In fact, New York is surprisingly green. Nearly 20 percent of the city is public park land, a figure that earned it second place this summer, behind San Diego, when the Trust for Public Land conducted its annual Park Score survey of the 50 largest cities in the United States.

That’s a lot of park, and the inventory is more varied than many New Yorkers realize. The superstars hog the headlines: Central Park, Madison Square, the botanical gardens in Brooklyn and the Bronx. At sidewalk level, jaded urban eyes scale down their expectations to the window box overflowing with geraniums, the tub of flowers outside a restaurant, the caged-in plantings clinging for dear life to the trunks of trees.

However, the city teems with unsung small parks and gardens midway on the scale between flower pot and Great Lawn. Some are squeezed in discreet niches between buildings. Others are new and await discovery. Still others have undergone a metamorphosis.

I have had my eye on a number of these gems, and the waning days of summer — the lull between last bloom and first frost — gave me an excuse to put together an eclectic tour. Several of the choices come from the 52 community gardens that the New York Restoration Project has owned and managed since 1999, most of them known only to neighborhood residents. I zeroed in on the handful that stand out for their landscaping and design. I also included two gardens in the city’s parks system, the Bosque and the Gardens of Remembrance. These sanctuaries, developed between 2001 and 2005, have been hiding in plain sight at the Battery, largely ignored by the throngs heading to the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and Governors Island.

The Gil Hodges Community Garden in Gowanus, Brooklyn, one of those owned by the Restoration Project, has been around for more than 30 years, but it has just undergone a makeover, with money from the city’s Department of Environmental Protection and from Jo Malone, a British fragrance company. The transformed version opens on Wednesday.

On a plot of around 3,000 square feet, Yvi McEvilly, the Restoration Project’s director of design, has packed in a maximum of plant activity. Up front, a fragrance garden sends out the aromas of calycanthus, daphne and other species chosen for both nose and eye appeal. A wandering series of steppingstones, recycled shards of concrete from the old garden, leads past raised herb and vegetable beds to a birch reading grove.

The garden incorporates several environmentally friendly features. A large section of it relies on rainwater collected in an underground reservoir, rather than city water. On two sidewalks, five rectangular tree beds have been enhanced with native plants like ironweed and winterberry. One is now a bioswale: a giant sponge that takes in rainwater diverted from the street and lets it soak into a subterranean chamber, thereby relieving pressure on the sewer system.

Small can be thrilling. It can also be elusive. The city-owned Lentol Garden in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, a sliver of green pressed right up against the entrance ramp to the Brooklyn Queens Expressway, offers a glimpse of enchantment. Through iron gates, passers-by can feast their eyes on plump hydrangea blooms, purple and ivory butterfly bushes and a magnificent Chinese dogwood, now displaying clusters of raspberrylike fruit.

Getting inside the gates is another matter, unless you are one of the high school students working on summer programs in environmental science administered by the local Y.M.C.A. and New York University.

The Restoration Project’s community gardens, on the other hand, must be open to the public 20 hours a week. Sometimes the hours are posted, sometimes not, and the local organizations that operate the gardens day to day do not always keep to the schedule. I never did manage to penetrate Maggie’s Garden, a seductive, beautifully landscaped enclave on 149th Street near Broadway, in Hamilton Heights.

Even when the gardens keep to their hours, it can feel like a stroke of luck when the gates are open. On a recent weekend, Greg Dava, a Brooklyn resident taking a shortcut to the A train at High Street, walked into the Bridge Plaza Community Garden, near the borough’s downtown area, with a look of astonishment on his face. “This is the first time I’ve ever been inside,” he said. “I’ve only seen it through the gates.”

What he saw was one of the jewels in the community-garden system. Hardly bigger than a postage stamp, it somehow manages to accommodate evergreen trees and shrubs, a Japanese maple, hydrangeas and roses, brick and flagstone walkways, and a lily pond stocked with koi.

A hexagonal wooden bench encircles the garden’s ornamental cherry tree. Off in one corner is a pole with brightly colored birdhouses stacked atop one another, adding a cheery note.

There are others like it, scattered far and wide. Curtis Jackson, the rapper known as 50 Cent, financed a renovation of a community garden in Jamaica, Queens, his old neighborhood. Now named the Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson Community Garden, it opened in 2008.

Six deep-blue metal rainwater collectors, 10 feet tall with a dish on top, stand guard over a neat complex of pathways and raised beds with marigolds, sunflowers and vegetables. A pergola entwined with shade-giving trumpet vines runs the length of the garden along 165th Street.

About 10 blocks away, the Linden Boulevard Community Garden offers a moody contrast, with twisting, moss-covered brick paths that squiggle their way under towering shade trees and past ornamental shrubs like rhododendrons, cherry laurels and Japanese hollies. The colors of spring and summer have faded, but the garden, designed by the parks department veteran Edie Kean, still casts a spell in green.

A COUPLE’S dig for victory has won them a top title for their gardening efforts.

Margaret and Peter Stout, from Horden, have been hailed as part of the search for the best kept garden led by East Durham Homes (EDH) to showcase the hard work put in by its tenants to keep their gardens in good shape.

The Stouts were presented with a £50 voucher to spend on their garden, with a £25 shopping voucher added to their prize.

Anthony Dobell, from the competition’s sponsor, Daisy Landscaping, helped judge the entries, which have more than doubled since last summer.

He said: “Mr and Mrs Stout’s garden really stood out to me.

“What’s more, when there’s an attractive garden in the neighbourhood, it makes others want to follow suit.”

The judges said the Stouts’ garden impressed them with its wide range of colourful plants, with the warm summer helping them enjoy it with their great-grandchildren.

Margaret said: “I was over the moon when I found out we’d won the competition. We really enjoy gardening. Everyone should give it a go.”

Stuart Wood, senior estate and regeneration officer with EDH, said: “It’s great to see how many beautiful gardens there are in the area.

“We hope by showcasing the winner and runners-up of this competition, it encourages all our customers to keep their garden tidy.”

Runner-ups in the challenge were Elizabeth Anderson from Peterlee and John Walker from Seaham, who each won £10 shopping vouchers.

A landscaping company from Nanaimo believes it has a solution that may help deal with the city’s ongoing problem with deer, and the cougars that hunt them.

Bill Gilfoy, owner of Progressive Landscapes, has devised a deer-resistant garden box system for a client in the Departure Bay area, where the highest concentrations of urban deer are being reported.

His design is attracting plenty of interest from neighbours who have been coping with deer raiding their vegetable gardens for years.

Gilfoy, who has 10 years experience in landscaping and opened his own business last year, has constructed a 240 square-foot, three-tiered vegetable garden surrounded by fencing that deer can’t get through.

He said he used his background in construction to devise the garden, which he just completed last week, and the design is quickly gaining interest.

“There was a lot of people stopping in their vehicles to have a look when we were in the final stages of construction,” he said.

“I grow a lot of my own food and I’m always encouraging people to have their own gardens to help then maintain self-sustainable lifestyles, so it’s great if I can help those with home gardens out in this way.”

The proliferation of urban deer in Nanaimo, particularly in the north end and the Hammond Bay area, has led to a number of problems recently.

City bylaw officers recently issued a warning to an Icarus Drive resident this week for illegally feeding deer after a cougar, lured by easy prey, was trapped and killed by conservation officers.

As well, according to recent statistics, almost 200 deer carcasses have been picked up in Nanaimo by Coastal Animal Services in 2013, most of which were hit by cars.

RBarron@nanaimodailynews.com 250-729-4234

© Copyright 2013

THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS (September 18, 2013) – Great gardens begin in the fall! From native perennials and shrubs to cool season veggies, fall is the ideal time to plant. Moderate temperatures and warm soils encourage root growth that continues into winter and through spring. By summer, plants are well established and better able to handle East Texas heat and seasonal drought.

Just in time for fall planting, The Woodlands Landscaping Solutions event, on Saturday, September 28, 2013, from 9 a.m. to noon at 8203 Millennium Forest Drive, spotlights native and well-adapted plants, herbs and vegetables for southern gardens. Offering sage tips for yard and garden, this free, how-to event focuses on achieving an attractive, easy-care landscape that conserves water.

Explore the hottest trends in water-wise landscaping—rainwater harvesting and drip irrigation—with Montgomery County Master Gardeners. Woodlands Joint Powers Agency shares how to program and troubleshoot your irrigation system for optimum efficiency.

Develop your green thumb with demonstrations about plant propagation and backyard composting. Ailing plants receive a free diagnosis and prescription at the Plant Clinic. Sickly or pest-damaged plants should be transported in a plastic baggie.

The vegetable gardening guru, Ben van der Pol, will reveal how to grow your own vegetables from seed, as he shares what, when and how to plant. Open-pollinated seeds, vegetable starts, culinary herbs, olive trees and blueberry plants will be for sale at the The Herb Cottage.

Invite nature to your landscape with habitat gardening and the plants that attract birds and butterflies. Texas Bluebird Society, Butterfly Enthusiasts of Southeast Texas and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department reveal the basics. Nature’s Way Resources will offer hard-to-find understory trees, shrubs, vines and perennials. Discover heirloom bulbs for hot landscapes with Chris Wiesinger, the Bulb Hunter.

Whatever the gardening challenge, Woodlands Landscaping Solutions has the answer! The event is organized by The Woodlands Township with sponsorship by Montgomery County Master Gardener Association, The Woodlands G.R.E.E.N., Hilton Garden Inn and Waste Management. For more information, please visit www.thewoodlandstownship-tx.gov/gardeningevents or call 281-210-3800.

Photo: From irrigation techniques to butterfly gardening and growing vegetables, Woodlands Landscaping Solutions on Saturday, September 28 spotlights water-wise methods with free booths, demonstrations, plant sale and give-a-ways. 

Have you ever looked at a dying plant in your yard and wondered what was wrong or wondered what time of year is best to plant carrots and beets? Have you had neighbors ask you questions about how to care for their plants and been unable to help them?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, enroll in the Master Gardener Volunteer Program this fall and learn the answers.

The Master Gardener Volunteer Program is open to the public and offers classes on a variety of horticulture topics related to gardening in Yuma. At each session, a member of the agriculture community will give a presentation related to their field of expertise.

The next Master Gardener session begins Oct. 17 and runs until Feb. 13.

The program is sponsored by the U of A Cooperative Extension Office, 2200 W. 28th St. Stacey Bealmear, urban horticulturist, is in charge of the program. Classes are held at the Cooperative Extension office each Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to noon.

The deadline for registration is Oct. 3. Pick up an application at the U of A Cooperative Extension Office. Call 726-3904 if you have any questions.

A fee of $150 covers the cost of a required background check, an informative Master Gardener Handbook, two books about gardening in the desert (“Desert Landscaping for Beginners” and “Desert Gardening for Beginners”) and photocopying of any necessary class materials.

The classes run the gamut of gardening topics, such as soil conditions and how to improve them, beneficial and harmful insects, how to care for trees, how to grow cacti, how to grow citrus, proper irrigation techniques and techniques for successful vegetable gardens.

“Each year, the Master Gardener program is very popular,” Bealmear said. “The class fills up quickly, so come by the U of A Cooperative Extension Office and fill out an application. We have interesting guest speakers lined up and some special field trips planned. People who have taken the classes tell me that the program introduced them to a community of fellow gardeners they would not have met otherwise. It’s always great to meet new people who share your interest in gardening.”

Dalene Kelley, member of MGM Garden Club and Yuma African Violet and Orchid Society, earned her Master Gardener certificate several years ago.

“The classes were very informative,” Kelley said. “They helped me improve my gardening practices, and I now feel more confident advising others concerning their gardening problems. I would recommend the program to anyone interested in improving their gardening knowledge.”

Volunteer work is part of the Master Gardener program. Once a Master Gardener certificate is earned, Master Gardeners offer their services to local garden clubs, school gardens, or participate in other horticulture-related activities around town. They provide 50 hours of volunteer work during their first year of certification, with 15 of the 50 hours being a class project, which is part of the Master Gardener program.

“I think giving back to the community is the best reward our Master Gardeners receive from this program,” Bealmear said. “I look forward to meeting my new group of students on Oct. 17.”

Having taken the classes, I can highly recommend this program. Successful gardening in Yuma takes skill, luck and knowledge about what will and will not grow here. The Master Gardener program will give you the skill and knowledge for successful gardening. The luck is up to you!

Happy Gardening!

Karen Bowen is a master gardener and member of MGM Garden Club. This column is sponsored by the Federated Garden Clubs of Yuma.

Rain – lots of it – and a faulty drainage system doomed a colorful rain garden outside of Hinsdale Central High School.

The district planted the native plants in front of the school last year to create a lush oasis at the main entrance. The gently sloped bioswales were intended to convey runoff water and were filled with native plants including white prairie clover, butterfly weed, and ornamental onion. The native plants were intended to not just be pretty, but to filter silt and pollutants from the runoff water.

But those plants and others died when the drainage system did not drain fast enough particularly after intense rains in April. Weeds, instead, have grown in their place.

“It flooded out the bottom and choked out the plants,” said Rick Young, an architect with Perkins + Will, the firm that devised the plans for the gardens at Hinsdale Central and at Hinsdale South high schools. The firm serves as the architect for Hinsdale Township High School District 86.

The district had been looking at a cost of about $35,000 to fix the garden’s drainage system, a sum that would have covered an extensive French-style drain, additional stone, excavating 24 to 36-inches deep, and geotextile to cover the stone. The sum has outraged board vice president Ed Corcoran.

“I don’t believe the taxpayer should pay for these mistakes,” he said.

Now, district officials say they think they can fix the drainage problem at a lower, through yet undetermined, cost.

“There are other ways we think we can remediate the problems we’re having with the drainage,” said Acting Superintendent Bruce Law.

Young said several less-costly solutions being considered for the garden that sits atop a drainage system include lowering grates of catch basins, building a less-extensive French-style drain that is covered with stone and re-directs water away from an area, or digging in areas over the under drains and filling them in with stone.

“It would allow the water to percolate through the stone rather than the through the soil,” Young said of the last solution. He said the problem, which is mostly on the east side of the school’s main entrance, may be addressed by one of the solutions, a combination of some or all of them.

The gardens were planted in 2012 after the board approved spending $237,000 on landscaping at the schools as part of a larger $17.9 project that included reconstructing the entrances at both schools. The gardens also have signs and were intended as a tool to help teach students about sustainability and other topics.

While the gardens at Hinsdale Central foundered, the ones at Hinsdale South, which are planted in beds that are not as deep, have flourished. Young said the Village of Hinsdale required Perkins + Will to change the plans at Central.

Some of the plants that died are covered by a warranty; others are not.

“We have to decide who’s going to be responsible for the plantings because all of them have died,” Law said.

The gardens were planted by Allied Landscaping Corp. Another firm, Gilbane Building Co., oversees construction for the district.

Young said it will be up to the district to decide how to move forward with replanting the garden. He said using less mature two-inch plugs rather than four-inch pots would be less expensive, but would not have the immediate visual impact. The garden can be replanted in the fall or spring, he said. Who will cover the cost of replanting the garden also has not yet been determined.

amannion@tribune.com

Unfortunately, this article is no longer in our system.

To find additional or related content, you can check out
latest articles
or use our site search function at the top of
the screen to search for other articles.

Thank you.

Those who live in and drive through West Seneca know where they’re likely to cross paths with deer: East and West Road, and Clinton Street are among locations known for car-deer accidents, according to Police Chief Daniel M. Denz.

So is it time for the town to take the buck by the antlers and control the deer population?

There was no quick answer Monday afternoon, when lawmakers learned their options from a senior big-game biologist for the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Officials said they’ve heard complaints from residents – particularly those whose gardens and landscapes have been eaten.

“As you know, West Seneca is probably the forefront of a deer population explosion that is occurring throughout Western New York,” said Tim Spierto of the DEC.

As old forests and farmland disappear, white-tail deer are feasting on the landscaping surrounding suburban homes. “Arborvitae is like candy to them,” Spierto said, referring to the popular evergreen.

And as the food supply increases for deer, so do reproductive rates.

Calculating the population is difficult in West Seneca, where hunting isn’t allowed; DEC estimates typically include the number of deer “harvested” during hunting season.

Spierto guessed West Seneca’s population is somewhere around 50 deer per square mile. He said it doesn’t take much more than 30 per square mile to make an impact.

Even so, the police chief said the number of car-deer accidents has been falling annually since 2009, when there were 212; to 180 in 2012; with 107 so far this year. “They still are significant,” Denz said.

What can be done?

Fencing and deer repellents, such as coyote urine, applied around landscapes can be time-consuming and expensive, Spierto said. Deer contraception costs about $1,000 per animal. And trapping deer, then transferring them to other locations can’t be done when diseases are present.

Which leaves killing them.

“This is where the public gets involved, and they are passionate about it,” Spierto said.

Nearby suburbs, including Amherst and Cheektowaga, control their deer populations with DEC-permitted bait-and-shoot programs, carried out by police officers firing from tree stands to ensure human safety. It’s done during the winter, when does of breeding age are pregnant. “It helps you reduce the population a little quicker,” Spierto said.

Several businesses in the town, including landscape nurseries, already have permits to control deer on their land.

“I think whatever the board decides, it should be well thought out,” said Denz. “I’m not going either way with it.”

Councilman John Rusinski said: “I think it’s important to get how the residents feel on something like this.” He proposed an online poll.

email: jhabuda@buffnews.com

This fall, the City of Menlo Park will be hosting three, free water-efficient landscaping classes in Menlo Park. Did you know that lawns and gardens consume almost half the total water use of an average home? Learn how to have a beautiful garden while saving money on your water bill and conserving our natural resources.

Water-efficient Edible Gardening Workshop, Saturday, Sept. 28, from 9:00 am to noon

Learn how to reduce water needs for seasonal vegetable gardening by learning how to grow “cool-season” vegetables to harvest all winter long. This class will also cover how to incorporate organic maintenance techniques into seasonal vegetable gardening such as how to use compost and cover crops/green manure. Bring gardening gloves and a 6′′ pot and take home your first promise of vegetable abundance.

Lawn Replacement with California Native and Drought Tolerant Plants, Saturday, Oct 12,  from 9:00 am to noon

Discover the benefits of native and drought tolerant plants as an alternative to your lawn, and create a water-efficient, low-maintenance landscape. Learn how to achieve a lush look in your garden with beautiful, native shrubs, grasses, trees, and flowers.

Sustainable Landscape Techniques Saturday, Nov. 9, from 9:00 a.m. to noon

Discover how to create a sustainable, low-maintenance, and water-conserving garden using native plants that are right for your yard. Learn about the Bay Area’s water cycle and the use of native plants to reduce your water use, garden waste and maintenance time.

Registration is required. Class size is limited. For additional details or to register for this class, please call (650) 349-3000 or register online at www.bawsca.org/classes. This class is co- sponsored by the City of Menlo Park and the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency (BAWSCA).

Tagged as:
water efficient landscaping,
water efficient landscaping classes

No related articles.