About Flatbush Gardener

Urban naturalist specializing in gardening for habitat with native plants. Ecoregion 59g (#Brooklyn, #NYC) b. 315ppm CO2 Coined #PhytoAgnosia he/they ORCID: 0000-0001-9563-5815 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9563-5815 iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/people/xris Mastodon: @xris@ecoevo.social Mastodon (alternate): @xris@spore.social

Public Appearances, Spring 2024

Posted on 2024-04-12 by Flatbush Gardener

MY LAST PUBLIC APPEARANCE IS THIS WEEKEND, JUNE 1st!

June

Saturday, June 1st

1-3pm: Pollinator Safari, East 4th Street Community Garden, Kensington, Brooklyn

We’ll survey the garden looking for “pollinators”, i.e.: insects and others visiting the flowers blooming all around the garden.

Explore the garden’s plants and flowers, and learn how to see them in new ways with urban naturalist Chris Kreussling (aka the Flatbush Gardener). We’ll “hunt” for pollinators, and other flower visitors,around the garden. As we try to identify them, we’ll learn about the garden’s biodiversity and ecology.

Me hosting the NYCWW Pollinator Week Safari in my Front Yard, June 2014. Photo: Alan Riback

Previous engagements this season. It’s was a busy one, with something every weekend – except for Memorial Day weekend – from mid-April to the first weekend of June.

April

Sunday, April 14th

Bush Terminal Piers Park, Brooklyn

11:00 am – 1:30 pm: Removing invasives, planting native plants.

THursday, April 18th – Monday, April 22nd

Attending the Northeast Natural History Conference in Albany, NY.

Thiursday, APril 25th, 5:50 – 7:00 pm

CANCELLED ~~NYC Pollinator Working Group, Monthly Working Committee Meeting. This is a closed meeting for members of the Working Committee, only~~.

The meeting was cancelled, but if you are interested in joining and working with us, please fill out the Membership Application and let us know!

Friday, April 26th – Monday, April 29th

City Nature Challenge Observation Period!

Check out the CNC:NYC 2024 Event List. As a Brooklyn Borough Captain, I’ll be attending the following events in Brooklyn. Many of these events have limited space for participants, or require advance registration, so check the links if you’re interested.

Tuesday, April 30th – Sunday, May 5th

City Nature Challenge Identification Period. Results will be announced on Monday, May 6th.

May

Saturday, May 4th

10 am – 4 pm: GreenThumb GrowTogether, Herbert Von King Park, Brooklyn.

Registration by noon May 3rd recommended, but walk-ins are accepted.

I’ll be co-presenting on creating habitat for pollinators (and others) in community gardens.

Saturday, May 11th

2 – 4:30 pm: The Great Flatbush Plant Swap, Flatbush Food Co-Op, 1415 Cortelyou Road, Brooklyn (Q Train, Cortelyou Road stop).

I’ll be bringing native plants from my garden. And I’ll be on-hand to answer questions about gardening, native plants, and habitat gardening.

Sunday, May 19th

11 am – 1 pm: McGolrick Park Nature Walk – Gardening Ecology

Please Reserve Your Spot!

“Garden vitality and health are key to building a sustainable, nurturing environment for all living creatures. Please join us for a garden ecology session with Chris Kreussling (The Flatbush Gardener). We’ll study plants, insects, and animals and how they all work together to create a harmonious habitat.”

2024 NYRP Tree Giveaway

Posted on 2024-03-05 by Flatbush Gardener

The annual New York Restoration Project Tree Giveaway begins distribution on Saturday, April 13th, a little less than 6 weeks away. It runs for four weeks, ending on Sunday, May 12th.

Advance registration is mandatory. You select your preferred species when you register. Note that each location will only have 6-8 species. Some locations, especially smaller sites, may be “sold out” of some species. So, check the locations you can get to, confirm you can do it on their giveaway dates, and select from the species available at those sites.

Consider the mature size, after 30 or more years of growth, of each species. There are two lists below: one for smaller-medium sized shrubs and trees that max out at no more than around 50′ high and 30′ wide; the other for the larger trees that will grow too large for most urban yards. These sizes do not take into consideration existing vegetation, outdoor structures, etc. Your conditions will vary!

I’ve highlighted the 12 species that are NEW for 2024. The 6 species that aren’t available this year are crossed out.

Shrubs and Smaller Trees

Allegheny Serviceberry, Amelanchier laevis 25′ tall x 15-20′
American Hazelnut, Corylus americana 8-16′ x 10-15′
American Hornbeam, Carpinus caroliniana 35′ x 20-30′
American Persimmon 50′ x 20-35′
American Plum 15-25′ x 20′
Beach Plum, Prunus maritima 4-10′ x 3-10′
Eastern Redbud, Cercis canadensis 20-30′ x 25-35′
Elderberry, Sambucus canadensis 5-12′ x 6-10′
I have one in my front yard. This is a suckering shrub that can spread much wider than 10 feet!
Flowering Dogwood, Cornus florida 25′ x 15-30′
Fragrant Sumac, Rhus aromatica 6-12′ x 4-6′
Gray Birch, Betula populifolia 25-40′ x 10-20′
~~Highbush Blueberry~~
Northern Bayberry, Morella pensylvanica 8-10′ x 6-10′
Pagoda Dogwood, Cornus alternifolia 25′ x 15-30′
Pussy Willow, Salix discolor 10-20′ x 4-12′
Smooth Alder, Alnus serrulata 8-12′ x 5-10′
Sweetbay Magnolia, Magnolia virginiana 50′ x 15-25′
Washington Hawthorn, Crataegus phaenopyrum 30′ x 25-30′
White Fringe Tree, Chionanthus virginicus 12-20′ x 10-15′
~~Winged Sumac~~
Witchhazel, Hamamelis virginiana 25′ x 10-20′

Larger Trees

Brooklyn Locations

There are 8, two more than last year, Brooklyn pickup sites.

April 20: Wyckoff House Museum, East Flatbush/Canarsie
April 28, Green-Wood Cemetery, Greenwood Heights
May 4: Red Hook Farms (Red Hook, Brooklyn)
May 4: Brooklyn Public Library, Brownsville Branch
May 5: Java Street Community Garden, Greenpoint
May 11: Brooklyn Public Library, Marcy Branch, Bedford-Stuyvesant
May 11: Citizens Avenue U Branch, Homecrest/Sheepshead Bay
May 12: HELP USA, Brownsville

Links

New York Restoration Project Tree Giveaway

Field Trip Report, Marine Park, September 2023

Posted on 2023-10-28 by Flatbush Gardener

Torrey Botanical Society Field Trip, Marine Park

I just finished [2023-10-28] uploading the last of my photos and iNaturalist observations from the Torrey Botanical Society field trip to Marine Park on Saturday, September 16. I had a huge backlog of photos from my 2nd trip to the Adirondacks this year (warranting its own blog post), and I’m slowly catching up.

Our Trip Leader was Priyanthe Wijesinghe (cradling the handsome crab above), Torrey Council member, and keen iNaturalist observer of Marine Park: roughly 75% of his iNat observations are from that area of Brooklyn. As often occurs with Torrey field trips, there were several heavy-hitter botanists attending. Some more of us — myself included — could be considered more general naturalists. Altogether, on iNaturalist we documented 130 different species (taxa) that day, only 47 of which were plants.

For my part, in my observations of the day, I documented 37 plant species (80% of the total), and 78 overall (60%). Even more exciting for me, 13 of the species were new to me! (On iNaturalist, at least.) A good part of that is the benefit of having so many keen and knowledgable observers on-hand to point out and identify interesting organisms.

The other is the unusual habitats accessible in the park, mostly sandy shoreline meadows and salt marsh. And, as our visit was timed to coincide with low tide, we had access to things washing up on the shore, as well. Each of these habitats presents its own challenges and opportunities for organisms to survive and thrive. So there are many specialists that won’t be found outside of such areas, making them critical for sustaining the biodiversity of New York City.

Here are some of the species that I first photographed that day, most of them habitat specialists. This list is likely to change as identifications are corrected and refined.

Subgenus Astropolium, salt marsh aster
I think this is the perennial species, Symphyotrichum tenuifolium, ranked Vulnerable (S3) in New York state.
Atriplex prostata, fat-hen
Aurelia, moon jelly
Cenchrus, sandbur
Desmanthus illinoensis, Illinois bundleflower
Estigmene acrea, salt marsh moth
Ilyanassa obsoleta, Eastern mud snail
Limonium carolinianum, sea lavender
Most of this was fruiting/setting seed. A few were blooming. It’s a lovely plant.
Salicornia, pickleweed
I sampled this. It’s wonderfully salty!
Sarcodiotheca gaudichaudii, succulent seaweed
Suaeda, seepweed
Symphyotrichum ericoides, white heath aster
This is one of the native plant species I have grown in my garden, but I’ve never documented it there!
Uva, sea lettuce

Meta: Blog Comments

Posted on 2023-10-14 by Flatbush Gardener

The collective texts of the generated spam comments to my blog sometimes resemble poetry. Each line in this “poem” is the complete text of a single spam comment.

from a printed book, reproduction

monuments related to deep

antiquities. These are the

Egyptian papyri works of art.

At the same time, many antique

handwritten books were made,

One of the most skilled calligraphers

Of his works, he is especially famous

the best poets of his era and

which is carried out by the printing

The most common form handwritten by the author.

handwritten synonym

written on the parchment was scratched out

Meta-Meta: This is the first post published since I activated and configured the ActivityPub plugin on the blog. I already published this as three Mastodon posts, broken up for text limitations. Hopefully this shows up on its own!

Saturday, August 12, Wave Hill, Bronx: Bees, Butterflies and Blooms

Posted on 2023-08-07 by Flatbush Gardener

Toxomerus marginatus on NOID Asteraceae, Wave Hill, June 2021

Saturday, August 12, join me at Wave Hill in the Bronx. I’ll be leading two Native Pollinator Walks, part of their Bees, Butterflies, and Blooms weekend of events. My walks will step off at 11am and 1pm from the Perkins Visitor Center, where the gift shop is located.

I’ll be staffing their Pollination Station information table between walks.

For a list of all that weekend’s events, Saturday and Sunday, August 12th & 13th, see:
https://www.wavehill.org/calendar/bees-butterflies-blooms-weekend

Saturday, June 3rd: Pollinator Safari

Posted on 2023-05-28 by Flatbush Gardener

Saturday, June 3rd, at 2pm, join me the East 4th Street Community Garden in the Kensington neighborhood of Brooklyn for a Pollinator Safari with iNaturalist.

Brown-belted bumble bee (Bombus griseocollis) visiting Zinnia elegans flowers, East 4th Street Community Garden, Kensington, Brooklyn, 2022-10-16

You can find a complete list of all New York City CNC 2023 events on the official iNaturalist Project.

Continue reading →

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