Sidewalk Greenspace on New York's Upper West Side
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.
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.
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.
I held off on growing roses for a long time, on the grounds that they were a cliche — but then a few years I finally got one and it was such a pleasant addition that I’ve finally gotten over myself and now there’s a handful of specimens in the garden, including this one yellow example.
Our little rose bush is going full blast.
The little rose bush a neighbor donated to the garden last year has just bloomed for the first time this season.
