Smack dab in the middle of a recession, the middle of a flaundering block, in the middle of New York City I decided it would be fun to open a store with a HUGE sign in bright neon green that read GROW.  I had a sneaking suspicion that other designers and architects had discovered the fantastic Deco loft buildings being vacated by a the furriers who were going out of business, like I had, and moved their businesses into their beautiful open spaces.  My hope was, that being close to the flower district, but not in it,  we might attract the folks GREENING their apartments, terraces and backyards as well as the pros in the biz.  The best part of moving onto the same street our offices have been on for 3 years is that we are finally meeting our neighbors…landscape architects, interior designers, structural engineers, building contractors, architectts, lighting designers…and that’s just on this block!  So my dream is coming true.. I wanted to open a store/showroom where the GROWing industry of urban living, green roof gardening and organic home design merged and I wanted to be on a block that was growing.  ANd I think we did it.

Come on down and see us sometime.  Til then…

keep GROWing

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/09/garden/09open.html?_r=1&ref=garden

http://rebeccacoledesign.com/store.html

These photos courtesy of Garden Design

more to come

Now, if I grew green walls myself you would call this hyperbole, but I just design them.  I imagine them,  design the patterns the plants might form.  But a green wall is all won or lost in the execution. What’s that old adage..ideas are a dime a dozen?  What T & L Nursery has done with my living green wall ideas is beyond anything I have yet seen.  I have been doing green projects in New York for a while and the pitfalls are many.  Garden designing in New York is so much about instant gratification and  ‘green’ projects traditionally takes patience and imagination.  ‘It-will-look-good-in-a-couple-of-years’ is always the sell,   oh and remember it will be great for the environment.  But as a designer, and a rather organic one at that,  it always bothered me that we would have to give up aesthetics and design for a couple of years for the opportunity to go green.  After all, aren’t we bringing nature to the urban landscape, and isn’t nature NATURally beautiful.  Why should I have to wait!!!!

Well the answer is T & L Nursery,  they get it, grow it and escalate green gardening to new level.  They are genious growers,  with the best plant suggestions,  most innovative methods of going green FAST. In other words….they really know how to FORCE the issue.  Judge for yourself…..

MY GREEN WALL ONLY TWO MONTHS INTO GROWING...T & L ROCKS!

The hardest part of this whole garden show process lies in the delicate balance between control and trust. When I do a garden for a client in New York I am in control of nearly every element…(except Mother Nature, but I’m working on that relationship and expect to be able to call her my BFF soon.) I can check on the progress of the containers being built, look at the leafing out of the birch trees at the nursery,  watch the irrigation going in,  pick up the lights myself and notice they ordered the wrong finish before I leave the store and check on custom cushion being made by a seamstress in the building who makes award winning Broadway costumes so sewing zippers into sunbrella for an outdoor sofa set a breeze. 

But when it comes to this garden show, 3000 miles away I can check on nothing! 

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Since there is precious little space to grow things in a city, the roof has become the new green frontier.  And though we have been slower to green our roofs than in Europe and some parts of Asia,  we have at least become aware of the benefits of a green roof.  And many building companies are playing catch up with the demands of new green construction while others are leading the way.  I must admit as a garden designer I did not know much about green roof technology just a few year ago.  I thought  that a green roof was only one that was planted directly on the roofs membrane,  and that the energy saving benefits were substantial but no one could walk on it. I thought the idea was cool but didn’t really see how I could apply the principals in my work designing roof gardens and terraces for clients in New York City.  Every one hiring me lives or works in the space they are asking me to garden.  They live in a crowded city with very little grass or even trees within walking distance.  They spent a lot of money for their condo, home, office or restaurant  because it has outdoor space and they want to walk and eat and sit on it, not simple look at it. So to ask them to give up that space entirely to plants would be unthinkable.  I needed to come up with a way to combine the technologies and philosophy of the green roof with the desire to LIVE on the roof.  I believe if more city folk spent more time around trees and plants they would be a much happier bunch. And as I live with them I could see how this was going to benefit me as well.

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If putting your garden to bed outdoors depresses you, pour yourself a cup of eggnog and start planting indoors. Fill your living room with the huge blossoms of an Amaryllis or the sweet scent of the Narcissus (or paperwhites) to stave off the winter blues. (I know some hate the scent, so just open a window and enjoy the beautiful white blooms.)

Choose your Paperwhites like you would an onion,  they look quite similar. The larger, firmer bulbs will yield the best flowers. They can be planted in a low bowl that has no drainage hole by using small rocks, seashells or marbles.  Just fill the container with rocks, etc, and nestle the bulbs close to each other, burying them halfway down planting material.  Add and keep water just below the top of the rocks, don’t place it in  direct sunlight as they begin to grow and move them closer to the light ten days after they begin to sprout.

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Toxic Holiday Decorations…Stay Stylish but Safe this Season

There is nothing more beautiful than bringing nature indoors for the winter holidays. I just love those halls are decked with real holly, Ivy topiaries flanking the mantle, and mistletoe that beckons suitors to the living room.  Mmmmm, that smell….I could swear I hear reindeer and scraping on the roof.

But beware; lurking beneath the surface of all that natural beauty is an organic toxic brew. So please use caution when decorating with plant material from the garden or florist. As green, natural, and beautiful as it all, Best keep it out of reach of small children, pets and hungry guests. Many favorite holiday plants are poisonous:
Holly berries, for instance, if ingested will cause vomiting, diarrhea, and could even explain the stupor Uncle Sal is in the easy chair. You can’t always blame the eggnog. Or your your cooking for that matter.  Ivy foliage, contains saponins, which, if chewed on, can cause a burning sensation in the throat and gastronomical eruptions that could render the downstairs bathroom unusable.

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I have never done a garden for a Garden Show before so why I decided to do my first one 3000 miles from my home and business is questionable at best … more like CRAZY. Even odder is that I decided not to do (more…)