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Showing posts from July, 2010

T(h)ree bird houses

street tree on King Street LaGuardia Corner Gardens (community garden) Church of Saint Luke in the Fields, Barrow Street Garden

Saint Luke in the Fields gardens

We introduced you to the Church of Saint Luke in the Fields gardens in our post about two Centenarian Acer saccharinum (silver maple) trees.  Saint Luke is an Episcopal Church in the West Village neighborhood of NYC. The church has six gardens , one of which is the North Garden which has the very old silver maples. The other five gardens are: Barrow Street Garden (no. 1), the Contemplation Corner (no. 2), South Lawn (no. 3), the AllĂ©e (no. 4), and Rectory Garden (no. 5). Barrow Street Garden the Contemplation Corner  I found the Barrow Street Garden to be a more contemplative space than the Contemplation Corner. The benches in the main garden are setback enough to provide refuge and privacy. On the other hand, the benches are close enough to paths and have sight lines to other benches, other parts of the garden, and to the entrance gate to provide prospect. South Lawn Unfortunately, we were unable to obtain good photographs of the AllĂ©e and Rectory Garden.  I

Mewsing around the Village

We chronicled our stroll around Washington Mews in September of 2009.  In the same essay, we wrote about Grove Court, a mews of sorts of of six houses between 10 and 12 Grove Street in the West Village.  Today, we would like to share with you a mews, an alley, a cul-de-sac, and a former stables, but first, a quote about the desirability of former coachmen houses and stables.  From the AIA Guide to Boston by Susan and Michael Southworth (thank you!) writing about Acorn Street on the South Slope of Beacon Hill: This cobblestone street is a charming remnant of early nineteenth-century life....These very desirable small homes were originally the residences of coachmen who served families in the nearby mansions and fine homes on Chestnut and Mount Vernon Street.  (2008, 2) MacDougal Alley (private). According to Forgotten NY Alleys , the street "was built in the 1830s to access stables servicing nearby Washington Square North." Former Grosvenor Private Boarding S

Opening day for Imagination Playground

Manhattan's "first new playground the parks department has opened downtown in about a decade" opens today at the Burling Slip at the South Street Seaport.  Last week we wrote about David Rockwell's Imagination Playground concept and child's play in NYC. We have included the essay below for your convenience. Will you be playing at the Imagination Playground this summer? *** *** *** Imagination Playground in a Box, High Line Park, May 2010 Playground design has been a hot topic this year.  It started with overheated metal domes at two Michael Van Valkenburgh designed playgrounds.  More recently, architect (and parent) David Rockwell's Imagination Playground (in partnership with the "saving play for America's children" nonprofit, KaBOOM! ) has been the subject of a Leonard Lopate show and a New Yorker article .  Rockwell's playground consists of blue "giant foam blocks, mats, wagons, fabric and crates[that] overflow with

Finally, Woolly Pockets

This spring I felt like everyone had seen a Woolly Pocket garden, except me!  Well, I finally saw one; the garden is installed on the west-south-west side of the William F. Passannante Ballfield at Houston and Sixth Avenue in the Village.  (Click here for a photograph of the garden in progress at the Woolly Pockets blog.)  In a nutshell, the company describes Woolly Pocket products as "flexible, breathable, and modular gardening containers. They`come in two styles: those designed to be placed on horizontal surfaces, and those designed to be hung on walls for vertical gardening."  Chain link fence never looked this good! (now known as) School Garden A Wally What's growing in this Woolly Pocket Garden? Thank you! Note: this post was edited for clarity on June 16, 2011.

The week in trees, July 18-23, 2010

Styphnolobium japonicum (formerly Sophora japonica ) trees are blooming.  Related post: 3 ways to identify a Styphnolobium japonicum in NYC . Don't water a tree's trunk!  This practice can lead to fungal decay at the root collar. Also, sprinkler irrigation can lead to "surface compaction created by water hitting the soil surface and dispersing the soil aggregates" (ISA Arborists' Certification Study Guide, 2001, 40). I think the tree ( Zelkova serrata ) pictured is dead, but it is being watered (with a Treegator® Slow Release Watering Bag ).  So, perhaps the tree dropped its leaves because the soil is very dry because of the current heat wave.  It does not help that it is located within a hot plaza.  I could not determine if the cambium is green -- a way to gauge if the tree is alive.   These trees are overwrought! There is a tree guard to protect the tree trunk (from gnawing horses -- a historic reason for installing trunk guards), a tree pit guard (to

Blue Spots shade Santa Monica's bus routes

Distribution of Blue Spot shelters.  Source: Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects (LOHA). Los Angeles-based architecture firm Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects (LOHA) with Bruce Mau Design (BMD) won the City of Santa Monica's Big Blue Bus Shelter and Branding Package. BMD's task was signage and information while LOHA's was bus shelter design. The firm's shelter concept was "the Blue Spots."  In plan view, the shelters resemble spots of blue on the landscape (above). Santa Monica's 360 bus stops were analyzed by boardings per day resulting in four categories of stops : “Type 1” High Volume, 100 – 999 boardings per day, 54 stops “Type 2” Moderate Volume, 50 – 99 boardings per day, 42 stops “Type 3” Lower Volume, 49 or less boardings per day, 259 stops “Type 4” Special High Volume, over 1,000 boarding’s per day, 1 stop Blue Spot configurations of  shade canopy, mount, and seats.  Source: Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects (LOHA). LOHA's shelter

Edmonston's 7 elements of a green street

Edmonston, a small town in Maryland , has big plans for its streets and its rain runoff.  The town's Green Street project will transform its major residential street, Decatur Street, into "a fully environmentally responsible street [utilizing] the best sustainability practices from across the country - from the tree canopy overhead to the storm water system underground.  It will be first street of its kind in Maryland, and perhaps the on the east coast."  This street is a big deal.  At its groundbreaking on November 24, 2009, EPA administrator Lisa Jackson, Congressman Chris Van Hollen and Congresswoman Donna Edwards, among other officials, were in attendance! The seven elements of Edmonston's Green Street plan are: Native tree canopy Street lighting with clean energy Walking, Running and Biking Recycled Materials Storm water Bio Retention and Filtration Open Process and Public Engagement Education and Replication The elements are self-explanatory bu

Child's play in New York City and the nation

Imagination Playground in a Box, High Line Park, May 2010 Playground design has been a hot topic this year.  It started with overheated metal domes at two Michael Van Valkenburgh designed playgrounds.  More recently, architect (and parent) David Rockwell's Imagination Playground (in partnership with the "saving play for America's children" nonprofit, KaBOOM! ) has been the subject of a Leonard Lopate show and a New Yorker article .  Rockwell's playground consists of blue "giant foam blocks, mats, wagons, fabric and crates[that] overflow with creative potential for children to play, dream, build and explore endless possibilities" (pictured above).  In May of this year, High Line Park hosted an Imagination Playground .  Other sites around the city hosted the playground.  These mini "Imagination Playground in a Box" play days were enticements for the ultimate Imagination Playground opening at the Burlip Slip at South Street Seaport thi

Creating a Drought Tolerant Landscape Plan

Kimberly Madrigal of GreenLandlady.com has generously shared her essay on drought-tolerant landscaping with us.  The original post can be read here . Comprehensive Drought Tolerant Landscape Plan Landscaping often accounts for up to 30% of a property’s water consumption, but with proper maintenance and planning you may be able to bring that percentage closer to zero. Before considering what every property manager should do, let’s say a word about what you should not do: don’t pave over green space in an effort to conserve water. Paving over previously green spaces disrupts the natural cycle of water and sends water into the sewer system instead of allowing it to percolate or filter through to the natural underground aquifer from which the city draws a portion of its water. Put simply, sending water off of your property into the streets where it’s funneled into the city’s sewage system is a recipe for higher water bills. Los Angeles receives an average of 12 – 13 inches of rai

7 Links Challenge

Darren of ProBlogger challenged his readers to "publish a post that is a list of 7 links to posts that you and others have written that respond to the following 7 categories,"or in other words, a "sneeze page."   Here goes! Your first post What else?  It was about the mission of the blog . A post you enjoyed writing the most A post About the Ginkgo biloba which was precipitated by a question from a friend's father. A post which had a great discussion The first time we hosted Festival of the Trees -- No. 33 . A post on someone else’s blog that you wish you’d written Just one?!  Most recently, Metropolitan Field Guide's video post about Unexpected Habitat: roundabouts, vacant lots and community gardens . Your most helpful post A description of the 10 most common street trees in New York City . A post with a title that you are proud of A post summarizing the results of a survey was titled "Survey says...more parks, open spaces, tr

Before & After Green: 9th Avenue USPS Building

Update, July 19, 2010: Thank you to @NYCWW for information regarding the plant palette of the green roof.  We gathered information about the project's plants from several news sources and a USPS fact sheet.  The plants on the roof are not native.  From NYC Wildflower Week : " re: largest green roof in NYC: those are NOT native plants. They are the names of cultivars of exotic sedum." Before (screen capture of Google Maps) After (Image courtesy of a reader) One of our readers alerted us to the presence of a green roof on the Postal Service mailing facility at 341 9th Avenue. The green roof was revealed in July 2009 and was covered by several news outlets such as Fast Company , City Blog , Tree Hugger , Inhabitat , and Environmental Leader .  The 2.5 acre site provides passive recreation for postal employees as well as environmental services.  What environmental services does the roof provide? 75% reduction in stormwater runoff during the summer (

Bloom Day in Beverly, MA

Astilbes.  Ferns and daylilies.  Linden.  Mountain laurel.  Rose.  Salvias.  Stewartia.  All photographed on June 20 in Beverly, Massachusetts.  See May Dreams Gardens for other July GBBD entries.

Seattle's Pollinator Pathway

Seattle's 2nd Ave NW got a pilot stormwater street (Street Edge Alternatives project) in 2001. This year, Columbia Street will get the Pollinator Pathway initiated by Sarah Bergmann. Columbia Street's Pollinator Pathway, in progress.  Source: Images created by Studio Matthews in collaboration with the University of Washington design program. http://studiomatthews.com In an interview with GOOD magazine , Bergmann remarked that "lawn grass has almost no ecological value for pollinators." Using the existing framework of city-owned planting strips maintained by adjacent property owners, Columbia Street residents will create pollinator-friendly gardens by removing grass cover from the planting strip and replacing the lawn with mostly Northwest native flora. Two gardens along the mile stretch have been completed. Source: Images created by Studio Matthews in collaboration with the University of Washington design program. http://studiomatthews.com Pollinat

Centenarian Acer saccharinum

The two Acer saccharinum trees (silver maples) in the North Garden of Saint Luke in the Fields are 100 years old according to the church's garden pamphlet.  Saint Luke was built in 1821 on a two-acre city block. In a future post, we'll describe other garden areas at Saint Luke : Barrow Street Garden (no. 1), the Contemplation Corner (no. 2), South Lawn (no. 3), the AllĂ©e (no. 4), and Rectory Garden (no. 5).

Then & Now: Golden Swan Garden

We first learned about the Golden Swan from The Rough Guide to New York City . The garden site formerly housed a bar, The Golden Swan Bar, "variously called The Hell Hole, Bucket of Blood, and other such inviting names" and was frequented by playwright Eugene O'Neill who "drew many of his characters from the bar's personalities" (p. 106). According to the Parks website , the Golden Swan was demolished in 1928 to make way for the Sixth Avenue subway line. In 1934, the City was assigned jurisdiction of the parcel was deeded to the City and in 1935, a playground was opened. (Parks did not receive official ownership of the parcel until 1953.)  In 1999, Mayor Giuliani and Council Member Christine Quinn allocated capital funding to transform "this formerly bedraggled open patch of asphalt and concrete into" the garden one sees today. The tree list includes number of trees such as the Japanese dogwood ( Cornus kousa ), Flowering dogwood ( Cornus f

Unpermitted renovation at 142 Bleecker Street, former Senor Swanky's Speakeasy and Mexican Cafe?

July 8, 2010 Building renovation is not something covered on local ecologist but an incident today spurred us to do so.  I was pushing my son in a baby carriage and happened to cross the LaGuardia Place and Bleecker Street intersection to find the sidewalk completely blocked by wooden beams laid across a trash can and a rickety old chair.  Three men, two workers and a "foreman," were attempting to removed the metal awning above the doorway to the former Senor Swanky's restaurant.  I asked them to create some space on the sidewalk so I could pass.  The foreman remarked, "I know the baby is not yours but it's not safe to pass here," to which I replied, "He is my son and I'd like you to make space for me to pass.  I don't see a permit for the work you are doing," to which he replied, "Don't be selfish.  Think about the baby."  He reluctantly adjusted the makeshift barrier, allowing me to pass.  Once passed, I called 311 and rep

Eating the fruits of street trees

Olive tree harvest We began eating the fruits of street trees (and of trees accessible from the public right of way) in Berkeley, California.  We also participated in Forage Oakland , exchanging our herbs and tomatoes for other herbs and fruits.  There were several public fruit options in Berkeley: plums, tree strawberries, olives, pluots, ginkgos, apples, crabapples, hawthorns, and loquats.  So enamored of our Berkeley experience, we're promoting edible urban forests via our Eat Street Trees! campaign.  Nut trees, too.  We've distilled nocino using sidewalk-grown walnuts. Strawberries, strawberry tree ( Arbutus unedo ) It has been challenging to find edible street trees in our New York neighborhood though this spring we've eaten handfuls of serviceberries (but none from the High Line ). Ellen Spector Platt and Ellen Zachos of Garden Bytes from the Big Apple have had success foraging in the city .  Urban forager Ava Chin has written about sweet violet , dandelion