-
Recent Posts
Categories
Archives
- April 2017
- August 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- December 2015
- November 2014
- July 2014
- February 2014
- December 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- July 2013
- February 2013
- November 2012
- October 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
Meta
Category Archives: Design
Manhattan Rooftop Terroir
Today I enjoyed the first rooftop asparagus of the season, which of course raised the knotty question of Manhattan rooftop terroir. Let’s start with the question of what terroir is: the unique, organoleptic qualities associated with food and drink from … Continue reading
Tribute in Light
It is rare for a memorial to be perfectly calibrated to the nature of the tragedy it marks. The elegant Stone of Remembrance designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens for the British World War I cemeteries is a notable example. … Continue reading
Posted in Design, Photos, Seen From the Battery Rooftop Garden
3 Comments
Allotments
In the UK in the years before Margaret Thatcher whipped things into shape, there was not very much that the Battery Rooftop Gardener, then an American graduate student first discovering England, found worthy of emulation. But I remember being deeply … Continue reading
Posted in Design, Urban Agriculture and Food Policy
3 Comments
Hic sunt dracones
Or, “Here be dragons,” for those readers whose Latin is a bit rusty. Yes, right here at Battery Rooftop Garden, on the 35th floor in the heart of downtown Manhattan. Spotted and photographed by Jeremy Law, this dragon is a … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiversity, Design, Wildlife
1 Comment
Bugs on the Roof: Pollinator Diversity
Visitors to BRTG could be forgiven for thinking that some late-night fresh-mint-mojito-fueled madness had resulted in the plastic drinks cups scattered across the garden, curiously half-buried in the soil: But they would be wrong. One of the arguments for urban green roofs is … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiversity, Design, Soil, Urban Agriculture and Food Policy, Wildlife
4 Comments
Have a seat . . .
One of the unexpected pleasures of BRTG is the unusual experience of being seated in close proximity to plants. In most ground-level gardens, we experience plants as part of an over-all composition, such as a border, or only momentarily, as we pass … Continue reading
Posted in Design, Non-edible Perennials, Ornamental Plants, Ornamental Shrubs, Parsley, Photos
1 Comment
Cold Frame!
The cold frame arrived on December 20. It is a thing of beauty, although a far cry from the traditional country cold frame, which usually consists of an old window propped up against a south wall, and a rough wooden box … Continue reading
Fall Colors on the Roof
So far so good. The Alpines in the “Secret Garden” survived the summer. Sedum album ‘Coral Carpet,’ below, puts on a brilliant fall display. The Stewartia, also a risky move for a green roof, seems to have survived the heat, … Continue reading
