I visited a famous producer’s beautiful NYC roof garden this week and advised him on care of his birch trees. The main problem with the birch trees is that they are on a north-facing terrace, which only gets a few hours of sun. They are losing leaves and there is a bagworm infestation. I recommended replacing the weakest looking ones with something that will tolerate low light better, such as Japanese maples. Read the rest of this entry »
Although this roof garden is located in the busy Hell’s Kitchen area of Manhattan, you’d never know it. Seven floors above the hustle and bustle of street traffic below, this garden resonates with the peaceful sounds of nature.
Design plans, irrigation, lighting, planters all for sale online at http://www.amberfreda.com
These wonderful handmade planters are created by celebrated artist Victor Stabin.
Compost has often been referred to by garden enthusiasts as “black gold,” but for some reason it still tends to be a somewhat elusive item in city gardens. Certainly, it could be assumed that the primary reason for this is a lack of space for a large compost pit in most urban dwellings. This problem is easily remedied by smaller compost bins now made commonly available by vendors like http://www.gardeners.com, which carries the compact kitchen compost bin shown in the photo.
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Sunroom gardens are an interesting approach to urban gardening. It’s not something I see all that often, but I hope that will change in time. It makes perfect sense in cold climates like NYC to have an indoor garden room that can be enjoyed year-round.
Evergreens can be planted in pots any time of year, even in winter, for that touch of green that brings life to winter-ravaged gardens. I like to plan all of the gardens I design with at least a few spots of evergreen color to keep the garden from looking so bleak in the winter months. The best evergreen for containers is the alberta spruce because it stays small (rarely exceeding 6′ tall in pots), grows slowly, and tolerates neglect and city conditions.
I have always thought of the garden as art, and so imagine how excited I was to discover earth sculptures, such as this one of a woman in repose. “The Mudmaid,” as she’s known, is on display at Heligan Gardens in the UK.
I’m a big fan of Asian ceramic pots in the landscape and on roof gardens. These pots are made with an outdoor-ready clay and fired to a high enough temperature in the glazing process that they won’t crack or break as readily as terra cotta.