Gravel to Green

Oh, what a journey it's been. In the last post - nearly a year ago - I made a to-do list for this blog. We were so busy watering and pulling weeds, it's taken a back seat. But not the plants. We are proud to be in our  third   year. Yes, we have LOTS of photos to post, however,  it's a problem we all have these days - sufficient time! View from the footbridge looking down, where spare tires were dumped among the liquor bottles. Recapping the season : Many good things, new plants and mega growth - and two bad events. I'll post some pictures here to show how lovely things are in general, and then, a few showing the two downers. This year, no natural wind storms, no drunk garden vandals, but spray from the LIRR weed killers (who did not see our weathered garden signs), and a very sad visit from the DOT, who cut and pulled ALL the sunflowers along the parking side of the footbridge. They should have been heading for the underpass of the LIE. What sho...

Wind takes one of the mammoth sunflowers, but that does not stop the bees. There is so much to do, and so little blog time. So, my posts this season have been put off, photos saved for the rainy day when gardeners have a holiday. Let's just start with a TO-DO. Here's what I'll post about; at least I can feel I've made an attempt. Future topics: The single sunflower of summer 2010, the inspiration for our crop of 2011. A recap of the year, 2010. Winter in the garden, or a white out and little hope. First bits of green showing in the spring, 2011. Cutting weed trees, mending the fence, and expanding the garden to include the sunflower bed on the other side of the steps. Tulips showing their faces. First little flowers. Losses and gains. Friends of the garden, expanding.  Progress with the water source and a look back at our limitations of 2010. Thriving garden, expanding with unusual and beautiful plants.  Sun flowers and more sunflowe...

Welcome back to our garden - here at the foot of the steps of the footbridge over the Long Island Railway, a stone's throw from the Queens Midtown Tunnel. After a long hiatus, I am returning with an update - the first since October 2010. Just as the garden began to fade into winter, I simply did not have the time to keep up. Now, there are so many things to report since the fall, it will be difficult togegin again. I'll start here by showing where were were last year at this time. My how we've grown! Then, in the next weeks, I'll go back and pull together some of the highlights in photos from last fall, winter and early spring. It's been such a rewarding project, and our community grows along with it!

Several days after unearthing that huge piece of slate, Miss V and I were digging at the same location when we hit something solid. We'd been through so many episodes of pulling out cobblestones and bottles, we were sure it was just more of the same. We approached the digging from various sides and just as I slid and almost fell, we realized it was something smooth.  To our great surprise, it seemed as though the large piece of slate had reappeared - just about a foot deeper. We swept away the soil until the entire shape was revealed: narrower and a bit longer than the original one. But it was buried deep on one end. Optimistically we prepared a place for it near the other slate, with hopes of enlarging our patio. Now, all we needed was to assemble another team of strong men. October 1st was a sparkling day, and we were lucky to find two new friends of the garden, willing and able to help us. Had it not been for the persistence of Mr. C and Mr. R, this second piece never w...

All of us who've been involved in the planting of The Footbridge Garden have concentrated on the front sections, because there was a nasty piece of slate wedged in packed dirt by the supports for the footbridge. It was large, but I always hoped this piece could be moved, so we renew the soil, and put in a focus plant and a trellis with climbing vines. But, how to move the slate? Miss V and I had dug around it, and made a place for the slate to be moved, but we could not even budge it. We needed help. So, one day, our friend Mr. H offered, and brought along Mr. J. for some added muscle. After a few tries, we called for more strength.  When Mr. D. J arrived, it suddenly seemed possible. There was some huffing and puffing, and then, it was in place moved directly under steps for a 'patio'. What a great feeling! Thanks, team! Then, I got to work connecting the path to the newly positioned slate with some makeshift steps.  At Home Depot I found some ...

See how far we've come? It's amazing! Visitors to the garden seem to be a regular thing now, and if I have my camera, they usually find a place on the path to pose. It all starts with their interest and questions about the plants, the names of flowers, which ones will winter over, and so on. It doesn't take long for me to ask for a photo op. In early September I was honored by a visit from Mr. Kenton, the Constituent Liaison of Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer. We'd spoken several times, when I was trying to get to the bottom of who actually owns (pays taxes) on the land. The answer is the City/MTA, but it appeared to be untended - probably because it's such a strange shape in an odd location. Sanitation would come by periodically and haul off the tires and debris tossed there on a regular basis. Now, let's hope they don't confuse Little Zebra grass with Ragweed!  Mr. Kenton was most curious about the garden project, as his office is very interested in...