We still have a few more scattered cold nights ahead of us, but with the equinox behind us and daytime temperatures in the fifties every day, I was pleased to see that the first of our daffodils have opened.
Welcome Back, Daffodils!
A Little Child Shall Lead You (to the Squills)
A little kid stopped on their way home to ask me a series of excited questions about the garden — what was I doing with the shears? (Pruning.) What was growing in this planter? (Alliums.) And when were the flowers going to come out?
I led them over to show off the crocuses that were already blooming, but then they pointed something I had overlooked entirely: the first of the wood squills had come up, putting out a tiny blue blossom hidden away between the ivy leaves.
Colorful Croci
The first small burst of crocuses has faded, but the recent rain brought forth a second (tiny) wave of color. Not as eye-catching as the tulips, daffodils, and aliums will be in a few weeks, but still rewarding to those few who take a moment to appreciate them.
First Sign of Violets
Violets are definitely not the showiest flower in our garden — in fact, I suspect a lot of our neighbors walk past them without ever noticing their little blooms during the brief span of weeks when they’re out each spring… but I think they’re adorable, and I’m glad they have so thoroughly colonized the sidewalk treebed outside 215 W106th St.
In this photo you can see their first leaves poking up through the dried twigs and stems of this winter’s pruning, with the much taller leaves of some flowering bulbs looming over them in the background.
Return of the Strawberries
We planted a few strawberry plants in one of our sidewalk containers last year where they yielded a few tiny berries, and I wasn’t sure they’d built up enough strength to survive the winter, but here we are in the middle of March and I’m pleased to see that they’ve put up a health set of new growth.
A Moment of Repose
I’m super pleased to have successfully created a spot where folks can stop and sit for a moment to catch their breath on their way home… and I’m looking forward to this area being a flurry of green in a few weeks.
Roses Starting to Leaf Out
It’s still early, but a couple of the roses have decided that the risk of frost is over and have started to put out new leaves.
They may be jumping the gun — we’ll still have a few more hours late tonight that are just below freezing — but hopefully they’ll be able to weather that and will have a running start when daytime temperatures start hitting the fifties next week.
Early Spring Bulbs
It’s still chilly out, but the first signs of spring have come to our little sidewalk garden.
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.
