Posts categorized as Gardening

It’s been a productive garden season partly because of the consistent rain over the summer and the warm weather we’re having of late. I just harvested another batch of beautifully ripe tomatoes. If we don’t get a cold front, I may even procure one more collection! What a great year for tomato growers. It’s been my best year to date– that’s for sure. My herbs are also still growing strong. I made another large batch of pesto last week. I have so much parsley and oregano, it feels premature to […]

The success of the Beach 91st Street Community Gardens’ art show last Saturday, featuring works by Clare Hilger, was beyond my expectations! So many neighbors and friends came to support us, to view and purchase artwork and enjoy the garden space. We had people in and out all day! I met a few neighbors that I never knew before and some mentioned how they’ve always walked by and wanted to come in. That makes me truly happy because community gardens should have a community impact and I feel we accomplished […]

I know… it’s August, why am I bringing up pumpkins? Well, there’s some kind of gigantic cucurbit vine growing in my front garden.  The plant started off very small. It was growing in shade, under my Echinacea. So I thought it would die off.  But it did not. It’s been getting bigger and bigger each week. The leaves are now 17 inches long and the vine is spreading at an exponential rate. From what I can see, there are almost six large female flowers. Females have a small ball attached […]

My vegetable garden is in full swing! Water is key now that it’s very hot. I’ve been checking on my plants daily, which are across the street from my home in the Beach 91st Street Community Garden. Two plants I want to discuss this week: cilantro and lettuce. This year’s cilantro crop seeded itself from last year! It just appeared in the spring-like magic. I had to give it the good ol’ taste test. It could’ve been parley. My grandfather would do this in the food stores to figure out […]

I’ve written before about perhaps my favorite tree – the Serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea). It gives so much. It blooms beautiful, petite white flowers in early spring. It services birds, squirrels (raccoons?), and me with delicious berries in mid-June. They taste like if strawberries and blueberries had children. The less ripe ones also give you a burst of tartness occasionally, which I like!  The color ranges from bright reds to dark burgundy. In late September the foliage turns attractive shades of yellow and rich copper. The tree is salt tolerant which […]

This past weekend was The Beach 91st Street Community Gardens’ plant sale. A big thank you to the garden members who donated plants and helped manage the event. Special thanks to Walsh Properties, Inc. and Rockaway Beach resident Joanne McGrath for donating so many beautiful perennials and bulbs. Props to The Wave for promoting the sale in The Happenings section last week! The event was a great success. Most importantly, it was an opportunity for the community to come together and enjoy the garden space, talk about plants, and mingle. It was […]

Billions of cicadas known as Brood X are emerging after 17 years living in their underground world. When will they arrive in Rockaway?! As a gardener, I’m so intrigued with these rare insects. The ground temperature needs to be about 65 degrees to trigger their surfacing. Which was estimated by scientists to be mid-May in New York. It’s the first week of June now and I haven’t seen any on the peninsula. I’m upset! Cicadas remind me of an alien species from the Delta Quadrant. Brood X has two  distinctive […]

It’s growing season in the Beach 91st Street Community Garden. Two weeks ago we had our first group clean-up/workday. It was wonderful to see my neighbors that I haven’t spoken to all winter and to meet a few newbies to Rockaway that are now a part of our garden. We overturned our beds, added compost, and weeded. Many gardeners’ kale overwintered, and the plants bolted with flora. The bees were loving the bright yellow flowers that reached two feet tall! Lucy (center) and Riva, (right) several years Back. Lucy won […]

My backyard is shaded by the towering condo on the corner of Beach 91st and Shore Front Parkway. A shade garden is a challenge! But a challenge is fun and encourages you to learn. If we all had perfect soil and full sun, that would be boring, right? A big part of gardening is trial and error. In the past few years – since my front yard is generally organized and thriving – I’ve focused on the backyard plants. I’ve tried many different perennials and annuals, with tags that say […]

I remember my father taking so much care to make his little patch of grass perfect. But there was always some kind of problem –  grubs one year, the neighbor’s cat the next year. And us kids that one time we destroyed the grass with Slip N’ Slide! I’ll never forget my father’s face after seeing the mud puddles everywhere, which looked more like a Florida marshland than a Long Island lawn … oops. There’s so much maintenance to lawn care. “Don’t walk on the grass, I just put down […]