Posts categorized as Gardening

My husband hates my seasonal decorating obsession. He thinks it’s a waste of money, a waste of storage space and it’s plain ol’ silly. Despite this though, last year for our anniversary he bought me six huge mum plants from Lisena Garden Center (12-5 Cross Bay Blvd, Broad Channel). They looked beautiful on my porch. Adding the burst of yellow and orange color I needed to contrast the hay bundles and corn stalks in my fall harvest display. The flowers lasted well into late October. I never understood why people […]

I had the exciting opportunity to collaborate on a design project for The Beach 91st Street Community Garden. For over a year, I’ve been eager to redesign our garden site map but haven’t had the time. I put an email out to my fellow community garden members to see if any creatives were interested in volunteering. Member Walter Meyer responded and introduced me to Diana Erazo, who he taught at Parsons New School and subsequently hired as an intern at his company, Local Office Landscape & Urban Design (LOLA). Some […]

I made a 4,000 pound mistake. As a member of The Beach 91st St. Community Garden’s leadership team, was tasked with purchasing gravel for a special project. I called Glenwood Mason Supply as suggested by one of our members. I told them I needed two square yards of pea gravel. The delivery came earlier than expected, this was last Saturday. The driver was concerned about dropping the 2 ton load. His machine only worked on solid ground and the garden is soil and grass. But I couldn’t leave two tons […]

If  you’ve been reading along, you know that I harvested my first batch of garlic two weeks ago but was a little unsure if it was the right time. This is the case with many root crops and it’s a trial and error learning process. I decided I’d harvest a few at a time for the next several weeks. This would allow me to gauge and record sizing and ripeness based on timing. Over the 4th of July weekend, I collected two more bulbs, carefully from under the soil. They […]

Besides humans, what else takes nine months to grow? The answer – garlic. In late October I planted garlic for the first time with guidance from my neighbor Diane. We’re both members of the Beach 91st Street Community Garden and that’s where I planted my first crop. In April, I saw sprouts and I’ve been anticipating and monitoring ever since. I planted the hardneck variety. Unlike most vegetables, garlic’s season is the opposite – plant in the fall, harvest in the summer. Garlic needs a long period of cold winter […]

I was in the front garden and noticed the marigolds I planted in my cement pots had severe damage. At a closer glance, I saw pill bugs everywhere. You may know them as roly-poly bugs or potato bugs from when you were a kid. I found it strange because marigolds are considered an insect repellent and planted in vegetable gardens to detract pests. The pill bug is not a picky eater apparently and the pungent flavor of this beautiful annual doesn’t detract this garden pest. Upon some research, I learned […]

I’ve been spending some time this week in the Beach 91st Street Community Garden. I only planted my vegetables two weeks ago because it’s been unseasonably cold. Despite the late start, things are looking good. This year, I have two cherry and two beefsteak tomato plants. The cherry tomatoes do very well in the garden for some reason. I have two cubanelle pepper plants, squash, kale, cilantro, sage, basil, and chives. I think I over-planted my plot. I couldn’t help myself! Flowers and the scapes of this easy-to-grown herb are […]

Every Italian family I know has at least one statue in their garden. We have our reasons. We need to have the blessings of the saints around our home. This is a connection we’ve retained from our pagan past. Statues remind us of the homeland. Rome is beautifully littered with ancient sculptures, grottos and water features, so it’s part of our design DNA. And we have an ostentatious flair – big, bold, loud and shiny. I mean, who doesn’t love how stone looks when it’s sprayed with a garden hose […]

With the help of Matt’s cousin Lesley Conroy, who is a landscape architect, we designed our front garden in 2016. Lesley and I both agreed on choosing plants that would be fitting for a coastal landscape. Since then, I’ve learned a tremendous amount about coastal gardens and the effect of salt on plants. I’ve found that there’s a vast difference that salt has on plants and trees on the beach block, versus inner blocks on the peninsula. I see my neighbors between Holland Ave. and the boulevard growing apple trees, […]

April is holding up its end of the bargain – rain, rain, and more rain. It’s needed to jump-start our gardens and the growing season. I’ve been outside whenever the weather permits, weeding, cleaning up leaves, and dividing/moving plants to new locations. Normally I start my veggie seedlings in the Beach 91st Street Community Garden greenhouse. I’ve been a member for several years now. A greenhouse is typically 20 degrees warmer than the outside temperature. The average temperature this month in Rockaway has been about 55 degrees. So the greenhouse […]