SPRING FOR ORANGE AND PURPLE

I  bought and planted tulip bulbs Oct.'12 then promptly forgot what I had ordered. Rather than paw through my files I waited to see what would emerge. Turns out they were a rather dull, pale yellow;  I found it hard to believe that I had chosen such an insipid color.
But wait, after a week, the color started to turn, 'Daydreamer' Giant Darwin Hybrids in their full glory. The original color was paler than the stem on the left below; the color deepens as the flower matures giving each container a riotous look.

I have 7 containers on my roof garden, splashy enough to attract attention.
Purple and orange seems to be my theme this year, as the Muscari bloom in the tree pits along with pansies, daffs, and more tulips.

And around the neighborhood in my favorite window boxes, another designer chose Ranunculus and pansies...

and another gardener with hyacinths to enhance the front door color.

I hope none of these get ripped out, like four plants at my bus stop, below. This building opted to plant full pots of spring bulbs already in flower, not fall bulbs whose roots might grip the soil making it harder for thieves.

Back to my 'Daydreamer' on the roof with sumac 'Tiger Eye' waiting to leaf out.

west coast window boxes

No, this isn't NYC.

I'm sorry you've been stuck with two out-of-town posts in a row, dear readers, but now is when professional gardeners travel...before the time comes for planting pansies and heavy lifting.

I high-tailed it to the west coast last Sunday, where spring has most definitely already sprung. This morning, Cayce and I tweaked the window boxes in front of a truly wonderful restaurant in SanFran: Sons & Daughters. They have 25 feet of container display in front of the restaurant and Cayce keeps it beautiful all year long. She rotates plants in and out as needed, and I'm amazed it looks this good. In NYC I'm afraid passers-by would pluck from the boxes; street plantings everywhere have to be tough.

That's not all Cayce does for Sons & Daughters. Twice a week she harvests edible flowers, microgreens, herbs, and delicacies like baby radishes and white alpine strawberries, and brings them into the restaurant.

When we ate there on Monday night (a most memorable meal), she pointed out her visible (borage flowers) and invisible (agastache infused oil) contributions. The lamb, by the way, was superb and the tasting menu with wine pairing is a parade of deliciousness that won't break the bank.


As we harvested calendula, pansies, arugula flowers, and cornflowers in the rain this morning, I realized how ready I am to get back to the gratifying work of planting. New York City, get ready. It's time.

It's not too late!

Here we are in the middle of June. Have you planted anything yet? Don't panic...it's not too late to start an herb garden in a window box.

One of the advantages of growing your herbs in a window box is that they can be placed conveniently near the kitchen (outside the kitchen window, on the stoop, hanging from the back fence.) The closer and easier your herbs are to pinch, the more often you'll find yourself reaching for a fragrant leaf or two.

If you're just getting started now, buy small plants instead of seeds for an earlier harvest. Most garden centers and farmers' markets sell herbs in 4" pots. Allow each herb six inches of growing space. In other words, if you have a 24" window box, you can plant 4 herbs; a 36" window box has space for 6 herbs.

Be sure you group herbs together that require the same growing conditions. For full sun try basil, thyme, sage, dill, parsley, cilantro, or fennel. A part shade location is fine for rosemary, bay leaf, chives, or lemon verbena. (These herbs can also take full sun.)

A word of warning: If you have your heart set on oregano or mint, DO NOT include them in a window box with other herbs. Oregano and mint, while delicious, don't play well with others. They'll quickly take over any container they're planted in, so give them their own pots.

The first step is to cover the drainage holes in the bottom of your window box with pottery shards or pieces of screening or landscape cloth. This prevents soil from running out the holes. If your window box doesn't have drainage holes, now is the time to drill them: 1/2 inch holes every six inches should do the trick.

Add enough soil to the bottom of the box so that when the herbs are in place, the top of the soil will be an inch or two below the rim of the box; this helps prevent messy spill-overs when you water. Be sure to maintain the original planting level of the herbs: don't expose the roots by planting too high or cover the stem by planting too low.

Take your herbs out of their pots, or, if they're in biodegradable peat pots, peel off the top edge so whatever is left will be below the soil. If you leave the peat pot exposed to the air it will wick moisture away from the root ball, where it's needed.

Place your herbs to see how you like the arrangement, then plant, firming in the soil around the roots as you go. You want each herb's roots to make good contact with the soil. The final step is to water, which you should do thoroughly! Thoroughly means until water runs out the bottom of the window box. This run-off tells you the entire volume of soil has been saturated.

How often you have to water your window box will depend on how hot it is, how sunny it is, and how much it rains! In the middle of summer, you might need to water every day. This self-watering window box is from Gardener's Supply and the reservoir holds enough water to get you through 3-7 days, depending on the weather. It's a reliable and effective labor saving device and I recommend them to anyone who likes to take a long weekend off in the summer without worrying about who's going to water the herb garden.