moving...

here's the new blog: green

Final post of the urban planter

So this is something of a bittersweet post... I am very excited to be opening my own plant nursery and lndscape design business in Brevard, North Carolina. When visiting a month ago I came across a space with amazing potential for a retail nursery, since then I have been figuring out all of the details... and I leave next week!

This is a big painting I did for my best friend, Renee... She asked me for a modernish botanical abstract... for her condo in Boston.




The very sad news is that my dog, Delilah, has been diagnosed with oral cancer, and has a month or so to live. She has been with me for 13 years and is my first true love. So I am happy to be able to bring her back down south where she can spend her final days off the leash and sidewalks, romping around in the woods, laying on the porch... Sweet, sweet girl.

Tree Pruner Certification

I have been such a lazy blogger of late that I never talked about the Citizen Pruner Certification classes I took in October...

It is a series of four classes held at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. Taught by master arborist, Chris Roddick, it is obviously a rough life for a street tree! The most important aspect of street tree maintenance is actually watering! Street trees have such compromised root space that rain water is often not absorbed... So don't forget to water your trees!
When you pass the exam the NYC Parks Dept. sends you a really cool card to keep in your wallet. This way, when I'm out there messing around with some street tree and some body harasses me, I just flash the card! It's actually going to be handy for work purposes... that and watering!

foodscapes

by Australian photographer Carl Warner

Oulu

A little bar I love in Williamsburg, Oulu, on N. 4th street... The facade is an extensive greenwall! I'll be by next year to take some shots of how it takes winter.







Dwell did an article on it after it was installed & they have the facts:
The succulents are planted in 35 or so panels of soil, each less than three inches thick, which are screwed to the wall. A hidden watering system gives them a steady spritz. A living wall can easily be planted on a residential façade, Marni says, at a cost of about $50 a square foot. Interior walls are roughly $30 more per square foot because they contain tropical plants, which are more expensive.

bits and pieces

My niece, Ava, makes us wonder what holidays were before she was around! She is two and the most beautiful little cherub! One evening after work I was walking in Manhattan and happened to pass a toy store displaying the "Inchworm" in the window... I was jolted back (not going to say how many years) to my early childhood when I had an inchworm, and it turns out that this is some sort of revival toy! I went in and it said for ages 2-5 so I got it for Ava... Carrying it home on a crowded evening subway garnered many amused looks!

Needless to say, it was a huge hit! What can I say - I understand a child's mind...



Kevin reminded me that there were no shots of the love shack on my Dad's property, so here it is! And yes, we had a beautifully white Christmas! That is "the bench" knee deep in snow to the left.



This is a little nest Ben and I came across in a little tree outside of the Sherborn Inn, one of our favorite (and the only one in such a small town) watering holes. We love the micro brews on draft, bar stools on casters and big screen tv that shows sports (ok, ok, he loves the sports, I ask annoying questions about the sports!)

Another great bench

I don't know exactly why I obsess over garden benches, but I do...




This one is in front of the love shack, is rotting and missing an arm and is absolutely divine!