Tell us about your green thumb (or lack thereof)

[samhexum]

Unfortunately, living in an apartment limits me to my windowsills, but I do enjoy my plants.  This article made me smile the other day:

Rich With Tropical Plants, Flatbush’s East 25th Street Named Greenest Block in Brooklyn

Lined with lush front gardens, tropical flowers, manicured hedges, and leafy overhead trees, it’s clear why a block of Flatbush’s East 25th Street – between Clarendon Road and Avenue D – has been named this year’s Greenest Block in Brooklyn.

This morning, East 25th Street residents gathered on their block, alongside local officials, neighbors, and other gardening enthusiasts, to be celebrated as winners of the annual competition, run by Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

The Greenest Block in Brooklyn has been running for almost 30 years and is designed to promote city greening, streetscape gardening, tree stewardship, and, importantly, community building.

“We don’t take this lightly. Everyone that you see standing here played an integral role in where we are,” homeowner and 300 East 25th Street Block Association member Carol Reneau told the crowd. The title isn’t unfamiliar to the block association and residents: today’s win was the fifth time the block has been crowned victorious in the competition’s history.

Carol Reneau stands in front of her garden

Most recently, the block took home second place in 2022’s competition, tied for first place in 2021’s socially-distant edition, and was awarded the top prize in 2016.

Reneau said the greening of the Flatbush block was not just done for aesthetic and practical reasons, but as a way to build community amongst neighbors and those passing through. “We’ve shared many interactions, conversations, and exchanged ideas through greening,” she said.

“Greening has also helped us to understand the deeper connections and roles that pollinators, recycling, being a good tree steward, conservation, the temperature, air quality, and human beings have with each other. Lastly, greening has enabled us to put our differences aside and work towards a greater cause for future generations.”

Pauline Green, who moved to the block in 1995 and has helped fellow residents learn the art of gardening, said over the decades she’d lived there, the block’s residents had made it what it is. “It’s just a better way of life. I’m from Jamaica, I’m from St. Ann, the garden part. I have a green thumb, my last name is Green, so it’s in my DNA,” she smiled.

Pauline Green in her garden

While Green’s garden is full of healthy foliage and grasses, something she said she prefers over blooms, the vibrant pink hibiscus steals the spotlight in her front yard. She said this year it was showing off, “it’s the first time it’s had so many blooms.” Overall, the theme for her garden this year was plants of the Caribbean.

Another local on the block, Julia Charles, said Caribbean plants were a common sight along the stretch of East 25th Street, and were an attractive selling point when she moved to the block from the Rockaways ten years ago. She said the block had a beautiful way of interweaving the Caribbean plants and New York natives, and that was largely thanks to the block’s gardening committee.

“They indoctrinate you honestly, when you come on the block it’s not if you’re gonna garden, it’s when you’re gonna garden and how soon,” she laughed.

Julia Charles in front of her garden

“I think it’s beautiful. You know, it’s definitely a labor of love. It’s not based on how much money you could pay your landscaper. It is based on people really caring about the community, not just their personal homes, but the community at large.”

Brooklyn Botanic Garden president Adrian Benepe, who hosted the event, said the East 25th Street block topped the pool of 119 competitors, which spanned Brooklyn’s neighborhoods. “This is a championship team,” he said. “They know how to play ball.”

Benepe said the residents of East 25th Street clearly showed their protection and care of the block’s trees – evidenced by the lush overhead coverage, educational signs along the block, and trees at all stages of life – an element that was given special consideration with this year’s theme: “Power of Trees.”

Referencing the record breaking temperatures, Benepe said trees are essential in the fight against climate change. “They capture our pollution, the carbon, they absorb it and they store it until they die. And they cool – we’ve learned so much about the cooling power of trees.”

Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso reiterated the importance of trees, and the role they have to play in achieving climate justice and positive health outcomes in Brooklyn’s neighborhoods. “On certain days, it is 10 degrees hotter in Brownsville than it is in Park Slope. So think about that, if it’s 90 degrees in Park Slope, and they’re struggling there, it’s closer to 100 in Brownsville,” he said.

Norine Medas of the Rockaway Parkway Merchant Association, which won the greenest block commercial category for its block of Rockaway Park between Conklin and Flatlands avenues, shared how community organizing has seen the planting of five trees on the Canarsie block. She said the association first entered in 2021 and was only able to enter one block because “there was only one tree between Farragut Road and Glenwood. This year, with the help of our community – this is a collective effort, we entered five blocks,” she said.

“The work that we are doing is for our children who we’re teaching, we’re changing the dynamic of what our children see, we want them to see life growing vibrantly in Canarsie. We want to thank our seniors who have worked tirelessly to allow us the opportunity to be able to live in Canarsie.”

East 25th Street residents took the crown from repeat winners, Crown Heights’ Preserving Lincoln’s Abundant Natural Treasures (P.L.A.N.T.), which spans Lincoln Place between New York and Nostrand Avenues. P.L.A.N.T won the competition in 2021 and 2022.

This year’s runner up for the Greenest Block was Crown Heights Keepers, a block of Eastern Parkway between Bedford and Franklin avenues. Benepe said the block was a “remarkable new role model” in that it wasn’t a block of private homes, but of large apartment buildings which residents had found creative ways to green.

Third place saw a tie between two Bed Stuy blocks: Stuyvesant Avenue Block Association, Stuyvesant Avenue between Bainbridge and Chauncey streets, and 200 Decatur Street/Stuyvesant Avenue Block Association, for the block of Decatur Street between Lewis and Stuyvesant avenues.

National Grid’s Leadership in Sustainability Award was awarded to The New East 26th Street Block Association in Flatbush, which spans East 26th Street between Clarendon Road and Avenue D, just one block over from the competition’s overall winners.

Check out the full list of winners in all categories here.

https://www.brownstoner.com/brooklyn-life/greenest-block-brooklyn-east-25th-st-flatbush-2023/

Edited August 5, 2023 by samhexum
for absolutely NO @%!*ing reason at all!

[+ Cock Eyed Optimist]

Nice to meet a fellow “gardener”!  Plants in an apartment make it feel like a home. 

[wsc]

Some say Florida is where some things/some people go to die. Plants come to my balcony to do the same.
I could almost swear I hear tearful goodbyes when I put a plant in my cart at Lowe's.

[+ Coolwave35]

I had my landscaper plant a garden in memory of my grandma. It’s thriving but I hate every plant he chose and can’t wait to have it redone in the Spring. This time I’ll be more involved. I maintain a snake plant that has been in my family since the late 1950’s and an aloe plant. 

[samhexum]

[56harrisond]

The bigger the nepenthes clipeata the better 

[Luv2play]

Ever since I had my own house starting in 1978, I have been interested in the landscaping surrounding it. I have always done it myself and used design principles I learned at art school and a couple of years of studying architecture. 

I then choose plants, shrubs and trees which blend in well with their surroundings and are appropriate to the climate and growing zone I live in. 

The results I have obtained are very gratifying and I love watching everthing grow from year to year. Since I planted virtually everything on my property since I moved in 14 years ago, it constantly amazes me how fast my plantings have grown. They have completely altered the way my house looks from when I moved in. So much more inviting.

[samhexum]

1 hour ago, Luv2play said:

The results I have obtained are very gratifying and I love watching everthing grow from year to year. Since I planted virtually everything on my property since I moved in 14 years ago, it constantly amazes me how fast my plantings have grown. They have completely altered the way my house looks from when I moved in. So much more inviting.

Upload a few pics

[samhexum]

8 hours ago, 56harrisond said:

The bigger the nepenthes clipeata the better 

PERVERT!

😇😁😁😇

[rvwnsd]

I have killed cacti and air ferns. (No, I am NOT making this up).

[Luv2play]

6 hours ago, samhexum said:

Upload a few pics

I'll try. I'm not very good at that. 

[+ Italiano]

I definitely have a black thumb.

I bought a gorgeous basil plant from a farmers market, and after 10 days I had to throw it away....🤷‍♂️

[Luv2play]

14 hours ago, samhexum said:

Upload a few pics

[Luv2play]

k

[Luv2play]

The first pic is of my gazebo which I designed myself.  The second is of my garage which I also designed. If you look hard you can see my potting shed to the left of the garage amidst the bushes I planted.  It has a black roof which is all that is visible. 

All my outbuildings are of wood since my house is 160 years old and in stone. It is all harmonious.

[Luv2play]

[Luv2play]

That's a sugar maple I planted 13 years ago as a sapling from my cottage in the Laurentians. The bushes surrounding it also came  from the lake.

The ones on the right I bought at a nursery. A weeping cypress and cedar.

[ICTJOCK]

Definitely into landscaping and gardening.  Grew up with an appreciation from my parents with anything garden oriented.  Have done much of the landscape work at my new home and totally love it!

[ICTJOCK]

Courtyard area

[Luv2play]

[Luv2play]

I saw your night lights and I have three in my garden so I just took a picture of this one. My last dog is buried under this little statue with the light that comes on every night. He died in that spot in 2021 so I made a little garden to commemorate him. He loved that yard and spent many seasons there.

[+ sync]

Kudos to all the green thumbs.

Artificial greenery has perished in my care.

[Luv2play]

11 minutes ago, sync said:

Kudos to all the green thumbs.

Artificial greenery has perished in my care.

Too much heat will do that to plastic. 😆

[samhexum]

Trees in Hell

Early in the summer, Mayor Eric Adam’s commitment to planting more trees arrived at Maria Hernandez Park. One day, during a late morning jaunt, I unexpectedly spotted the tree planters who had appeared like a mirage. Some of them were using heavy duty machinery to quicken the pace of digging holes, as others lugged around little baby trees to drop in. It was amazing to see how efficient this operation was. These were tree planting professionals.

A couple months have passed since and it looks like those budding trees aren’t doing so hot. Nearby, a game is underway at the volleyball courts. Some money could be on the line. But that doesn’t concern me. I’m kneeling down next to a little tree that’s planted smack dab in the middle of an open patch of grass. The sun damage looks irreversible. Close by, two other newly planted trees are fairing a little better. The three of them make the shape of an isosceles triangle. 

I see two strangers walking a dog and I ask them what they think about the new trees. Someone named Amanda speaks up first. “The trees look sad,” she says, “It seems like they didn’t think it through.” Her companion, Kyle agrees. “Yea, it seems like they’re trying to meet a quota.” After telling them that the planting campaign was connected to Eric Adams’ latest park improvement efforts, Kyle quips back: “Yep, of course. I knew it.” Amanda is even more charged about this: “It makes no sense. So they planted the trees but look at them… it seems not well thought through… Just look at them… It looks like they’re all going to die.”

Elsewhere, though, some newly planted trees look like they’re doing well; if they can survive the winter, then perhaps they’ll come into their own by springtime. As for the tree planting program, there seems to be no signs of it letting up. Succeeding Bloomberg’s MillionTreesNYC initiative in 2007, its latest iteration has all the right intentions. After all, trees help clean up the air by absorbing carbon emissions. Earlier this year, various borough presidents encouraged Adams to plant up to a million more trees across the five boroughs, City Limits reported; “Trees cross party lines and geographic lines. They are the great uniter,” Mark Levine, Manhattan’s borough president, said at the time.

Now, in an ideal world, this would be true. But judging by the few maladapted trees, the execution of the program seems iffy. It’s as if these trees have been sent here to be damned. For the love of Maria Hernandez Park, is there enough space for even one more sad tree?

https://bushwickdaily.com/bushwick/maria-hernandez-park-one-million-trees/

Edited August 15, 2023 by samhexum
for absolutely NO @%!*ING reason at all!

[samhexum]

‘Keep Your Clothes On,’ Sunflower Farm Warns Guests
A summer getaway southwest of London put up signs asking people to stop posing for risqué photos where other guests, including children, could see.

August 22, 2023.

The signs that dot Sam Wilson’s family farm southwest of London carry an unusual warning for visitors seeking an Instagram-worthy photo amid the endless rows of golden sunflowers.

“No Public Nudity.”

When the notoriously gray and soggy weather cooperates, as it has in recent weeks, tourists flock to Sam’s Sunflowers, part of Stoke Fruit Farms, to take part in a quintessential British summer activity: flower picking. But a rash of guests baring it all for the cameras earlier this summer led Mr. Wilson, 38, part of the third generation of his family to run the farm, to plant the signs and turn to social media to remind guests about the rules of play.

“Reminder to all we are a family area and please keep your clothes on in the sunflowers!,” the farm, located near Portsmouth on England’s southern coast, said on its Facebook page earlier this month. “We are having an increase of reports of naked photography taking place and this must not happen during our public sessions please!”

Hundreds of people left comments, mostly delighted and bemused, about the situation. (“Darn it, my plans have been scuppered,” one user lamented. “Where exactly is this farm?” another wrote. “Asking for a friend obviously.”)

Generally, photos are encouraged. Mr. Wilson even has props ideal for a photo shoot strewn across his fields, including a grand piano, a bathtub and a tractor. The flowers — golden, towering and elegant — are the perfect backdrop. Mr. Wilson’s farm has lots of them, about 2 million, making it easy to hide and take some risqué photos among these symbols of warmth, love and happiness.

“They obviously make people want to take their clothes off,” Mr. Wilson said.

The nudity isn’t new, but this year, it has been happening more often, in some cases where young children could see.

“We’ve always had people come to the sunflowers and do risqué photos shoots and things,” Mr. Wilson said. “It’s just about respect for other people around, people of all ages. We’re a family attraction.”

“We have had a busy week, and people have been very respectful of our plea for no public nudity,” he said, adding that there had been an increase in requests for private sessions to allow for photo shoots that include nudity.

That shouldn’t come as a surprise. Sunflowers have served as an inspiration before. In 2003, Helen Mirren starred in “Calendar Girls,” a British film based on a true story, about a group of middle-aged women who pose for a nude calendar to raise money for blood cancer research. Sunflowers featured prominently in the photos.

“I think it’s very funny,” said Patricia Stewart, 74, one of the original Calendar Girls, whose idea it was to create the monthly guide. The Calendar Girls have raised about $7 million for Blood Cancer U.K. in the past two decades, according to the organization’s website.

For nature lovers who promise to not go topless, the window to take a picture among Mr. Wilson’s sunflowers is about to end. The farm was open on Monday [2023-08-21], according to the website, but it usually closes in the middle of August.