Plants at last

Last week's soil prep...

This morning, before I got there, the HWV crew arranged 450 perennials on the two cleared median beds.

Above: gardening in a time of Swine Flu. Or six lanes of traffic, take your pick. Two gardeners, Dan above, and Nicole below - who has been gardening for us for a month to see how she likes it as a career change - opted for masks. The rest of us found the air quite invigorating.

Halfway through planting we were surprised by the smiling Joseph, above, with a tray of iced cokes. He had brought them over from Chickpea, the newish, rather corporate falafel franchise on our block. We had never met him before, and he thanked us for greening and offered us a free lunch, which we accepted happily. Falafel and hummus in pita was an excellent way to reload. Thank you, Chickpea!

Ranks of echinacea. Please say a plant prayer for our perennials: let nobody yank them out and steal them. Let nobody stomp them. In July let there be a mass of pink blooms with orange centers. Let there be butterflies.

Note that we feed our plants only bottled water. Nothing else is good enough.

Hm. Yes. Watering was not easy. Lots of griping. This was the most innovative way we had of getting a lot of water from our offices to the median.

We found traffic to be remarkably considerate. Vehicles merely tapped us, stopping short of ramming.

Actually, again we had lots of encouragement. Two cops cars offered their compliments, so did Con Ed trucks and a sanitation truck. In fact, the sense I got was one of bonding with the civil service. The city workers. We were perceived as part of that body, and it was enlightening. On a frontline, together.

A passing sanitation truck actually stopped and collected our trash for us. And thanked us. And we thanked them...

The itea (sweetspire), in bud. Itea prayer: please let them not be stolen.

Iceberg roses, below, with catnip and geraniums beneath, and very vulnerable gaura, just breaking dormancy.

Watering will continue to be a headache for the first few weeks, but water them we must. The city truck will be able to water them sporadically, and I chose some tough plants.

For now we hope for the promised rain. Nothing could be better.

5/1/2009: click here for day-after update.
7/2/2009: and two months later...
8/04/2009: the hyssop heist