BBG Celebrates Native Plants Throughout July

Posted on 2010-06-29 by admin

Native Rhododendrons blooming in BBG’s Native Flora Garden, May, 2009

Press Release

Celebrating Our Backyard: Brooklyn Botanic Garden Presents Native Plant Month, July 2010

Brooklyn, NY—June 29, 2010—This spring, the results of a 20-year study of the flora of the New York metropolitan region by Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) found many native species locally extinct or in precipitous decline. During the month of July, BBG will highlight the region’s native flora, displaying its beauty, explaining its importance, drawing attention to its plight, and providing simple ways to help in its restoration. BBG’s knowledgeable horticulturists and scientists will offer a behind-the-scenes look at the power of the native plant through field trips, workshops, and other insightful classes and lectures.

In 1911, the “Local Flora Section” was the first garden to open to the public at BBG. Since then, the Garden has maintained its commitment to the study and conservation of locally native plants, most recently through its multiyear New York Metropolitan Flora project (NYMF), in which nearly every species growing within a 50-mile radius of the city was cataloged and mapped. Many of the native plants in the study—which found a significant number of species in perilous decline—are propagated in the Native Flora Garden, as the Local Flora Section is known today, in an effort to conserve them.

JULY 2010: NATIVE PLANT MONTH PROGRAMMING AT BBG

TALK: Bringing Nature Home
Thursday, July 8 | 6:30 p.m.With as many as 33,000 species imperiled in the U.S. alone, it is clear that citizens must change their approach to gardening and landscaping if they hope to share space with other living things. Join ecologist and author Doug Tallamy to learn about the key role native flora must play in the restoration of our landscapes. Only by supporting a large, healthy diversity of insects that coevolved with native plants can we keep herbivores in balance and gardens aesthetically pleasing. Fee required; advance registration is recommended but seats may be available at the door. Call 718-623-7220 or go to bbg.org/classregistration.

CURATOR’S TOUR: The Native Flora Garden with Uli Lorimer
Thursday, July 8 | 5–6 p.m.Limited space: register now! Curator Uli Lorimer will lead this tour of BBG’s 99-year-old Native Flora Garden, which represents nine local plant communities, including the distinctive kettle pond and pine barrens habitats. Get behind-the-scenes insight into this extraordinary garden and how it has evolved since 1911. Learn about the visionary work of BBG’s founders in researching and documenting native plant life, both in the Garden and the greater metropolitan area. Fee and registration required; call 718-623-7220 or go to bbg.org/classregistration. Registration deadline: Wednesday, July 7.

FIELD TRIP: Native Plants and Restored Natural Areas: A Field Trip to Staten Island
Saturday, July 10 | 8:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m.
It turns out that the city’s smallest borough is big on natives! This day trip, led by restorationist Cindy Goulder, begins with a private guided tour of the Greenbelt Native Plant Center, the NYC Parks Department’s 13-acre nursery and greenhouses on Staten Island. See how hundreds of native plant species are propagated and grown from seed and learn principles underlying native plant cultivation. The Sweetbrook Stream and Wetland Restorations help recover the ecological health and function of urban waters, thanks to the indigenous wetland and upland plant species intentionally placed to increase local plant diversity and wildlife habitat. The Salt Marsh Restorations at Old Place Creek have reestablished many acres of tidal marshes after centuries of displacement by agricultural and industrial uses. Learn how invasive plants were removed and zones of marsh and maritime woody plants reintroduced to this estuarine community. Fee and registration required; call 718-623-7220 or go to bbg.org/classregistration. Registration deadline: Wednesday, July 7.

CLASS: Great Natives for Tough Places
Sunday, July 11 | 10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.Discover how to turn tough urban spaces into a natural haven! This workshop, led by garden designer Joan McDonald and based on the BBG handbook Great Natives for Tough Places, identifies gardening challenges caused by city buildings, impermeable surfaces, rainwater runoff, construction, and other disturbances that compact and degrade soil. Students will explore solutions with five spectacular designs using unusual native plants chosen for their ability to thrive in urban environments. Students will receive a copy of Great Natives for Tough Places. Fee and registration required; call 718-623-7220 or go to bbg.org/classregistration. Registration deadline: Thursday, July 8.

WORKSHOP: Gardening with Native Plants
Tuesday, July 13 | 6–9 p.m.
Why are native plants important, and which ones are best for a garden? What does “native” really mean, anyway? Explore these questions with native plant authority Uli Lorimer, curator of BBG’s Native Flora Garden and learn how a garden can reflect the region’s—even a densely populated urban region’s—spectacular natural environment. Fee and registration required; call 718-623-7220 or go to bbg.org/classregistration. Registration deadline: Monday, July 12.

CLASS: Edible Native Plants in Brooklyn
Saturday, July 18 | 2–5 p.m.Limited space: register now! Wild ginger, spicebush, fiddlehead ferns, wild leeks—these are just a few of the delicious vegetables and seasonings native to the region. Unlike conventional crops, many of the northeastern edible native plants are excellent for shade gardens, and most are perennials that will feed people year after year. Learn from local food specialist Leda Meredith which edible native plants will thrive in a garden and how to grow, harvest, and use them. Fee and registration required; call 718-623-7220 or go to bbg.org/classregistration. Registration deadline: Thursday, July 15.

Contact: Kate Blumm, Brooklyn Botanic Garden
718-623-7241 | kblumm@bbg.org

Prunus maritima, Beach Plum, blooming this past April in the Pine barrens section of BBG’s Native Flora Garden

[goo.gl]

June 16: Community Visioning Workshop for a new Communal Garden

Posted on 2010-06-15 by admin

The Parsonage at the Flatbush Reformed Church is the proposed site for a new communal garden.

This Wednesday, June 16 at 6pm

Are you a gardener, or have you always wanted to get your hands in the dirt?
Sustainable Flatbush is collaborating with the Flatbush Reformed Church to create a new community garden!

Join us in a creative brainstorming session to plan this new neighborhood green space!

WHAT: Community Garden Visioning Meeting
WHEN: Wednesday June 16th at 6pm
WHERE: Flatbush Reformed Church, 890 Flatbush Avenue (at Church Ave.)

Refreshments and childcare will be provided!

What to expect at the meeting:

* see the garden location!
* contribute your ideas for what the garden will be
* what we can grow (flowers? herbs? vegetables?)
* how we can best use the space we have
* how we will build and maintain the garden
* learn how you can get involved!

For more information: 718-208-0575 / info@sustainableflatbush.org

Sustainable Flatbush brings neighbors together to mobilize, educate, and advocate for sustainable living in our Brooklyn neighborhood and beyond.

The Flatbush Reformed Church is a welcoming, inclusive and ecumenical Church located in the heart of Brooklyn.

A section of the wall filled in by participants in the first Visioning Workshop on June 6.

Links

New community garden — not at Brooklyn College, Helen Klein, Flatbush Life, 2010-06-08

Flatbush Reformed Church
Sustainable Flatbush
CAMBA
Flatbush Farm Share CSA

Recipe: Macerated Strawberries

Posted on 2010-06-14 by admin

I made this yesterday for dessert for the visit of a high school friend, whom I haven’t see in some decades. Sorry I didn’t take any pictures of this. Another time.

I got the original recipe from a Greenmarket flyer a couple of years ago. It’s one of my favorite ways to prepare strawberries. It’s a great cool dessert for hot summer days. It can also be prepared hours ahead of time, even the day before, then assembled just before serving.

Maceration is one of those cool, unusual words that sounds a little gross, but precisely describes what’s going on. It refers to the period of letting the strawberries soak with the vinegar-sugar mixture, which blends the flavors.

Ingredients

All these ingredients, except perhaps the vinegar, are available from Greenmarkets in New York City.

All measurements approximate. Any sugar can be used. Sweeten to taste, based on the ripeness of the strawberries.

1 quart strawberries
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup maple syrup
Spearmint leaves

Preparation

Rinse the strawberries, drain and remove the tops. You can leave the strawberries whole, or cut them in half. Larger strawberries should be cut in half to ease mixing.
Over low-medium heat, reduce the vinegar by about 1/2. You want to partly caramelize the sugars in the vinegar, but not burn it. When it starts to smell a little sweet, and thickens enough to begin to coat the sides of the pan, it’s ready.
Dissolve your sugar – I used maple syrup – into the vinegar. Remove the vinegar-sugar mixture from the heat and set aside to cool.
Finely mince most of the spearmint leaves. Set a few aside as a garnish.

Assembly

Put the strawberries in a bowl with enough room that you can stir and mix them around.
Pour the vinegar-sugar mixture over the strawberries. Add the minced spearmint leaves.
Stir the mixture to coat all the strawberries. Don’t worry if there’s not enough liquid. The strawberries will add their own juices, increasing the volume of liquid, and make it easier.
Cover the bowl and put it in the refrigerator to chill and soak for at least two hours.
An hour in, stir the strawberries and juices again, coating all the strawberries with the juices, and return to the refrigerator to soak another hour.

Serving ideas

They’re delicious as-is. Wonderful with whipped cream. Pound cake or some other simple cake is good to soak up some of the juices. I served them up with some cinnamon coffee cake and an optional side of fresh whipped cream. Drizzle some of the juices over the assembly. Garnish with a spearmint leaf.

Got Snails?

Posted on 2010-06-10 by admin

Garden Snail along the Shady Path, May 2010

I was contacted on behalf of an urban nature educator who needs snails. She has a project this weekend on Governor’s Island to create snailariums. Who knew?! She got some snails, but not enough.

We are a neighborhood with a surfeit of snails. With yesterday’s rain, and more predicted today, it should be a good time to collect. If you’re interested in participating, see the original request from Wild Gotham Fran on the Brownstoner Garden Forum:

I am teaching a workshop at the Figment Arts Festival (6/11-13) on Governor’s Island on how to upcycle a shoebox into a posh house for a common garden snail. I am an urban nature educator and have a web show called Wild Gotham that focuses on everyday wildlife in NYC. If you have excess snails, I would love to come get them at your convenience or you could drop off at my house in Park Slope. Snails will be displayed at Figment and afterward released into my backyard where, along with all the others, they will devour my plants. Thank you in advance.- Fran

Tree Snail, Hattie Carthan Community Garden, Bed-Stuy, October 2008

Help Envision a New Garden: Sunday, June 6

Posted on 2010-06-03 by admin

Update: June 16: Community Visioning Workshop for a new Communal Garden

Update, 2010.06.04: Added information about the site.
Update, 2010.06.03: Added registration link.

The Parsonage, Flatbush Reformed Church, 2103 Kenmore Terrace, corner of East 21st Street, Flatbush, Brooklyn

Thus Sunday, June 6, from 4-6pm, we’ll be holding the first of two Community Visioning Workshops for a new communal garden on the grounds of the landmarked Flatbush Reformed Church. One site is a small, fenced-off area. The other is the front lawn of the Parsonage. This landmarked historic building was built in 1853 – though portions of it may be even older – and moved to this site in 1913.

Front lawn, looking east from East 21st Street

The main area is the front lawn of the Parsonage. It’s a large area, about 25-feet deep, from the fence along Kenmore Terrace to the porch of the house, and about 85-feet long, from East 21st Street to the Church parking lot. There are opportunities to further develop the buffer plantings, 3-1/2-feet between the fence and the sidewalk, that Church members have already established.

Buffer Plantings, looking from the entrance gate toward East 21st Street

The site is dominated by large, mature Oak trees lining the fence on Kenmore Terrace and East 21st Street. These cast dense shade, and working with this constraint will be one of the challenges for designing the garden and plantings. I have a lot of experience with urban shade gardens, and see the potential in this site.

The most interesting aspects of this project will be the community partnerships. CAMBA, a large community-based service organization, has a young mothers program that meets at the Parsonage. We want the space and gardens to be child-friendly, and provide opportunities for exploration and learning about nature and gardening. The Flatbush Farm Share CSA distributes from the front lawn of the Parsonage. They offer shares for all income levels, and subsidize low-income members. We want to accommodate their needs for space and provide opportunities for education programs.

Soil Sampling for Texture Analysis

Press Release

Sustainable Flatbush is partnering with the Flatbush Reformed Church to create a new community garden! The whole community is invited to be involved in the planning and care of this neighborhood green space.

Two Community Garden Visioning Meetings have been scheduled for Sunday June 6th and Wednesday June 16th. At these brainstorming sessions community members will visit the garden area, located on church grounds, and work collaboratively to envision this new public green space: what can be grown, how to best utilize the space, how the garden will be built and maintained, what to name the garden, and how to be a part of it!

The new community garden is a joint project of Sustainable Flatbush’s Urban Gardens & Farms Initiative and the Flatbush Reformed Church.

The Urban Gardening and Farming Initiative works to foster community gardening efforts in Flatbush, promoting healthy local food, sustainable horticulture practices, and community building and beautification.

Sustainable Flatbush brings neighbors together to mobilize, educate, and advocate for sustainable living in our Brooklyn neighborhood and beyond.

Flatbush Reformed Church is a welcoming, inclusive and ecumenical Church in the heart of Brooklyn.

WHAT: Community Garden Visioning Meetings
WHEN: Sunday, June 6th at 4pm and Wednesday, June 16th at 6pm.
WHERE: Flatbush Reformed Church, located at 890 Flatbush Avenue at Church Avenue, just three blocks east of the Q train or three blocks west of the 2 train, Church Avenue stop.

Sign up here to attend a Visioning Meeting.

Refreshments and childcare will be provided.

Links

New Community Garden at Flatbush Reformed Church!, Sustainable Flatbush, 2010-05-31

Flatbush Reformed Church
CAMBA
Flatbush Farm Share CSA

Save the Baltic Street Community Garden and P.S. 133

Posted on 2009-06-08 by admin

The Baltic Street Community Garden and the century-old gothic P.S. 133 school building in Park Slope are threatened by School Construction Authority (SCA) plans to raze both for a new school building.

More details on the issues and what’s at stake are below the fold.

What you can do:

Call or write to Councilman David Yassky’s office, and urge him to support the preservation of the existing garden and school, and to press for an alternative, appropriate plan.
Phone: 718-875-5200.
Email: yassky@council.nyc.ny.us
Address: 114 Court Street, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201

Sign the online petition [http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/4thAveLandmark/]

Come to the Community Board 6 meeting TONIGHT, 6/8 at 6:30pm where this issue will be discussed. Representatives from both the SCA and Yassky’s office will be there. Location:
Old First Reformed Church [GMAP]
729 Carroll Street
(Corner of 7th Avenue)
Brooklyn, New York

To learn more, please contact us at baltic.garden@gmail.com

The School Construction Authority (SCA) recently announced its plans to demolish historic PS 133 in Park Slope (375 Butler Street at 4th Avenue) to make way for a new, much larger school structure. This remarkable gothic school, a recognized historic resource designed by renowned educational architect CBJ Snyder, is a beloved community anchor.

It has been determined eligible for the State and National Register of Historic Places, and a number of other Snyder schools throughout the city are already designated local landmarks, including Morris High School in The Bronx and the former Stuyvesant High School on East 15th Street in Manhattan.

Local residents are devastated by the notion of losing PS 133 and have developed alternative plans that would allow for the building to be preserved with an annex constructed to accommodate the additional seats. The SCA has expressed no interest in considering these alternatives and has neglected to include local stakeholders in any of the discussions surrounding the proposal.
– Park Slope Snyder School to be Demo’d by NYC School Construction Authority, Historic Districts Council, 2009-06-05

An online petition to save the century old PS 133 building and adjacent 30 year old community garden has been created. Please consider signing it if you have any concerns about the NY School Construction Authority’s
proposal to tear down the current school building, and build a massive 960 seat school on the site of the garden and school playground. Construction is slated to begin in just a couple of months.

The proposal has been created in haste, without any input from the planned community immediately surrounding it, and without concern for the safety of the neighborhood. There is no plan in place for handling
the toxic waste that will be disturbed and dug up on the contaminated site. Traffic concerns due to the 660 seat increase have not been adequately addressed. Neighborhood residents feel that the lightning pace of this project should be slowed, and alternative plans be considered

The School Construction Authority wants to tear down the century old PS 133 bldg (which is wait listed for the landmark status) and the Baltic St Community garden to build a nearly 1000 seat new school on that property. There are so many reasons why this proposal is flawed including:

the surrounding community was not consulted at all, and they are against the project as it is drawn up at present.

school is too massive for the tiny streets and houses of Baltic & Butler, which along with the garden is a planned community built nearly 30 years ago.

traffic problems not adequately addressed. Dropping off and picking up 960 students per day is unsafe in that location. 50 school buses will be circling that small half block area.

environmental impact study states that the site is contaminated with hazardous substances. To date, they have no plan in place on how to safely deal with the contaminated soil.

school is sited in District 13, but they will get no increase in seats. Instead, District 15 (who is paying and pushing for this project) will get an additional 560 seats. The new bldg would house 3 separate schools–districts 13, 15, and 75, but in a very segregated way. There would be no mixing of the students. Many parents object to this segregation.

many people feel that as soon as it is finished, rezoning will occur, granting entire school to District 15, which leaves 13 with no new benefit, just a loss of a school.

garden has been in that site for 20 years, and has fully mature trees, shrubs, hedges, etc will be destroyed as it will be too hot in August to transplant even if new homes could be found for them. It is a unique space with thousands of sq feet for growing food in addition to the ornamentals.

this is the only open, green space on 4th Ave for a the entire 6 mile stretch from Flatbush to the Verrazano.

Links

Save 4th Ave Park Slope Landmark and Community Garden (online petition)
Park Slope Snyder School to be Demo’d by NYC School Construction Authority, Historic Districts Council, 2009-06-05

Brooklyn Garden Tour Calendar

Posted on 2009-04-30 by admin

Most of these are house tours which also feature gardens, some are garden-only tours.

Brooklyn Heights, May 9

Five houses and their gardens will be open from 1 to 5 p.m. for the 24th annual tour of the Brooklyn Heights Association. There will be an 1842 Greek Revival house on a street once known as Mansion Row, with its original mahogany woodwork and a collection of contemporary art by American and German artists, and an 1846 house on a corner lot with formal-style gardens, interior front and back staircases and a Federal doorway that was salvaged from a neighborhood building. No children under 13 except infants in front packs. Reservations are recommended. Tickets, $30, by calling (718) 858-9193 and brooklynheightsassociation.org. On the day of the tour only, tickets will be sold starting at 12:30 p.m. at 129 Pierrepont Street (near Clinton Street). [Via New York Times, 2009-04-30]

East New York, May 17

East New York Community Gardens Bike Tour
As part of Bike Month NYC, join GreenThumb Community Gardeners for a bike tour starting in East New York, part of NYC’s densest concentration of community gardens. Learn about the tumultuous history of gardening in NYC and see the fruits of the gardens.
Sunday, May 17, 2009, 9:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
Start at Green Gems Community Garden, 947-953 Glenmore Avenue, between Fountain and Crystal Street

Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, May 31

Eleven houses will be open from noon to 5 p.m., including a 1907 limestone house renovated with a mix of pocket doors, antique chandeliers, an exercise room and a contemporary galley kitchen; a 1911 townhouse with original Arts and Crafts interior details and a staircase decorated with vintage maps; and the home of the 2006 Silver Award winner of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers, which has a back garden with two waterfalls, charming seating areas and winding paths. Infants in front packs only. Tickets, $25, at K-Dog & Dunebuggy Cafe, 43 Lincoln Road (between Flatbush and Ocean Avenues). Advance tickets, $20. Information: (718) 284-6210 or (718) 462-0024 and at leffertsmanor.org. [Via New York Times, 2009-04-30]

PROSPECT HEIGHTS, FORT GREENE AND CLINTON HILL, BROOKLYN, JUNE 14 The Brownstone Brooklyn Garden District’s Garden Walk, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., will feature a dozen private and five community gardens. This year’s sites include two gardens that occupy neighboring yards behind adjacent town houses. One evokes ancient Rome, with shards of masonry, sculptural fragments and embedded plaques set among perennials and tropical plants. The other, centered by a cherry tree planted by the jazz singer Betty Carter, features perennial plantings and flowering trees.

Tickets, $20, at the Forest Floor, 659 Vanderbilt Avenue (Prospect Place) in Prospect Heights; Greene Grape Provisions, 753 Fulton Street (South Portland Avenue) in Fort Greene; and Root Stock and Quade, 471 Myrtle Avenue (Washington Street) in Clinton Hill. Advance tickets, $15, and information: (718) 858-7968, e-mail to brownstonebgd@gmail.com or bbgd.wordpress.com.

CROWN HEIGHTS NORTH, BROOKLYN OCT. 4 Eight houses, two churches and a community garden will be open from noon to 5 p.m. Tickets, $25, at St. Gregory’s Parish School, 991 St. Johns Place (between Brooklyn and New York Avenues). Advance tickets, $20, and information at (917) 748-4664 and crownheightsnorth.org. [Via New York Times, 2009-04-30]

Victorian Flatbush House Tour

Posted on 2009-02-06 by admin

2008.02.13 IMPORTANT UPDATE: The date for this year’s tour will be Sunday, June 14, the second Sunday in June, and not June 7 as originally reported.

This year’s Victorian Flatbush House Tour is scheduled for June 14, 2009, the second Sunday in June. If it follows the schedule of past years, the tour will run from 1-6pm.

Unfortunately for me, that means it will conflict with the Brownstone Brooklyn Garden Tour, like it did last year.

Don’t miss the architectural awesomeness of these neighborhoods, which boast a diversity of architectural styles and house types.

Links

Victorian Flatbush House Tour, Flatbush Development Corporation

Summer Nights

Posted on 2008-06-27 by admin

Update 2010.01.03: Corrected all links to the old Gowanus Lounge domain to the new memorial domain.

I know it’s summer when the fireflies are out in force. As are the raccoons (Procyon lotor).

Both made their first appearance in the backyard about two weeks ago: just two fireflies, and just one raccoon. Tonight, multiple fireflies in everyone’s yards, front and back. And a family of raccoons, as we get every year. I saw three little ones at once. I saw the adult separately.

Here are, I think, two of the young’uns, one in a tree, and one on the ground. It could also be the same young raccoon. The one in the tree climbed down, shortly after which the “other” appeared on the ground.

The groundling was very curious about my camera, and came within four feet of me before it realized the camera was attached to a person.

Gowanus Lounge recently reported on raccoons sighted in Carroll Gardens. Some folks raised concerns about rabies. I left the following comment:

We love our Brooklyn raccoons!

They are annual visitors to our backyard. And our kitchen on the second floor. They climbed my neighbor’s apple tree to get there. They don’t scale building walls, they climb trees and other structures.

They’re scavengers, looking for easy grub. Don’t leave pet food outside. Don’t feed stray and feral cats and dogs. Keep garbage cans and compost bins and piles covered.

As for rabies, Brooklyn is the best off of all the five boroughs, with only 5 animal cases detected in the past 15 years; the most recent, in 2005, was a bat. Rabies is endemic in the Bronx and Staten Island.

Old news

Attacked by Raccoons, New York Times, September 12, 1897

Brooklyn Blogade, June 2008

Posted on 2008-06-22 by admin

The Brooklyn Blogade at Root Hill Cafe

The June 2008 Brooklyn Blogade was hosted by Adrian Kinloch, Brit in Brooklyn, at Root Hill Cafe on 4th Avenue. The theme was photo-blogging, and several Brooklyn photo-bloggers – including myself I suppose! – turned out for the afternoon. About 20 people attended, most of whom of visible in the photo above.

Flickr photo set
Kensington Blogade, March 10, 2008

Links

Miconian

[where: Root Hill Cafe, 262 4th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11215]

Flatbush Gardener

Urban Habitat Gardening with Native Plants

Tag Archives: June

BBG Celebrates Native Plants Throughout July

Press Release

Related Content

June 16: Community Visioning Workshop for a new Communal Garden

Related Content

Links

Recipe: Macerated Strawberries

Ingredients

Preparation

Assembly

Serving ideas

Got Snails?

Help Envision a New Garden: Sunday, June 6

Press Release

Related Content

Links

Save the Baltic Street Community Garden and P.S. 133

Related Content

Links

Brooklyn Garden Tour Calendar

Brooklyn Heights, May 9

East New York, May 17

Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, May 31

Victorian Flatbush House Tour

Related Content

Links

Summer Nights

Related Posts

Links

Old news

Brooklyn Blogade, June 2008

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Links