Bloomingdale Garden – Sidewalk Greenspace on New York's Upper West Side

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Welcome to the Garden!

Bloomingdale Garden is a tiny patch of green in public space on New York City’s Upper West Side. (The garden’s name pays homage to a traditional moniker for this area that dates back more than three hundred years.)

Located in containers and tree beds along the sidewalk of 219/217/215 West 106th Street, the garden only occupies about a hundred square feet, but provides a welcome splash of color to the neighborhood.

Scroll down for more photos and updates, or follow the garden on Bluesky.

My name is Matthew Cavalletto, and I’ve created this site to showcase the flora and fauna that make their home in and around my garden, and to answer some common questions asked by passers by. I’ll also share some notes about my experiences as a gardener, in hopes that this will encourage other people to create their own pocket gardens anywhere they can.

Rainstorm

Today’s downpour provided some much-needed moisture, although it can be a little hard on the tender blossoms.

New Lighting

I added some patio lights along the fence for the party earlier this month, but the general reaction has been positive, so we’ve decided to leave them up for a while.

Curbside Rainbow

It turns out that the hose is good for more than just keeping the plants hydrated…

Edifices With A Colorful History

The set of three residential buildings that abut the garden were built at the end of the 1800s, and have been home to a succession of interesting characters over the intervening century, as laid out by Tom Miller in his blog Daytonian in Manhattan.

Garden Party, June 11

We’ll be hosting a small social event in our sidewalk garden next week, and if you live nearby or are a friend of the garden, you are welcome to come and socialize with neighbors from the block.

Spring Showers, Vibrant Greens

We’ve had a good bit of rain this last week, and it’s helping to keep everything looking bright and verdant.

Planting the Broadway Median

A number of volunteers joined the staff of the Broadway Mall Association this week to add some native plants to the median between 106th and 107th.

It was fun to meet other folks who care about greening urban spaces, and to spend a couple of hours digging in some aster cuttings and spreading a layer of mulch to nourish and protect the soil.

The association’s horticulturist, Ian, shared a bunch of interesting details about the median plantings — it’s amazing how much life can be sustained in just a couple of feet of soil piled up on top of an urban subway line!

[Update, June 8:] A pair of contractors swung by that same spot this afternoon to repair a rusted-out section of the low chain boundary that runs along the edge of the median.

Welcome Our New Gargoyle!

Earlier today we spotted an online “curb alert” from a neighbor who had seen a small gargoyle sitting in a sidewalk trash pile, spurring me to dash out in the middle of a video call and snag it for addition to our sidewalk garden.

It’s currently surveying the herbs, but next week I might move it to sit among the sunflowers…

Potager Garden Bed

Most of the garden is accessible from the street, but there is one bed that’s behind a locked gate, which is where I’ve placed much of this year’s herbs and vegetables.

It’s just five square feet, so it’s not going to replace many trips to the grocery store, but I’ve crowded a bunch of things in so my neighbors and I can have a couple of tasty nibbles this summer.

From left to right, more or less: bibb lettuce, ghost peppers, sweet banana pepper, chives, two varieties of spinach, basil, habanero peppers, leeks, peppermint, Caribbean red hot peppers, and corn.

(The corn is unlikely to produce any edible ears, as it’s tricky to pollinate in isolation like this, but hopefully it will at least be picturesque.)

Garden Signage

I finally got around to putting up a little sign with the name of our tiny sidewalk garden, and a link to the website for folks who might like more information about the various plants.