It’s still chilly out, but the first signs of spring have come to our little sidewalk garden.
Early Spring Bulbs
A Reprieve, For Now
After a very stressful couple of days, this weekend’s drama around the sidewalk garden appears to have receded.
The details are still a bit fuzzy, but it now seems like the city inspector didn’t actually rule the garden illegal — instead, they noted an unrelated issue with the area in front of the building, and somehow the two issues got mixed together.
My confidence is still a bit shaken, but I hope that all of this is now behind us, and I greatly appreciate the support I’ve received from so many of our neighbors over the last few days.
The one bit of good that came out of all of this is that in the course of the weekend’s frenzy, I moved all of the planters, swept the entire area, and put everything back in an organized fashion, so I’ve gotten a jump on the spring cleaning that I would otherwise have had to tackle next week.
Garden In Jeopardy!
I’m still gathering details, but earlier today I heard second-hand that a city inspector had discovered some problem with the sidewalk garden and it might need to be cleared.
I’m working to get official confirmation of this order, and if necessary, to find new homes for all of the flowerpots and plants that have made their homes here over the last decade.
Mid-Winter Treebed Work
In addition to planting a few hundred bulbs (yes, we know that it is late in the season), Peter and Michael of the Columbus Amsterdam BID also put in some work to remove invasive shrubs from the cycle lane median along Columbus.
(Not pictured: my son Alex, who had been operating the power auger to speed bulb planting.)
Snowfall
As is to be expected, many of the annuals in the garden have died back for the season — but a fresh layer of powdery snow highlights the ones that have retained their color despite the frost.
Late Jalapeños
I thought our (very limited) harvest from the sidewalk garden was done for the season, but I discovered a few more jalapeño peppers hiding behind the foliage on the stoop next door.
Neighborhood Bulb Planting
I spent a few hours out with volunteers from the nascent 109th Street block association and then with the Columbus Amsterdam BID, planting flowering bulbs in the tree beds on four blocks just around the corner from us to bring up a little color in the spring.
Holly Berries for Winter
Our little holly bush has set some colorful fruit for the oncoming winter season.
Fall Color
Summer may be over, but the sidewalk garden is still ticking along.
The asters which have looked plain all year are suddenly showing their delicate little flowers.
A couple of the rose bushes are still putting out new buds that are so intensely colorful that my phone’s camera doesn’t really know what to do with them.
The tomato plants are dying back, but throwing the last of their energy into ripening just a few more fruits.
And the giant sunflower has decided to go out with a bang.
Blooming Coleus
It was only this spring that I learned that coleus is a member of the mint family — square stems, pointy leaf tips, spike of little flowers — but despite this fact you definitely should not eat it.
