It's What's Missing that Matters

What's missing above are the fennel seeds. Unfortunately they weren't harvested for salads or sausages, which is something maybe we ought to consider doing more consistently with our wild fennel down at Floyd Bennett. It might mean a little less weeding in future seasons. As weedy plants go, fennel has its good points for sure. It's edible and it attracts pollinators and it's pretty in foliage and flower, but it gets big enough in a garden plot to shade out smaller vegetables that were planted for harvest and it's incredibly successful at spreading itself around, particularly in the hot all-day sun down at Floyd Bennett. You know if you can't beat them, you might as well eat them.

Beneath a Sweetgum in Winter

I'm not sure whether I fell in love with the Sweetgum for its amazing fall color or simply because it's so easy to identify with its distinctive pretty star-shaped leaves and spiky fruit. But it's a favorite and native to boot. Above, the dried fruit, which should be empty of seeds now in the snow, and below the remains of its star-shaped leaf as seen on a winter's walk in Prospect Park, Brooklyn.

Moments of Being

Fleeting color in a moment of new growth: above, Rhododendron maximum, Brooklyn Botanic Native Flora Garden, and below, a rose in the Rose Arc






























My camera records the date and time of photographs for me, so it's possible to report the exact unrepeatable moment in my life and the life of each of these plants that is here on this page. It's probably not necessary though. Suffice it to say that I was a lucky witness to a stage in growth in the moment and these are among the minutes that a life and a garden are made of. Just looking back to the past and forward to the spring in this winter moment.



Japanese Maple samaras in a moment of wind above and looking down at a star in the spring growth of Joe Pye Weed in the Native Flora Garden, Brooklyn Botanic.

Lachenalia

Ever since the afternoon in fall when I was introduced to the Lachenalia in the potting room by Carla, I've been waiting to see it bloom and today was that lucky day. Brooklyn Botanic has more than a few species of Lachenalia in its collection, but I think the one pictured here is Lachenalia mutabilis, which has variable colors as it blooms. I was so excited to see it this afternoon in the Warm Temperate Pavilion that I forgot to look for a label. I only helped out with the repotting, but it's always exciting to see something bloom that you once held as a tiny bulb in your hands. It's also amazing to think about what it takes to get this species to bloom here in winter, so far from and in such a different climate than its native habitat in South Africa. You can only catch them blooming inside here in New York and if like me, you lack your own conservatory or enough light and space to grow things indoors, you'll appreciate seeing them at Brooklyn Botanic's.

Foraged Winter Bouquet

One vase in water holds the Ivy (Hedera sp.) with leaves and all. Another dry, with only the fruits. An experiment with a foraged bouquet from outside of Susan's studio at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where the ivy had nearly reached the top of a London Plane tree. Two days later, the leaves in water seem to have held up well. I guess that's not surprising for a plant widely considered to be an especially agressive species in our country. An interesting form of entertainment this cold icy winter in New York City or a rather desperate one? I guess it's how you choose to look at it.






















Fruit of ivy in winter, Brooklyn Navy Yard