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Showing posts from May, 2011

Seeds by Richard Horan

Horan’s new book Seeds: One Man’s Serendipitous Journey to Find the Trees That Inspired Famous American Writers from Faulkner to Kerouac, Welty to Wharton can be read as a collection of short stories. Pick your favorite literary figure and read about his or her tree(s). (I wish one could do the reverse: pick a tree and read about the writer(s) it inspired.) Image: Cover of Seeds by Richard Horan ( source ) By the way, Horan includes non-writers like Muhammad Ali. Growing in the yard of Ali’s childhood home in Louisville, Kentucky is a catalpa. Ali’s childhood home was exactly halfway down, on the right. There was only one house on that side of the road with a big tree out front. Guess whose it was?....Catalpas have the largest leaves of any tree in North America—about the size of a standard sheet of paper and shaped exactly like a heart. The tree looked to be about seventy-five years old, more broad than tall, with hundreds of engine-oil-brown bean pods dangling from i

Sidewalk gardener

On our way to the waterfront, we noticed a gardener preparing to plant around the base of a street tree on Bleecker Street at West 11th.  We stopped and chatted for a few minutes.  I asked him how he decided on what to plant and he said his decision is based on three factors: 1. Experience and what worked well in previous seasons, 2. What looks good at the nursery, and 3. Colors that match the cupcakes (I assumed he meant the frosting on the cupcakes sold by Magnolia Bakery).

Where in NYC? (Subway Series, No. 3)

We are back with two friezes located in a station outside of Manhattan. Can you guess the station and subway line? Update, 5/29/2011: These friezes were photographed at the Grand Army Plaza 2/3 Station.  The artwork is titled "Wings for the IRT, The Irresistible Romance of Travel" by artist Jane Greengold (1993) ( info via NYCSubway.org ).  Stay tuned for Subway Series No. 4. More Subwayana (thank you Bonnie Hull) at Where in NYC? (Subway Series, No. 2) Where in NYC? (Subway Series, No. 1)

Brooklyn Animal Architecture Safari

Led by Landscape Architect Marcha Johnson, the (mostly) Animal Architecture Safari began at the Brooklyn Public Library at Eastern Parkway near Grand Army Plaza on Saturday, April 30.  April was Landscape Architecture Month and the walk was sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement and Appreciation of Animals in Art and Architecture (7A), the NY Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects, and organized by New York Civic. Both 7A and New York Civic were founded by former park commissioner Henry Stern who was in attendance at the Brooklyn safari. (Stern led the Manhattan safari on April 10.) The tour began with 15 people including two children.  The first sight on the tour were the panels on the door of the library.  The main panels feature animal characters in famous work of American (U.S.) literature.  (The side panels are devoted to the arts and sciences.)  The animals are a rabbit (Br'er Rabbit), whale (Moby Dick), raven (sitting on Athena'

English Elm in the Tree Year, Part 2

I am continuing with The Tree Year project. The mature English Elm in the northwest corner of Washington Square Park is leafing out. The seeds are almost gone - dispersed by wind and squirrels and birds.  Though "[t]he wildlife value of elms is low as compared with oaks, maples, and dogwoods," elm seeds and buds "are used considerably by songbirds and gamebirds as well as squirrels," writes Martin, Zim, and Nelson (1951) in American Wildlife & Plants: A Guide to Wildlife Food Habits .

Where in NYC? (Subway Series, No. 2)

Original, 4/28/2011: Heading home from a business luncheon I noticed the sign pictured below. Can you guess the station and subway line? Update, 5/10/2011: This subway art was photographed at the Canal Street A/C Station.  Stay tuned for photographs in No. 3.

Biophilic Cities by Timothy Beatley

 I enjoyed Timothy Beatley's book Green Urbanism , so I was enthusiastic to read his latest, Biophilic Cities: Integrating Nature into Urban Design and Planning . The term biophilia is probably familiar to those who have read E. O. Wilson or Stephen Kellert. Wilson originally developed the concept in his 1984 book Biophilia. A decade later, in 1993, The Biophilia Hypothesis by Kellert and Wilson was published. Beatley defines biophilia as “the extent to which humans are hardwired to need connection with nature and other forms of life.” The biophilic city is a city that is full of nature (“nature-ful”).  In Chapter 2, Beatley narrates where nature in cities are: above us, at the ground level, and below us. It exists in different sizes and forms. Some of this nature is remnant and some is designed.  Furthermore, biophilic cities have developed strategies to foster a “nature-ful” state, to provide access to and knowledge of nature in cities. While Beatley argues that “there

Bird Watch: Bird nature in cities

Two fairly recent conversations featured birds.  In the earlier one, a family member commented that pigeons "do not count as nature."  The the more recent conversation, a friend, commenting on the nesting pair of red-tailed hawks on Washington Square South, said, "That's a good thing -- there is not that much nature around here." Image: Red-tailed hawk nest, Bobst Library, NYC (see top center) Of course I hold opposing views to those expressed by my family and friend.  My perspective has only strengthened after reading Biophilic Cities by Timothy Beatley (stay tuned for a review).  Beatley writes, In understanding the nature of cities it is necessary to think beyond our usual approach to visualizing or imagining space and place, and to understand that we can see nature everywhere in cities: it is above us, flying or floating by, it is below our feet in cracks in the pavement, or in the diverse microorganic life of soil and leaf litter.  Nature reaches our

Index: Human Flower Project essays

I am a correspondent for Human Flower Project founded by sociologist and writer Julie Ardery in 2004.  Julie describes the project as an international newsgroup, photo album and discussion of humankind’s relationship with the floral world. We report on art, medicine, society, history, politics, religion, and commerce....By studying flowers, we look into human emotion and value. Since the flower trade is global, and has been for centuries, by following the circuit of plants across the world, we track international relations and economics. I write essays about people-plant relationships and the impacts of land use policy on plants. new! Trailed by Roses What's an Urban Forester? Mother's Remedies from Jamaica Mercer Street, You Could Be Cooler Matchmaking on the Wedding Day A Legacy of Jamaican Fruits Escalator Garden Kings, Queens and Mangosteens Listen Up: SF Garden Show 2009 Oops a Daisy ~ Plant Idioms The Florists of Telegraph Avenue Walking w

Eat Street Trees!

Eat Street Trees! promotes the planting and eating of edible urban forests.  (The fruit of some trees can be drunken; for example, the green walnut is a primary ingredient in the Italian liquer nocino.)  This project was developed while eating the fruits (and nuts) of Berkeley's street trees.  We would like to see edible urban forests and one strategy to accomplish this goal is the Edible Pocket Woodland.  Here is some background. Much of the discussion of urban agriculture focuses on annual crops or herbaceous perennials, the types of food grown in home gardens, community gardens, and sold at farmers markets. Fruits are sold in markets but tend to be rare in home and community gardens in contrast to the amount of vegetables that are grown.  The addition of fruit and nut trees to the landscape offers tremendous ecosystem benefits ranging from climate cooling and rainwater capture to wildlife forage to local food provision. The specific proposal is the Edible Pocket Woodl