Liberty Sunset

Liberty Sunset Garden Center is a really awesome place. It's a little sloppy and make-shifty and it's a little hard to find, but once you're there - it's impressive. It really is a hobbiests workshop and most of the tropicals are almost too big to even think about buying but the smaller items are decently priced and they have a really beautiful selection of Columbian pots. As far as outdoor perennials go I suggest the Gowanus nursery because I think that Liberty Sunset is mostly about indoor horticulture. They also had some really nice hydroponically grown vegetables. Definitely worth a trip again when it warms up.

raised beds - soon to be relocated

It's a little tragic but after building vegetable boxes and getting a new bbq me and the boyfriend have been notified that I will have to be moving out by the end of June. We made these raised beds and placed all of the seedlings we grew at his place. We'll have to transplant all of the mature plants into smaller pots and moved into a new place when the time comes. The frames are transportable (just 4 sides) its just the moving of the soil that will be a real bitch. I'm going to continue to report on their progress because the heirlooms tomatoes and the mustard greens I think are going to be really special. Also if you're looking for some great and interesting seed varieties check out: http://www.gourmetseed.com/ they have an excellent selection of cutting greens.

The Schnabel building

Most of my last week was spent working on the 4th floor of the 11th street Schnabel house. Schnabel lives on the 6th floor and apparently most of the other floors are on the market from 15million to 32million and this space was sold to a finance guy who is now producing some films. The space is very impressive, I'd never want to live in it because the entire place is a bit of a Schnabel fest: only one elevator and an entourage of art assistants running around the whole place. BUT the place is simply gorgeous, with the old tiles and wood - beautiful thick cathedral doors. Whenever I sat down on any of the toilets all with terrace views and wind I felt like I was in a beautiful colonial town like Merida but unfortunately there just wasnt any good food there. Although the terrace views we saw were a little lame, the space we put together looked great and this is only temporary! Here's a couple pics:

Coolest Deformed Cat Tail

I want this flooring

What in the world is this stuff called? I've only seen it in banks and schools and probably many other institutional spaces but I am starting to really love it. I recently saw a converted bank building that still had the brass electrical outlets in this type of flooring. I'm hooked.

The nicest Hinoki Cypress

I absolutely love hinoki cypress, especially this one on a rooftop on central park west. It's probably so small and compact (1' x 2.5') because its a little jammed in the container - which did wonders for this plants amazingly dense and squat physique. Hinoki's are best known for their asymmetrical and dense shaping. Great for full sun rooftops.

whats the frequency kenneth?

I knew I would loose focus on this blog thing once work started but here I am with my measly postings. I only know a couple of things these days; the FAA has been doing some real shady shit and the tree blossoms in the Northeast of America are exploding with buds. The cherry tree's especially. Above are some on my walk/commute today, along with some St. Bernards that were so asleep I thought they were dead (the owner told me the really big one wasn't aloud out)

This is a big ass artichoke...

fancy

I find myself on 28th street alot these days for work, which I enjoy because the morning hub-bub in a flower market in NYC is pretty exciting. Although the cut flowers have been weened out by many of the plant shops and other NYC development, G Page wholesale flowers has some of the best selection of cut items, like these cut giant baby fern leaves. With all the lobbies and rich people in this town you would expect to find some interesting mixes but I almost never do. I know some giant fern somewhere was hacked but the hacking will just encourage new growth and I think these would be pretty awesome in someones arrangement, maybe mine. Link to G Page above.

pro-bloggers and mourning doves

...From Jessica Coen's flickr site... very sweet.

Leslie Land and the NYT's annoying demographic

I really enjoy reading Leslie Lands weekly garden q&a but this weeks question is asking Leslie why she doesn't point out the dangerous plants to children and pets. Land did a good job of telling the questioner that it's almost impossible to do so because anything not edible and is planted in your garden will be harmful to anyone who consumes a large amount of it. I wonder what it's like to be so afraid and sheltered. I've been dealing with these sorts of parents since I've been working in the industry and frankly they're annoying. I have a poisonous plant for pets in my home and have never seen my animals eat it. I also think that unless your infant or toddler is going out alone in the forest or in a greenhouse munching on plants all day it's a pointless worry. My only advise is, get a grip and don't let your kids and pets play with or eat poison ivy.

All work and no play makes Julie a bad poster

So I have to rely on friends and what they see like these awesome apple arches that Gina sent me from the nursery she works at, Mariani Gardens. I forget the name or style for these but they are really beautiful and I bet they're even more amazing when the fruit is dangling from them in the fall. I forget the exact price tag but I think she said something like $20,000 for the pair. I won't be buying them for my garden this year but I would like to know how this is done.

seriously

Since me and the bf have been on a search for a scooter I've been keeping my eyes open and in NY there are some pretty awesome scooters. This one however, tops the list for the lamest scooter in town.