Notes from Around Town: GreenBranches Learning Garden at Stone Avenue Library

On July 10, 2008, there was a special little ceremony to celebrate the partnership between The Horticultural Society of New York and the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation and the new sculptures out at the Stone Avenue branch of the Brooklyn Public Library. Originally opened in 1914, Stone Avenue, once called the Brownsville Children's Library, was the first public library in Brooklyn designed and opened specifically for children. As part of HSNY's GreenBranches program, the garden at Stone Avenue was designed by Marpillero Pollak Architects and installed by the HSNY Green Team during winter of 2006 and opened in spring of 2007. Today it is a beautiful and aesthetic contribution to the neighborhood as well as being a programmatic space and living classroom for the local community.
(PS. if you want, click on the photographs to enlarge them to full size)
When I arrived at lunch time I found a number of our friends and partners from Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation busy working with and teaching kids of all ages.

Meredith McNeal, Director of Education at Rush, and her class of young watercolor painters had gathered and displayed their latest creations on the benches and were having an afternoon critique. Meredith was teaching the kids about everything from artistic composition to constructive criticism, and they weren't missing a beat.

Linda Pollak, above in the striped shirt, from Marpillero Pollak Architects came out to help us celebrate and see how successfully her garden design has been adopted by the local children. You might notice the beds and benches happen to be the perfect height for a small, curious soul. Yet another genius design by Marpillero Pollak. Green Branches Learning Gardens are designed with each individual community in mind and intended to provide a long-term and sustainable benefit to that neighborhood.

Also helping us celebrate were: Gabriel Pacheco, a Brooklyn artist and educator who's handy work you will see below; Paul Levy, Stone Avenue librarian and a great friend of HSNY; and Patricia Dean who runs the Brownsville Heritage House, a must-visit on the second floor of the library.

The real cause for celebration was the completion of amazing, one-of-a-kind wooden sculptures conceptualized and realized by Brooklyn teens under the supervision of Gabriel Pacheco. You see, before the winter of 2006 this exterior space behind the library had been heavily shaded by a number of Ailanthus altissima, commonly called tree of heaven. For those of you that know this tree, you know they grow like wildfire and are known to seed themselves everywhere they are not welcome, so HSNY made the decision to remove them. The result was a tremendous addition of sun that could then be utilized for growing a wide range of flowering annuals and perennials, including some very well-received tomatoes and basil. With the intention to recycle and use as much as possible in the garden, it was then decided that this would be a perfect opportunity to teach the kids a new art form, namely wood carving. Gabriel sat down with the teens and together they conceptualized how each trunk could be transformed and brought back to life. Over two months last year and one month this year the kids worked their hearts out, as did Gabriel, and created a total of five sculptures now permanently on display behind Stone Avenue.
A year later the teens posted their original drawings on the new shade structure in back and talked us through the creative process.
Gabriel and the students found many gallons of paint that could be recycled and cut up over 200 aluminum cans to add both color and and shiny metal adornments to these unique pieces of art.
Here two chess pieces were created to stand tall behind the raised beds overflowing with perennials coming into full flower.
One young woman had in mind an arrow piercing a broken heart, and thanks to the HSNY garden space and the guidance from those at Rush, she was able to make it a reality she is extremely proud of. The more we talked the more she pointed out to me how each sculpture was individual yet spoke to a common theme, the power of both mind and body. I began to see the peices in a whole new light and they became even more amazing to me.

Needless to say we here at HSNY are all extremely proud too. We couldn't be more proud of this garden that the local community can call their own, proud of this amazing partnership with our friends at Rush, and proud of the creative youth who are so uninhibited and inspirational. Bravo!

To learn more about HSNY and our various outreach programs, as well as information about becoming a member and helping to support these necessary efforts to improve the quality of life in New York through horticulture, visit our website, HSNY.org.

Planting bulbs and microclimates (A Word of Thanks)

(lily-flowered tulips like these 'Queen of Sheba' were among the many different varieties of tulips and daffoldils planted at the 96th Street branch of the New York Public Library by local teenagers)

Yesterday I had one of those days that reminded me why it is so important that we do what we do here at The Horticultural Society.

As people were bundled up and ducking inside or underground to avoid the cold and falling snow I was preparing to do just the opposite. Melissa Fisher, Director of our GreenBranches program, was busy installing a new GreenBranches learning garden out in Whitestone, Queens, and she had asked for my help. As part of our GreenBranches programming we plant bulbs in the fall with young children and teenagers at a number of our library gardens throughout the city. The recent weather was keeping the Whitestone installation on a tight schedule and Melissa had phoned to ask if I could run the workshop planting bulbs with teens up at the 96th Street branch of the New York Public Library here in Manhattan. Luckily my schedule for the afternoon was free of meetings so I said, “of course”, got the details from Melissa, and was on my way.

Well, as the afternoon rolled on I must admit I began to get nervous. I began to fear that the ground would be too frozen to plant, and I wondered what I was going to do with the hundreds of tulips and daffodils. The workshop was scheduled from 3:30 to 5:00pm and as the temperature continued to drop I then feared that no teens would even show in the first place. Certainly the looks of complete bafflement I received from the bundled commuters didn’t help, but I continued to swim upstream with my big bag of tools and reinforced steel shovel.

I arrived at the 96th Street Library, and it was amazing how my fears began to melt away. It was actually my first time at the 96th Street branch and entering the small backyard garden it looked so beautiful with the fresh dusting of snow on the evergreens. I always refer to our GreenBranches gardens as real oases here in the city, and this was no exception. I pulled a trowel from my bag took a stab at a piece of barren soil between a rose and some bergenia. To my surprise the ground was soft and the trowel penetrated the soil easily. I stood back and began to laugh to myself. Of course, I thought, microclimates! How could I have been so foolish?!

In the midst of getting myself worked up I had forgotten one of the basics. Here in the city we always have to consider microclimates. To understand microclimates in the city we have to take into account all the abiotic factors here in the city that might affect our gardens. Abiotic factors are nonliving, often man-made factors that affect our natural environment. For example the positioning of a terrace on the 20th floor that faces the water might be much colder and windier than your typical garden plot on the ground. Equally so, a backyard garden surrounded by large heated buildings might have slightly warmer soil temperatures compared to if it were out in the open. Microclimates are not to be thought of as being good or bad, but we certainly must consider them when discussing or performing urban horticulture. In this case the presence of a microclimate was to our advantage.

A few minutes later I was happily proven wrong a second time as a number of young teens joined me outside and asked what we were going to be doing for the afternoon. Wired on their large cups of hot chocolate these kids were amazing. After explaining what bulbs are and how they grow the boys and girls couldn’t wait to get planting. We laid out the bulbs, tulips and daffodils to flower from early- to late-spring, and we all got busy planting. Eventually the darkness forced us to quit for the evening, but not before we planted a couple hundred bulbs in this little oasis behind 96th Street. I was reminded how fearless kids can be and I felt I was learning just as much as they were. Furthermore it reminded me of the power and value of horticulture here in the city, and how important it is that we engage everyone to make this a greener, healthier, and happier place. I know those kids will be keeping a close eye on the GreenBranches garden at 96th Street, and I can’t wait to hear and see their reaction next spring. Even more I can't wait for those kids to continue to learn and grow, knowing how they will influence others to embrace horticulture in our city. Thank you to the amazing staff at the 96th Street library, the kids who now know and care about the importance of gardens and plants, and all the members and supporters of HSNY who make these programs possible.

Recent Press: GreenBranches Learning Gardens

This morning Kate Chura, HSNY Vice President, passed on to me these fabulous articles written recently about our GreenBranches Learning Gardens. Please read and enjoy the following articles and be sure to click on the accompanying photography.

To read the article that appeared on LibraryJournal.com, click here.

To read the LJ Insider blog entry by author Raya Kuzyk, click here.

And also, thank you to all the HSNY members as well as members of the HSNY Board of Directors who came last evening to our 105th Annual Meeting of The Horticultural Society of New York. It was a pleasure to give you updates and insights into all of our various community outreach programs, services, and resources. We loved having you all here, including of course our guest speaker, Deirdre Larkin, Associate Manager of Horticulture at the Cloisters branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, another tremendously faithful HSNY member. We were honored and thrilled to have Deirdre here to discuss and share with us the intricacies and brilliance of the Cloisters gardens as well as her visions for moving "Forward into the Past". So, again, thank you all for coming last night and supporting HSNY!

Red Hook Goes Green

If you are not already aware, I want to tell you about some great green steps being made down in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Every Thursday and every Saturday from now until mid-November there is a farmers market in Red Hook put on by the folks at Added Value. Added Value is an organization that runs a 2.75 acre urban farm down in Red Hook, powered by devoted staff, volunteers, and the youth of the community. They grow an unbelievable crop of fruits and veggies that are sold at these markets and to local restaurants.

On Thursdays the market is held in front of the Red Hook Senior Center, at 6 Wolcott Street, from 10am to 2pm. (On Saturdays the market is held at the farm on Columbia and Beard Street). While you are there you can also see the new garden being installed for the seniors and local community by The Horticultural Society of New York.

The raised beds planted with tomatoes and peppers this spring are literally overflowing with foliage and bushels of produce gathered and eaten by the folks at the Senior Center.
We also use the gardens to educate the young of the community. Here these young men and women were spreading compost from the Added Value community farm and checking on the status of the crop.
In the afternoon John Cannizzo, HSNY staff member and leader of the GreenTeam, showed up to help teach some young interns the finer details urban gardening. In addition to planting and plant care, John also incorporates into every garden his knowledge of masonry and woodworking skills. Here they were working on mixing cement and laying the footings for a number of new benches and seating to be installed in the garden.

As you enter the garden at the Senior Center you are welcomed by a large Buddleja, or butterfly bush. Loving full sun, this woody shrub becomes covered with these gorgeous panicles of blossoms from mid to late summer that are roughly 4-6 inches in length. Over many years the shrub can get leggy and need pruning, but the flower always seems to be a hit with humans and butterflies alike.

While you are in Red Hook, you also have to make sure that you visit our GreenBranches Learning Garden at the Red Hook Public Library right across the street from the Senior Center. Designed and installed by HSNY a number of years ago, this garden is one of many throughout Brooklyn, Bronx, Manhattan, and Queens, where we lead demonstrations and workshops on different horticultural topics.
For more images and information on our GreenBranches Learning Gardens, including great before and after shots, check out our website: http://www.hsny.org/html/GreenBranches.htm

GreenBranches Article in the Wall Street Journal

In case you have not yet seen it, there is a fabulous article in the May 17th Wall Street Journal about one our community outreach program GreenBranches. Simply click on, or cut and paste, the following URL to your web browser and enjoy:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117935614120405460.html?mod=weekend_leisure_banner_left

For those of you that are members and supporters of HSNY, thank you so much for making programs such as GreenBranches a success. For those of you who are not members but are interested in supporting us as we strive to green and brighten local communities all over the city, we ask that you become a member today. Membership information and a secure membership form can be filled out at:

http://www.hsny.org/html/membership.htm

Thank you!

HSNY Children's Learning Garden at Stone Public Library, Brooklyn

On Thursday, May 3, 2007 The Horticultural Society of New York together with the City Gardens Club of New York dedicated the newest GreenBranches Learning Garden at Stone Public Library in Brownsville, Brooklyn. The creation of a beautiful garden space at the Stone Avenue Branch marks the second time in four years that The City Gardens Club of New York City and The Horticultural Society of New York have collaborated together on a major project.

Opened in 1914 as the Brownsville Children's Library, the Stone Avenue Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library was the world's first library devoted exclusively towards young readers. The Horticultural Society of New York began the GreenBranches program in 1996 because it recognized that the outdoor space around libraries in New York is an unrealized resource for creating green space in urban areas and teaching neighborhood communities about the natural world around them. GreenBranches designs, installs, and maintains high-quality gardens around branch libraries in neighborhoods in New York City. The designers are sensitive to the architecture and history of the neighborhood and work with the local community to include their ideas in the garden design. Designs incorporate hardy, drought-resistant and low maintenance plant material to ensure the longevity and sustainability of these gardens and provide years of enjoyment for the local community. After installation, HSNY continues to maintain and provide educational and healing programs in the gardens for children and adults of all ages.

to learn more about GreenBranches, as well as our other community outreach programs, visit our website at http://www.hsny.org