kay, lover of the earth that she is, has a backyard compost barrel. It's a pretty amazing contraption. I like to volunteer to take out our food and yard scraps so I can observe the progress, which is fairly rapid for most materials. After a big discussion about decomposition rates in landfills, we were curious to see how quickly newspaper breaks down into compost. We're betting my father-in-law, John, that the newspaper will be illegible after three weeks. What do you think?

a pop of color

When we were on our apartment search last spring, one of this apartment's features that we couldn't stop thinking about was the great view out the bedroom window. Instead of a cement wall or someone else's living room, there's a courtyard with a number of mature trees. It's like having a backyard (I say "like" because we don't have access to it).

Something about me that you might not know: I love gardening. Love it. And none of our apartments here have been conducive to such a hobby. Until this one. All summer, I'd been talking about putting some flowers out on the patio (aka fire escape), but we couldn't get out there since our old, nasty air conditioner was bolted in. But last weekend, everything changed. Our super came to put it out of its misery. It's true that having anything on your fire escape is against code, but once I was able to stick my head out the window, I could see that all our neighbors already have a pot or two out there. And, when it comes to having things I love (you know, like a fire-escape garden or a hedgehog within the five boroughs), if everybody jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge, I'd be right behind them.

So, today we headed out to the farmers' market to get a few mums. It was quite an adventure (really, I could have fallen and died, you know).

The patio -- before. (What a view!)

Me, climbing out the window to start my project.

The photographer at the ready just in case the fire escape were to collapse.

(It didn't.)

Putting the mums in their new home.

Making sure nobody was going to fall over the side.

Relieved that I didn't fall to my death.

My first New York garden!

The patio -- after (and what I'll see every morning when I wake up!).

I could tell the mums were enjoying their new home on the patio so much, I thought I'd let Sprout play outside for the day. (He is our 3-year-old runty grapefruit tree that we started from a sprouted seed I found in my breakfast one day.)

I'm so, so excited to have the opportunity to grow something! Stay tuned...you may recognize the Thanksgiving centerpieces.