Tell us about your green thumb (or lack thereof)

[samhexum]

Once per year, Proven Winners® is happy to provide you with a FREE gardener's idea  book to elevate your gardening skills to a new level. Just visit this offer and fill out the form to place your request.

https://www.provenwinners.com/winners-circle

 

[samhexum]

The city’s parks department this week unveiled a new “mini forest” on a formerly little-used lot on the Williamsburg waterfront.

Tucked into the North Fifth Street Pier and Park, the leafy plot is filled with native plants and trees, part of the parks department’s effort to increase the tree canopy across New York City.

“The new mini forest that we have planted here in Brooklyn has transformed this lot into a vibrant and unique space for relaxation and reflection, complete with all the trees, shrubs, wildflowers, ferns, and stones that you’d find in a natural forest,” said Parks commissioner Iris Rodriguez-Rosa, in a statement.

The project was inspired, in part, by Miyawaki Forests. Developed by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, the tiny, man-made forests are designed to quickly restore natural ecosystems by improving soil quality and closely-packing the space with a variety of native plant species.

But Miyawaki forests are usually planted with tree saplings that can take years to grow to full size. In contrast, the Williamsburg mini forest is filled with mature trees, including serviceberry, river birch, black gum, and persimmon; plus native wildflowers, shrubs, and grasses like goldenrod, sweet fern, and butterfly weed.

New York City’s first Miyawaki forest opened on Roosevelt Island last year. The forests are known for providing myriad benefits — shade, habitat, and flood prevention — while requiring relatively little maintenance after they’re established.

Urban trees provide shade, helping to keep streets and neighborhoods cooler. According to the Parks Department, the section of Williamsburg between North 14th Street and Division Avenue to the east of Lorimer Street contains more than 5,000 trees. Every year, those trees are estimated to intercept more than 6 million gallons of stormwater and absorb 7,500 pounds of air pollution.

Constructing the mini forest ran about $200,000.

The greenspace sits on what was once a disused lot.

Edited June 23 by samhexum
because it's too damned hot out to do anything else

[samhexum]

Eastern Parkway Block is Greenest Block in Brooklyn

WWW.BROWNSTONER.COM

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The heavily-trafficked section of Eastern Parkway, between Bedford and Franklin avenues, is the first block of mostly...

The heavily-trafficked section of Eastern Parkway, between Bedford and Franklin avenues, is the first block of mostly apartment buildings to win the competition.

 

Edited August 6 by samhexum
for shits and giggles

[samhexum]

The top of a historic tree in Oregon is on fire, and investigators are trying to figure out how it happened.

The Doerner Fir, a Douglas fir tree that was believed to be about 450 years old and 325 feet tall, caught fire and has been burning since Aug. 17. USA TODAY confirmed that the treetop was still burning Aug. 20, even as firefighters tried to extinguish the blaze, which is contained to the single tree.

The tree is in a wooded area near Coquille, Oregon, said Brett Weidemiller, an assistant unit forester with the Coos Forest Protective Association. Weidemiller said crews are working with helicopters, drones and ground-level sprinklers to preserve the tree and ensure the fire doesn't spread.

While the cause of the fire remains unclear, Weidemiller said investigators have eliminating lightning as a possibility.

 

"We have tracking mechanisms and time-date stamps to track lightning in that area," he said. "There was no indication of any lightning in the area at the time (the fire ignited)."

The tree, the trunk of which has a diameter of 11.5 feet, is one of the tallest non-redwood trees in the world, though it has lost about 50 to 70 feet from its top, Weidemiller said. Falling limbs and branches are a hazard, he added, so firefighters can't be too close to the tree.

The Doerner Fir is situated in the Coast Range Mountains about 50 miles from the Coos Bay, and there is a trail and recreation area that draws visitors year-round for hiking through the old-growth forest. The trail leading to the Doerner Fir is closed indefinitely because of the fire.