Urban Rooftop Gardens
Gardening by the Yard : Episode GBY-1305 Walk the jungle streets of New York City and you'll find the lack of land doesn't stop city gardeners. No yard? No problem! Options include window boxes, tree beds, vines up a fire escape, ornamentals along sidewalks or steps and rooftop gardens. From Seattle to Soho, Barbara Hobens Feldt is the go-to gal when it comes to urban gardening. So, what's the trick to rooftop gardening? Containers, she says. From vegetables to herbs, perennials and annuals, what you can grow atop a roof is only limited by the elements. And, while cramped city living can be a drawback to humans, most plants don’t mind cozying up. "Plants love to be together. They love the closeness and the overlapping—they actually seem to thrive on it," says Barbara. Because a lot of rooftops get full sun, it's keeping your plants moist that proves a challenge. Barbara recommends putting your finger into the soil to check for moisture. Vegetables in particular need to be kept moist, but because they love sun, a rooftop is the perfect place for them. To keep the veggies company, sun-loving perennials and annuals make a colorful addition while attracting beneficial insects. "You can add almost any flower to your garden," says Barbara. But you aren't completely limited to sun-loving plants. "Even on a rooftop, there are an incredible number of microclimates," says Barbara. "Shifting a plant in front or behind can move it from full sun to partial shade and give it exactly what they want."
Shade takes on a whole new meaning in the city. "When you have shade, you don't have dappled shade from a lightly flowing tree. You have major shade created by buildings," says Barbara. But even the complete shade created by a building can support lush woodland-type plantings. Japanese painted ferns or hostas can liven up a concrete jungle. If container gardening is your rooftop choice, there are a few tricks to remember—starting with weight considerations. Plastic containers are useful because they don't add a lot of weight to your roof. Mobility is important, too. A saucer on wheels will make it convenient to rearrange plants based on their specific needs. Be sure to check for holes in containers. You need enough holes for proper drainage, but not too many or the container won't retain moisture. Lacing pieces of broken terra cotta on the bottom will help to keep soil in place and allow drainage. The type of soil you use also adds weight. Try a soil-less mix that's part perlite and part vermiculite. "It's fluffy, it's happy and it won't add a lot of weight to your roof deck," says Barbara. She adds compost to her containers along with the soil, so as the plant roots grown downward they get an extra boost of nutrition.
Barbara chooses to plant rosemary (an annual in New York City) for its beauty and benefit as an herb. She adds Japanese grass, a sweet potato plant for color and texture and a small vine. She tops it off with some mulch to conserve water and hold down weeds. A container like this one will last until the first snow in December.
Growing a Hillside City Garden
Gardening by the Yard : Episode GBY-1306 To see pictures, click link:
There are plenty of ups and downs to gardening—especially if you live on a hillside. If that garden is located in the middle of Manhattan, there's even more to cherish. Author Barbara Hobens Feldt explains how she made this uphill battle seem like it's all downhill. Challenges common to all gardening include getting good soil, adequate sunshine and water. The critical factor with hillside gardening is stabilizing the soil, so it's good to start with a plan.
"Like in other forms of gardening, no matter where you are, grouping your plants and choosing the ones that work together is vital," she says. "Not just in the beauty of it but for the practical purpose of it. You don't want to waste water or have the soil erode, but you do want to keep the nutrients where they are."Plant selection and diversity are key. Much like the netting you see along freeways that hold rocks in place, deep-rooted plants do a great job of holding themselves upright and keeping the hillside stable. But even shallow roots can work wonders at inhibiting topsoil from eroding. Feldt suggests using a little of both. Groundcovers, like shrubs and flowering perennials, are especially wonderful because they'll grow to capture the moisture and stop erosion. Besides being smart about what they plant, hillside gardeners are also smart about how they plant. "The best way to make your hillside work for you is to terrace, and the way you do that is to literally trench and add," says Feldt.
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To form her terrace, Hobens Feldt uses heavy granite blocks. She digs into the soil at an almost 90-degree angle and positions the block in nice and tight, creating two level planes as she spreads the dirt. With plants now on a flat surface, watering becomes more efficient. Instead of flowing downward and forming a gully, rain water and irrigation has a chance to percolate through the soil and hydrate the plants. "The most important issue with hillside gardening is to be able to keep the moisture where you want it—at the plants." With a cherry tree she planted, the wood chip mulch was washed away due to runoff, prompting her to create a "moat" around the plant.
Moats around trees should be as big around as the tree's canopy and reinforced with the displaced soil. They'll be shallower at the top than on their downhill lips because this is where most of the erosion happens. Test out your moat by filling the ditch with water. Reinforce weak spots and catch potential leaks with this test run.Next, a thick layer of mulch—only on the lower (downhill) side of the plant—strengthens the moat. The area closest to the tree doesn't need to be mulched if it already has a natural surrounding leaf cover.
To finish your hillside garden, don't be afraid to use design element. The lopsided landscape may prove a challenge, but as long as benches are stable and paths are level, there's no danger of things toppling over. Another way to stabilize your garden is to incorporate rocks. Boulders can inhibit erosion because of their size and also add interest to the space. Little rocks shouldn't be underestimated; they can wall off dirt just as well. If you have an extreme slope, you may have to take extreme measures to garden on the edge. It may involve major earth-moving or adding a retaining wall. Whether you plant annuals or perennials on the hillside, make sure you use plants that are well suited for the environment. Having durable plants to begin with considerably increases your chances of success.
GUEST: Barbara Hobens Feldt
Author
Website: www.gardenyourcity.com
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