CityDiggity.com
A green space for urban gardenersColor choices – blue, orange and I also want to paint it black
If you’ve followed this blog you know I love blue in the garden. Can’t deny it, can’t escape it.
And “true” blue is a hue that I find absolutely irresistible. Thus, it likely will always play into my garden color scheme.
This year is no exception.
But, I have flipped the script a bit with my companion colors. Orange, which was a minor presence last year, will assume a dominant role, and, I’m also exploring black as a primary tone.
I do realize that “black” is perhaps even more elusive than “true” blue in flowering plants, so when I say black, that translates into extremely Read the rest of this entry »
Cold comfort: Rosemary, Thyme, and spicy chili for a dreary day
Sunday was bleak here in Chicago. With sleet raining down on my once bountiful balcony garden and serving as a barometer of the snow to follow, it’s no surprise I sought a little comfort from the cold.
In other words: A glowing fire in the hearth, a flavorful pot of chili on the stove top, and a diversionary DVD at the ready.
One collection that offers the perfect degree of light entertainment for the off-season gardener is the aptly named “Rosemary & Thyme.” In the 2003-2007 British series, two women of a certain age wind up partners in a gardening business after one is dumped by her husband and the other by her employer.
The title derives from the given name of the latter and the surname of the former. Rosemary Boxer Read the rest of this entry »
Easy green tips that small-space urban gardeners can embrace
Talk about tough love: This past weekend I came across a cautionary essay on purchasing Valentine’s Day flowers.
The writer, bless his green heart, viewed the arguably commercial holiday through the prism of factory farms. It wasn’t a pretty picture.
But even those of us trying to be increasingly environmentally conscious might have found it difficult to go cold turkey and give up that sentimental bouquet.
If you weren’t quite able to wrap your head (or your arms) around the idea this year, take heart, there are other ways to up your green quotient Read the rest of this entry »
New year, new garden: flowers, tomatoes and a free prairie seed are all part of the mix
With Chicago under threat of a foot of snow, visions of colorful blossoms standing tall against the sun are but a faraway dream. Oh, by the way — Happy New Year!
Of course gloomy days like this are the perfect time for daydreaming, and like other gardening aficionados I’m already planning what I’ll do with my 5×12-foot space come spring. And luckily, Read the rest of this entry »
For urban balcony gardener, there’s no denying the coming of winter (or the promise of spring)
There’s still a week to go before autumn’s end, yet Chicago finds itself already wrapped in the cloak of winter.
After a bout of snow and bitter chill — with more in this week’s forecast — my cold-tolerant plants can no longer tolerate the harsh reality of our plummeting temperatures (smile).
I had wished for my balcony garden to last through Thanksgiving. Thankfully, it did. The first Read the rest of this entry »
Parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme – and sweet potatoes?
It’s 5 p.m. on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and I’m happy to say that I’ve just clipped fresh herbs from my balcony garden to use in preparing dinner — parsley, sage, rosemary and, yes, thyme.
And I’d say the holiday arrives just in the nick of time, since the forecast has temps dipping precipitously tonight and I’m not sure the garden will last past the next few days.
As I’ve got more preparation to do in the kitchen, I just wanted to briefly share with you some of the Read the rest of this entry »
Holiday countdown: will cold- tolerant plants go the distance?
After I discovered that not all of my balcony garden plants had given in to the frigid Chicago autumn, I got a second wind of sorts. (No pun intended.)
I began to think maybe, just maybe, I could cobble together enough of a display to keep a pleasing view to the outside through the fall holiday season.
As you’ll recall, I already have clear net lights attached to the balcony’s perimeter — a perfect Read the rest of this entry »
Tomatoes give one last harvest for the road (and posterity)
As I cleared away the debris of expired plants from my balcony, I smiled — imagining archaeologists a century from now examining the boards of my deck and finding the fossilized remains of small-fruited heirloom tomatoes that had rolled into crannies and become unwitting players in history.
And next, bring on the anthropologists, to hypothesize about early 21st century urban dwellers and their desperate efforts to secure green space and achieve some small measure of sustainability.
Let me back up a bit in telling this story: About 10 days ago, I went outside to survey the garden since I’d pulled up stakes and called it a wrap for Read the rest of this entry »
Gather ye seed pods while ye may. But after that, what?
I’ve learned a lot from other garden bloggers. At the very least I’ve been inspired to seek out new learning.
So a few months back when a fellow tomato fancier asked if I’d be interested in trading seeds with her, my curiosity was peaked.
(You see, for several years now I’ve been growing heirloom tomatoes using seeds purchased from a catalog. They’re cheap — less than $3.00 a packet — so paying for new ones every season seemed a minimal, yet high-yield investment.)
Eager to learn, I quickly acquiesced. Of course, I had no idea how to get the seeds from the tomatoes to swap. She assured me it was easy peasy.
That was in the spring and I hadn’t thought about Read the rest of this entry »
Despite cold and neglect, some balcony plants still blooming
Monday was a delight. It was bright and sunny and felt more like the beginning of spring than the middle of fall. I was drawn outside onto the balcony. Drawn to the garden I’d given over to hibernation.
While brown had replaced the once-green foliage in most of my planters, and naked dry stems stood where there previously was a profusion of blossoms, I was pleased to discover that there were a few flowers mixed among the ruins.
The petunia baby duck was still covered with its small, pale yellow blossoms; the lobelia is flourishing prolifically; and, the Nigella — which Read the rest of this entry »
