the life of a tick

Ticks are disgusting but the link above is a nice breakdown on the life of a tick. City dwellers don't have to worry about this so much but I'm sure it's only a matter of time before the city parks are full of ticks. PS- whatever you do don't google image search "ticks."

400 year old boxwoods

I found this in a Garden book I have from Phaidon. I always loved the photo but when I did a little research on the size of the space it blew my mind even more. This is some impressive topiary work and although it's old Catholic Spain, it looks like it could pass for Mayan text. Amazing.

High lines renderings of sections 1 and 2

The joggers can suck it, because there's no jogging on the High Line.
Who knows when they're going to start planting this but it looks like Winter 08 will be the start. It looks great from the plan. We shall seeeeee....

a criminal has entered the gated community of Park Slope

I seriously hate these people. Not so much the white people and puppy below just the paranoid, super-sheltered people of the park slope blogging community. It's entertaining but the news that travels on these Brooklyn blogs is so lame.

my cellphone takes dramatic/romantic photos

the vegetables are growing up

before:



























after:

Holy molding

I kind of feel like we've been unburying ourselves out of some post earthquake diaster ever since the move. It's been a tough week cleaning and unpacking and there's still tons to do but here's some pics of the new place. I don't like to get too personal journaly on the blog but I think that this apartment has some really special details and I still haven't taken pictures of the little things like the door hinges and shutter knobs. So here's some pics of just the living room and a quick pic of the bathroom and it's original chandelier. More to come after I'm finished dusting!

The neverending Agapanthus

I think that I'm going to have to add Agapanthus to my favorite plants list. These were planted in mid April and they have been flowering since then. They are native to South Africa so they are amazing annuals for our climate and when they're done blooming the foliage alone is very handsome.

The best weapon for fungus and pests

This is the time of year for aphids and other disgusting pests in the
garden. I must say that whenever I see aphids on a plant, usually on
the flower buds or newest foliage, I get a gross feeling of malaise in my gut.
I really loathe aphids, the kind that feed on plants and the kind that
feed off bee's eyeballs. They are truly bad parasites and I love killing them.
Anyway,
I have been using this amazing insecticide and fungicide for over a
year now and highly recommend the concentrated version of Organicide
(link above). It works fabulously, although it smells a little like
salmon skin - it seems to do the trick for almost all bugs in the
garden this time of year and works great on powdery mildew. It's also all natural ingredients (hense the fish smell)

PS -
if you can find ladybugs for sale - they are the best aphid killers.
You also get live action satisfaction when you see the lady bug grab an
aphid and chomp on it's body for a few minutes.

This is my army

They got all suited up with feta, mint, oregano and parsley and went into fight a battle with 325 degrees. We all know who won. These are Jason's beauties inspired by international market on 9th ave in Hells Kitchen. They really are the best tasting bird.