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Apr 4, 2021

The Perseverance of New York City’s Wildflowers - The New York Times

Although cornflowers herald springtime now, they were not here hundreds of years ago, before colonizers forcibly displaced the Lenape people from their ancestral land of Lenapehoking, which encompasses New Jersey, Delaware and parts of Connecticut, Pennsylvania and New York State. The Lenape knew spring by another bloom: white tufts of flowers from the serviceberry tree, which powder its branches like snow in April. Today, serviceberries still bloom in Brooklyn, in both Prospect Park and John Paul Jones Park.A wildflower can refer to any flowering plant that was not cultivated, intentionally planted or given human aid, yet it still managed to grow and bloom. This is one of several definitions offered by the plant ecologist Donald J. Leopold in Andrew Garn’s new photo book “Wildflowers of New York City,” and one that feels particularly suited to the city and its many transplants.Scarlet bee balm.Yellow wood sorrel growing by the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and Battery Weed fort, in Staten Island, N.Y.Hedge bindweed and rose of Sharon by the ConEd plant on Avenue D, in Manhattan.Butterfly weed.Mr. Garn did not intend for “Wildflowers of New York City” to be a traditional field guide for identifying flowers. Rather, his reverent portraits invite us to delight in the beauty of flowers that we more often encounter in a sidewalk crack than in a bouquet. “They all share a beauty of form and function that offers testimony to the glory of survival in the big city,” Mr. Garn writes. He asks us to stop and consider the sprouts we might pass every day and appreciate them not just for their beauty, but also for their ability to thrive.More than 2,000 species of plants are found in New York City, more than half of which are naturalized, Mr. Garn writes. Some were imported for their beauty; ornate shrubs such as the buttercup winterhazel, star magnolia and peegee hydrangea all reached North America for the first time in a single shipment to the Parsons & Sons Nursery in Flushing in 1862.Others came as stowaways, as the writer Allison C. Meier notes in the book’s introduction. In the 19th century, the botanist Addison Brown scoured t...

Feb 1, 2021

City growing its own flowers for spring planting - The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel

Sherbenou said. “We have taken over the planter bed maintenance over at Las Colonias. So there is a lot more square footage that we have for planter beds with Las Colonias and soon Dos Rios will also be in that same boat.”In addition to providing more plantings this year, Sherbenou said the city’s ultimate plan is to expand the Western Colorado Botanical Gardens at Las Colonias, which would include a demonstration garden and greenhouses, as well as more plantings. “We have in our Parks, Recreation and Open Space (PROS) Master Plan some very ambitious plans to expand the Western Colorado Botanical Gardens,” Sherbenou said. “There is some content in there about expanding the gardens and connecting the existing footprint of the Botanical Gardens that’s operated by STRiVE and tying it to the small amphitheater that is there as well as building some greenhouse in the area near the Edgewater Brewery.”Sherbenou credited his staff with finding innovative ways to increase their capacity, especially Horticulture, Irrigation and Turf Parks Supervisor Joe Brown, who has experience growing plant material for the Denver Botanical Gardens, Denver Zoo and Denver parks. He said finding ways to provide more for less is something they pride themselves in.“I love it because I think it really epitomizes what we’re all about,” Sherbenou said. “We’re about stretching our resources as far as possible to provide the best service to the community.”For more information on the Botanical Gardens plan, Sherbenou said to visit gjcity.org where the PROS Master Plan is available. #inform-video-player-3 .inform-embed { margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 20px; } ...

Feb 1, 2021

Winter blooming native plants | The Real Dirt - Chico Enterprise-Record

However, plants native to California (meaning that they were present prior to the arrival of European explorers and colonists) have adapted to this climate with a variety of strategies that allow them to live with no water for long periods of time. One of these strategies is to bloom and grow during the rainy season and go dormant during the hottest part of the summer.‘The Real Dirt’ is a column by various local master gardeners who are part of the UC Master Gardeners of Butte County. Manzanitas (scientific name Arctostaphylos) are one group of California natives utilizing this strategy. Their small, urn-shaped flowers, appearing during winter, range from white to pink and are followed by reddish fruits resembling tiny apples. In fact, the word manzanita is Spanish for “little apple.” Manzanita flowers are a good source of food for bees, butterflies and hummingbirds, and many other birds eat the fruit. Manzanitas come in a wide variety of sizes and growth habits, from groundcover to tree-like, but all are evergreen, with leathery leaves and smooth, mahogany-colored bark providing year-round interest. They generally require good drainage, enough space around them to allow for good air circulation, and little to no summer water. The cultivar “Howard McMinn” is a manzanita that does very well in home ga...

Sep 7, 2020

Historically Speaking: Florists a big part of Dover - Seacoastonline.com

Masons, Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, and a relatively exclusive organization, the Society of the Colonial Wars (perhaps the male equivalent of the Daughters of the American Revolution?).In 1921, Howe sold the business to Elwill Shortridge, a prominent Dover entrepreneur, owner of the C.E. Brewster Co., wholesale druggists, which was located in a building at the corner of Chestnut and Fourth streets, now the site of St. Mary's Parish Hall. At one time Shortridge also served as president of Merchants National Bank and president of the Dover Realty Co. He and his wife, who had been Ada Massingham, lived at 4 West Concord St., and he remained active in the business until his death in 1946. Ada then took over and with her nephew, Tom Massingham, managed the operation until her death in 1958.Tom Massingham had been born in England, but at age 5 was sent by his family to Dover to live with the Shortridges. As a young man he worked in the business, served in World War II, and upon his return and at Ada's death, became the owner of the Garrison Hill Greenhouses. In 1950, he was one of the first to construct a building on the nascent Miracle Mile, at what was then called Page's corner, opposite Glenwood Avenue. It was originally intended to be a retail flower and gift shop, but on Nov. 25-26 Mother Nature intervened at the Garrison Hill site with close to hurricane force winds that shattered greenhouse glass, entirely uprooting one building which landed on another, and causing an estimated $50,000 damage, well over a half million dollars in today's money.As a result, production at that location was limited and a much-reduced greenhouse space was grafted on to the building at Central Avenue. Over time the original greenhouse structures were dismantled and removed, the space eventually covered by apartment buildings, and the only reminder we have of what was there is the name of the street, Floral Avenue. (The business remains in operation, however, with the next generation, Thomas Massingham as owner, located in the small plaza at the corner of Chestnut and Fourth streets.)This was not the only florist operation in town. Recently we mentioned the Elliott Greenhouses set back some distance from the Dover Point Road (the location of the present Ponte Place development). This was a major producer of roses, with a national, even international, clientele. For a time there was a retail store, Thornwood, in the building now occupied by Patty B's restaurant.Bob and Barbara ...