The Forgotten New York Website

Forgotten NY is a fun historic walking tour, and they've recently done a walk and tour of our neighborhood... fun reading even for long-time residents!

Winter Greetings

Not much to do now but daydream. I'm going to force some hyacinths and amaryllis bulbs just to get my gardening yen on. My cabbage plants and heathers are holding steady in the cold, but the mums are long gone. Thanks, Karen, for the shout-out in the Special Edition this month!

Free Black Eyed Susans

Hello Gardeners,

I recently received a bunch of black-eyed susan plants from a friend in the country,

far more than I can use. I will leave them in my garden at the American Legion room in paper bags, please help yourselves. They do need a lot of sun.

Unintentional Vegetable Gardeners!

Holy moly, who knew that the lovely ornamental kale and cabbage we got today is actually edible by humans? I do love kale chips, but I think I'd rather see them growing during the grey months of winter!

And now let us sing the praises of ---

Squirrels. Yes, squirrels. As much as it kills me to admit it, since the little stinkers have destroyed dozens of my bulbs, but they're not just rats with fluffy tails, according to this interesting NYTimes article. I have to give them some respect.

Thomas Jefferson's Revolutionary Garden

This is a wonderful article about Thomas Jefferson's great gardens at Monticello.  We can't do veggies here at BG, of course, but it's fun to dream! I love how orderly and formal his vegetable gardens look.

More neighborhood plant identification

I've always wondered what the Latin name of these lovely yellow flowers are. Turns out its Oenothera fruticosa. They are also known as sundrops, buttercups, Missouri primroses, and it doesn't matter what you call them, they add a lot of cheer and sunshine to our gardens. They do best in sun, but they add some nice yellow punch to my shady spots, too. I got mine from the always-generous Anne Fitzpatrick... thanks Anne!

Around the corner, on 56th Place, there is a beautiful blue-purple flowering groundcover that does well in rocky soil and sun... it climbs up the stairs of several houses on the eastern side of the street, and blooms in late spring. It may be Campanula 'Birch Hybrid'. They're just gorgeous, I can't wait to try it in my garden!