Metropolitan Gardening

A ndrea Bellamy is an earth goddess. She writes one of the hottest organic horticulture and gardening blogs in the free world, is a mom, is the author of a new book, and is a g uerrilla  g ardener. Let's go to the interview. “ MG: Andrea - what was the critical incident that got you interested in guerrilla gardening? ANDREA: Good question. It wasn’t for lack of space to garden, because at the time I was renting a house with a sizable backyard. And it wasn’t because my city – Vancouver, BC – was over-run with pavement. Vancouver is actually very green (the City even encourages people to plant in traffic circles and on boulevards). I had read about seed bombs online – specifically, how in New York City, they were used in 1973’s revitalization of the Bowery neighbourhood and the development of the city’s first community garden – and I just thought it sounded like a great project. That’s when we started the Vancouver Guerrilla Gardening Group. A group seed bomb making workshop was

 L uke was nice enough to say hello during the busiest day of the year at the Union Square Farmer's Market NYC. These photos were taken at the River Farms booth where we could barely could say a word because of the sales traffic. I did my Turkey day shopping and picked up multicolored carrots a wonderful cranberry chutney some 5 varieties of potatoes and a bird all locally grown. I even broke down and bought some yummy looking pies. It was a cool crisp day and a wonderful shopping experience. Hopefully more will be forthcoming regarding the Farmers Market and Metropolitan Gardening. Stay tuned for some holiday cheer and Happy Thanksgiving!

FISKARS HD TITANIUM RACHET DRIVE PRUNER W hen I saw this amazing pruner in a retail bin I thought to myself - "I have to have that thing". It's rare for me to so want something that I would buy it on impulse - but it's a stunning design. I've used the HD model in educational setting to obtain tree clippings for plant ID. It slices through stout branches with ease. I've used it on Japanese Knotweed to clip thick stems as well as on other invasive vines to remove them from a host plant. The action of the pruner is effortless. The tool has a good heft and balance and the grip is a knurled plastic that is steady in gloved or ungloved hands. Sigh.... and the bottle opener.... pure genius. However unglamorous some aspects of gardening are - this pruner is sexy!

G enevieve Schmidt started her gardening career in urban San Fransisco - She made her way into the suburban landscaping business and has been designing coiffed exquisite private gardens these last few years. My reason for  interviewing was her candor surrounding some of the more dangerous aspects of urban gardening - well that and she's easy to chat with. The last few weeks has left Gen with a bit of a cold and we are lucky to have this interview as the end of the season rush is on.  “ MG: what is the most difficult thing about gardening in an urban environment?   Genevieve: For me, it was always having to be careful about where I put my hands. Knowing that there might be sharps, broken glass, feces or other detritus that I needed to look out for made it hard to work smoothly in more public areas of the city. I remember feeling great pride to be on a crew out at Grace Cathedral, until we found an un-capped needle in the groundcover. Sorta took the wind out of my sails. MG: What

Perennials and Gazing Balls C ara Dafforn runs U-Relish Farm in Indianapolis. Metropolitan Gardening got a chance to interview her over the last few days and found that she had an urban garden as well as the farm. In the garden she has five raised beds and a perenial patch as well as a three tree orchard. A pear and two apples. She explained that the last few years has been tough but she's making lemonade and keeping her spirits up by gardening and working on her farm.

D usty Gedge is the punk rock of green roofs. He's put green roofs on Barclays Tower in London and the Komodo Dragon House at London Zoo. He is a leader in the UK in the promotion and development of green roofs... and perhaps the emerging go to consultant for euro policy and planning on the matter.    and ... and... and... he juggles. Dusty sent us this link to a training film on green roofs to share - GREAT INTRODUCTION TO GREEN ROOFS! Metropolitan Gardening caught up with Dusty while he was in Istanbul doing a wildlife adventure and asked Mr. Gedge a few questions recently. MG:What made you think to integrate juggling and green roof training? Dusty: not sure about but juggling is a system and we are interested in eco system services - there is an analogy there - i think! MG:Do you have any patents? What innovations you have seen over the years? Dusty: Don't have patents as I not very commercially minded! Innovations - there aren't really any innovations - this is

Jose Rodriguez keeps a plot of land in the south Bronx near an overpass. There's a  wave of vehicles rushing past - the traffic streams by with the sound of  a constant wind. The garden is dry - Jose explains that this was the driest season he has ever seen. "I think they broke something in the sky." Jose has a wry grin on his face - his eyes are mischievous. The Bronx farmer harvests white beans, peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes., melon, squash, eggplant and pumpkins here. "People don't believe I have a garden here in the Bronx - but they gave me a permit and I built this house" He waves at a small gazebo. " I built this the way they wanted it.. They wanted to be able to see inside from the outside."