Our Trees

I didn't need to water on Monday due to that crazy storm we had on Sunday, but I went to clean up and dead head the flowers. The plants looked lush--all with moist soil, but the tree with the wind chime in it had blown over again and, weirdly, the red cedar (I think this is what it is) out in the middle of the yard by the benches was really dry and its needles were falling out.

Trees have been on the gardening committee members' minds because of the plan for the New York Restoration Project to plant 30 trees in the Bard yard. Yay! (The work will begin for those trees in mid-August I hear.) So this week I decided to take pictures of the trees that we already have in the garden—some of them purchased and others salvaged—to show how much they’ve grown since April. All, but the cedar I mentioned before, seem to be thriving and content in their current planters and placement in the garden.




This spruce tree seems to be thriving and the cherry next to it is getting tall and lanky. It’s so tall that I couldn’t get it all in one shot.

But what does it mean when a tree starts growing little baby trees from the bottom of it’s trunk at the roots?

This is the tree with the wind chime (that gets blown over). I think this tree was being thrown out somewhere in Brooklyn and Sonia nabbed it. You can see that it’s going to bloom soon.

I call this a juniper bush, but maybe it’s a red cedar. It's loaded with hundreds of large juicy juniper berries. I wish I could make a juniper berry pie.

Is this called a curly willow? Anyone know?

Here's another one.

Japanese maple #1

Japanese maple #2

This is the red cedar (I think that's what it is--also has scattered juniper berries) that's all dried out. Sonia and I agree that the soil isn't absorbing water. Sonia thinks it might be because it's rootbound.

Here's a closeup of the holly tree which is over 5 feet tall.

With all the rain we've had this week and is forecast to come I guess the garden will be lush again the next time I visit.
That's all for now.

Changes

hi all
fun to see, scrolling down the blog, how the garden has grown from april to july...wonder what it will look like after the 30 trees from the New York Restoration Project are planted.
Ok, we couldn't get those cement planters. They were way too heavy, even the movers couldn't handle them.
Next, with the gift of the 30 trees, I guess we'll have to make a new garden plan or blueprint. Hopefully, Rebecca will do us the honor again...we probably only need to change the position of the planter boxes. And we have to keep the snow clearing paths clear...So far the plan calls for 10-13 trees in what was a playground area...(where the locked up climbing equipment is) and the rest of the trees lining up along e. houston and mangin streets...the trees will be staggered...not exactly in one line. The benefit to this is that it forms a thicker barrier against the noisy e. houston st. The negative is that it continues the long lines of the garden which we had discussed breaking up with planters...
So I guess we need to think about all this.The garden is looking good...we've been very lucky this summer with all this rain...

I still haven't heard back from GreenThumb about our grant application...seems like awhile...
more later...
sonia

Wildlife in the Garden

I went a little crazy with my camera this week and took too many pictures, so get ready to scroll.


The butterfly was back this week with friends, but I couldn't get two in the same shot as proximity seemed to excite them to crazy fluttering and flying. Pheromones I guess.

I did get a bug on a brand new and beautiful rose bloom though!

And noticed bees doing their pollinating thing for the first time.

I also had a visit from a couple of fat sparrows who bathed in water that had dripped down from the large pot in the corner.

More evidence of critter-digging in this planter of snapdragons. What are they eating? Snapdragons or bugs in the snapdragons? Please leave a comment if you know, or have a theory.

Before and...

After--this is same planter that I found had been dug up last week. I was amazed how much the tiny seedlings that were left had grown.

Gorgeousness
Nothing much to say--just enjoy.







Problem Areas?
What do you think?

I am worried about the sunflower. Maybe it just didn't get enough water last week, or maybe the pot is too small?


And what about these tiger lilies. Everytime I see them the blooms look dried up and I imagine that they should be on the shady side. They are very tall, and the blooms are up high in the sky and the elements. What do the garden committee experts think?

Here are some very tall flowers on the shady side which seem to be doing well.

That's it for this week.
Next week: Trees (Principal Ray Peterson reported today that we are getting 30 more from the New York Restoration Project)

Hoses

Sonia set up the hoses with several double nozzle attachments and new sprinkler heads. Tim asked for some pictures so here they are.

In the picture above I have brightened two ellipses to show the two places where the attachments split the hose into two. If you click on the picture it will blow up so you can see these easier. The first attachment (ellipse in the middle of playground) is at the end of the black hose which leads to the faucet. The second is in the foreground and you can see that there are two green hoses attached to the end of this black section. A third splitter can't be seen in this picture, but it's attached to the end of the pink hose (below).

The black hose is the shorter one. It can reach both ends of the garden, the western end on Houston and the shady garden on Mangin next to the school building. Only the pink hose can reach the middle of the garden at the corner of Mangin and Houston.

Most of the sprinkler heads look like this one.

They can be placed with the holes facing up so they work as sprinklers,

or facing down so that the water drips into the container. If you turn on the faucet with only a 1/4 turn the water flows gently enough to do this.

This nozzle has a stake on the bottom so that you can secure it in the dirt.

There are enough attachments to have 6 sprinklers going at one time. Unfortunately 6 was too discombobulating for me, but 4 was perfect.

Watering Report

Wildlife in the Bard Garden


I think this may be the same butterfly that was flying about two weeks ago when I watered and Rebecca measured (how long do they live?).



Evidence of squirrel activity: a box of newly planted seeds disturbed. At least some of the seedlings are left. ( I hope it's squirrel mischief and not the dreaded rat)



Wet Roses



This pot looked especially beautiful this week. The peachy color of the lower flowers looked much richer in real life.


Even the dead flowers from the Bard Garden have beautiful color.



It's a jungle out there.

Watering Report

Today the head maintenance guy introduced himself and showed me his handiwork. The green fake grass he wove into one of the chain link fences hides junk that has accumulated in back of the apartment building next door. He also told me that he has a key for the gate on Mangin Street for Sonia. We will be able to bring soil, plants, and heavy equipment into the yard without bothering the maintenance staff to unlock it for us every time.

The trees and most of the plants looked very healthy. A few of the minor plants were suffering from heat and drought. Like this one (what kind of plant is this anyway?):

Most of the others looked pretty good despite the harsh conditions. Here are a few pictures of plants that looked extra beautiful to my eyes today:

The two planters above have succulents mixed with pansies, snapdragons, and other little flowers. They look gorgeous enough for the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

And I love the way these petunias drape down from the planter. (unfortunately didn't notice the soda can before I clicked)

All of the sudden these appeared--pretty little green tomatoes.

That's it for today.

Watering Report

For those of you who will water I want to report that Sonia is right in her estimate of the time it takes--at least 2 hours. It took me more time than that today, but I think I've got a system down now.

I was able to find the key in the pot with the purple plant--on the dirt, under the leaves. I almost didn't find it because it's a perfect hiding place--the color and value of the key almost match the dry dirt. I got the spray nozzle from Kristy and Carol's office and put it back there when I was done.

Carol and Kristy suggested propping open the cafeteria and/or the door to the yard with a chair as sometimes the doors are locked (today they weren't) AND leaving a note on the chair AND to have the phone number for someone you know is in the building in case you get locked out.

Dragging out the hose is hard, sweaty, dirty work. It took me at least 1/2 hour to drag, untangle, and set up before I started watering (I included this in the 2+ hours). Putting it back is faster. Phew!

The tree with the wooden chimes was tipped over when I got there. It looked healthy and unharmed, but the pot was very light due to the dirt being dry and I think it fell over b/c it was top-heavy.

Finally, Tony the janitor told us (Rebecca was there measuring the yard for our garden layout plans) that we needed to leave by 5 today because school is no longer in session for the summer.

That's it for today's watering report!