Brooklyn to Philly

A lot has happened since I last posted in May. I stopped working at Ennead Architects, I moved home to Connecticut, went to Thailand with my mom and sister, as well as India to see my boyfriend, and, oh yeah, I am moving to Philly in one week. I am taking my interest in urban horticulture and landscapes one step further and will be attending UPenn in the fall to pursue a Master of Landscape Architecture degree. I hope to use this blog to share with you all I will be learning and doing in the City of Brotherly Love while pursuing a degree in something I love. Tomatoes will still be growing in Brooklyn, I just won't be the one doing it. I hope that you will stick with me as I embark on this new chapter in my life. What should I call the blog now?

 

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What's In Season: May

I know May is almost over and Memorial Day has officially ushered in summer, but I wanted to share with you what's currently in season besides hamburgers and hot dogs.

Be sure to pick up some radishes, broccoli, rhubarb, asparagus, strawberries, and spinach from your farmer's market. And you can't go wrong with the classic combination of strawberry and rhubarb in this delectable pie from Smitten Kitchen.

May Tomatoes

Anyone watch New Girl on Fox? In one of the most recent episodes, Nick waters his tomato plant like this:

Don't do that. :)

In other news, my tomato seedlings are about to bust out of their starter cups and are heading outdoors this weekend. They have gone from these little guys:

To these BIG guys:

Some of them are flowering and all of them are itching to get into a bigger pot. If you have any seedlings you started indoors or are looking to put some plants outside your living space, this weekend is the time to do it. Going forward, we should be frost-free! Happy planting!

Spanish Blue Bells

Remember back in December when I planted those Spanish Blue Bell bulbs? Say that ten times fast! I blogged about it here.

Well, they have bloomed!

From this:

To this:

Because of our wacky winter/spring everything is about three weeks early, so I missed the peak blue bloom, but I think it is still pretty. Check out Pier 1 at Brooklyn Bridge Park this weekend for all the early spring flowers.



Moss (the plant, not the model)

My boyfriend recently sent me an article in The New York Times describing a recent trend of installing vertical gardens in Mexico City as a way to beautify the urban landscape as well as improve air quality.

Rodrigo Cruz for The New York Times

These large structures are visual reminders of the exciting cultural shift happening in Mexico City right now: "There are young architects here looking to tear up roads and revive ancient rivers. There are young women teaching old women how to plant tomatoes in the grass between high-rises; artists turning ocean trash into gorgeous, consumer criticism; and even a crowd-sourced multimedia campaign with visions for 'Mexico of the Future' — which includes submissions such as 'a solar panel on every house' and 'respect for flora and fauna.,'” writes Damien Cave.

This article reminds me of two artists who work with moss to create some unexpected graffiti.

Here is some of Anna Garforth's work playing with moss and typography:

And here is some of NYC-based Edina Tokodi's art:

I love these. I support any chance to infiltrate nature and greenery into an urban environment. Imagine passing one of these moss murals on the way to work. Lovely. You can check out more of their work here: Edina Tokodi and Anna Garforth





17 Down, 39 to Go

17-day-old tomato plants. Growing on my desk at work. :)

Sky Farm

As more urban dwellers are looking to grow their own food, designers are coming up with sleek products to maximize space on people's small terraces and tiny backyards. I came across this recent product from a German designer named Manuel Dreesmann called, "Sky Farms." A pretty neat way to elevate your edibles so the rest of the space is free for entertaining.

A retractable handle allows you to pull down your pot, take what you need, and elevate it back into the air.

Shallow rooted plants like herbs and lettuces would be best for this. Check it out: Sky Farm

Things Organized Neatly

Has anyone seen this tumblr? Things Organized Neatly

Pine needles:

Ursus Wehrli

Cacti:

Martin Creed

Almost like my blog header!

Kim Knollenberg, organic farmer



I could look at this all day.

Why Hello!

I can't wait to eat you.

Golden Nuggets

Well. I am a month late starting my tomato seeds. Between being in India for most of February and my seeds being lost in the mail for most of March, I have not been able to start the germination process until now. In a way, I am glad I waited this long since today is the perfect day to start my seeds for two fabulous reasons. One, it is the first day of spring! Which means the hours of daylight are equal to the hours of darkness and, to mark the occasion, Google had a great Marimekko inspired logo today:

A second reason why it is an especially fine day to start my tomato seeds is that today is the one year anniversary of my blog! Woo-hoo!

This year I have decided to try my hand at growing cherry tomatoes. Using the usually reliable Johnny's Selected Seeds I purchased golden cherry tomato seeds aptly named "Golden Nugget." They are apparently great for containers, easy to grow, and *bonus* organic.

Using the same steps outlined from last year here, I poked holes in some paper cups, filled them with moist germination mix, dropped the small seeds in a shallow hole, lightly covered and watered them, and placed them in the window. Fifty-six days later, these little seeds will be mature plants and ready to go outside. Let's hope it goes better than it did last year. :)

Floral Remix

A Chinese artist named Fong Qi Wei uses flower petals instead of brush strokes to "remix" some classic pieces of art.

The Great Wave off Kanagawa

Van Gogh's Still Life: Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers

Kind of cool, but I think her "Exploded Flowers" series is a little more successful.

Chrysanthemum

Hydrangea

Check out more: here.

Drugs, Guns, and Cacti?

Imagine if Walt and Jesse dealt with smuggling cacti across the Mexican/US border instead of meth. I am sure they would still botch everything up with their rookie antics, get a few cactus needles stuck in their legs along the way, and suspense and hilarity would ensue. However, this is a real and growing problem in Mexico. Smuggling cactus plants is the third biggest racket, behind drugs and guns. The demand for cacti is on the rise as more and more gardeners are opting for a "zero scape" garden or one that requires very little water. To meet this demand, people are taking cacti from Mexico's natural desert landscape instead of cultivating them legally. The WWF has reported some rare species being trafficked out of Mexico to buyers willing to pay $10,000 for a single plant. Lax law enforcement has allowed this racket to become very profitable with very little consequence. Salvador Arias, a cacti expert at Mexico's National Autonomous University says, "You can tell the smuggled plants. They tend to be more damaged and come without that perfect look you find in garden centres. It is sad that Mexico's floral heritage is being squandered for money. Once these plants are gone, they're gone."

Recent efforts to curtail illegal cacti harvesting include outfitting some of the most wanted species with tracking devices. The chips will allow officials to easily sweep nurseries and landscape centers. When purchasing large cacti at nurseries or garden centers, please ask how they were cultivated and where they come from. For more information check out this and this.

Witch Hazel

It might not feel like it in New York right now, but spring is on its way. Daylight savings is fast approaching and, matching that extra hour of sunshine, is the pop of yellow the witch hazel plant produces this time of year. Witch hazel is one of the first plants to bloom at the end of winter; a Punxsutawney Phil of the plant world. Its spidery yellow blooms bring a smile to my face, even if it that same face is covered with a scarf. Come on spring, we are ready!

(8th Avenue and Horatio Street)

More witch hazel images here.

Sugar and Spice

Everything about India is hot. The women, the ocean, the masala chai tea, the weather and definitely the food. The diversity of spices and flavors found here are endless and ancient. India exported herbs, spices, indigo, ebony, exotic animals, fruits and pearls to the Romans in exchange for their gold and wine. While recently in the southern state of Kerala, my boyfriend and I got to see some of these famed spices growing naturally.

Here is a pepper (as in the counterpart to salt) vine. Yes, pepper grows on a vine!

 

One plant can produce four colors of pepper: black, white, green and red. It is in the preparation of the small, green pepper corns pictured that changes the color.  To produce black pepper you take the green, unripe pepper corns as is, boil them and then dry them in the sun or in a machine. The small pepper corns then shrivel up and turn into the black pepper we are used to seeing on the table. To get white pepper you take a ripe, red pepper corn, boil it, and remove the red fruit to produce a white seed. This seed is then dried and ready to use. For red or green pepper, you take the ripe or unripe pepper corns and preserve them in a brine. Pretty neat!

 

Above is a clove plant. The pale green, cross-shapes above are the buds. When they turn red, they are collected and dried in the same manner of the pepper plant.

In addition to the plethora of spices India has to offer, fresh fruit and fruit juices are in constant supply. You can get delicious, fresh juices at almost any restaurant and certainly any street corner. Below is a machine that produces fresh sugar cane juice.

 

He feeds the sugar cane into this huge press and out comes delicious juice. 

 

This is the most minimal post on the extensive flavors and spices I have found in India, but I just wanted to share a small peak into the culinary vacation my taste buds have been on.

Mumbai Musings

I am headed to Mumbai, India tomorrow!

I will be back in two weeks. Just in time to start my tomato seeds!

Early Blooms

On the way to work I noticed a few spring bulbs poking out of the ground and I wanted to shout, "Hold on guys! It's still winter!" But it's too late. They are confused and are emerging into a windy winter instead of a warm spring. Our relatively warm December signaled to the bulbs that it was spring and so they started to grow. If this has happened to any of your bulbs, I came across this great trick from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden to shield these early bloomers.

Photo by Sarah Schmidt

Any holiday greenery still on hand will protect these emerging bulbs from the oncoming wind and frigid temperatures. If any flower buds start to form, pinch them off to delay bloom and, usually, a bulb can reproduce another flower by the time spring comes around, which isn't soon enough!

My Desk

Sitting at my desk today I realized that I have slowly accumulated A LOT of plants. It is almost as if a small garden is sprouting around my computer and will eventually engulf my work space. I think I would be OK with that. :)

The newest addition to my desk garden is the Camellia Bonsai that Simon gave me for my birthday! I have only seen this plant as a tree in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden so I was very surprised to see it in miniature, bonsai-scale. 

I have never owned a bonsai before. They require a lot of pruning and vigilant care so I hope that I can keep up with its high maintenance. It will bloom all winter and, come spring, should be pruned and then placed outside in the shade.

Thanks Simon!