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. :)