Ta da! I've put a SQUARE PEG in a ROUND HOLE!

September 22, 2012

September 25, 2012

Once again, due to the upheaval in my urban (NYC) terrace garden,  I'm posting on a non-scheduled day, but I want to play catch-up so I can return to my "regularly scheduled program" on Friday, September 28th 2012.
So I'm sorry that I missed you this past Monday, dear reader, but, as you may have surmised from my last entry here on Blogger, I was still in the throes of my garden's "upset" and "make-over" —  a situation indicated by the first image above today's blog entry (which was also included in my last posting here on blogger with a narrative discussing the situation).

In any event, as of today, Wednesday September 26th, things with my garden are almost back to normal, as indicated by the second image above today's blog entry, which was taken by Juan V.

So much happened over the course of time between these two images, and for me to indulge in telling you about it might result in your feeling I've given you TMI! Still, since my aim is to give voice to what lives in (and visits) a garden, and since many of you are gardeners (or have an interest in gardening), my story about this might be interesting to you because, sooner or later, as I stated in my last Blogger entry, "everyone that gardens on a terrace or any outdoor space where they need to use containers must confront the issue," which I've tried to deal with this past week, and "that issue" is resurfacing a terrace garden's "floor." I went into detail about my preparing my garden space for the workmen to do their thing in my last entry and if you'd like to refer to this, you may do so by clicking here.

It may not seem as if it is such a big deal to move everything off of a terrace floor and into an apartment, but for those of us who live in New York City, apartment space is limited; and mine is no exception. My studio apartment measures 15 and 1/2 feet long by 9 feet, 8 inches in width. My terrace (where I have my garden) is somewhat bigger, measuring 17 feet long by 8 and 1/2 feet wide. I'm not sure what my floor to ceiling measurements are, but I don't have the highest of ceilings; and as for the "ceiling" of my terrace? Well . . . the sky's the limit! 

As you recall, I considered it fortunate that my gardner friend (Michael), who installed a garden at my local parish, is letting some of the things that I grow spend a fortnight in his garden. These include my three rose bushes, my Lemon-Lime Cypress twins, and a peony tree from Juan V. 

Taking my things to the church garden was no mean feat, for, as many of you may recall, I live in a fifth floor walk up (70 stairs). Over a number of years, I have lugged things (including trees and shrubs, as well as the containers which "house" them, and the soil they need for a good quality of life) and Michael has done the same thing as he also lives in an apartment which is a fifth floor walk up. Therefore, the transporting of these things wasn't the main problem in "allowing them" to have a "fortnight" away from their home. However, it was the fact that Michael's garden's exposure to sun is opposite of mine that was cause for concern for both of us  Will my roses survive?

The other question is will my roses behave themselves in their "temporary" surroundings? After all, they've never spent time away from "home" since arriving in my garden, and they can be quite feisty at times as evidenced by posts they have authored on my blog, including an entry which you may refer to by clicking here.

Still, there was "no room for them at the inn," as "they" say, as my place was chocked full of the things that I grow (as documented in photo-ops on my last posting).

In addition to my concern for the things which I grow, I was concerned that my visiting birds, such as Cam (the lone cardinal), house finches and mourning doves, would get discombobulated from not seeing my trees, shrubs, vines, plants and flowers. Moreover, sometimes my birds have difficulty getting food from their feeder with their beaks, so I often put their "spread" on a tray atop a table that I have in my garden, a table which of course, I had to remove and put in my apartment. 

As a result, I found myself worried about the birds' well being in the event that they should they come here for food and find none — even though I know they have other places than mine to nosh!

The disruption of maintenance work such as this took an unnecessary — but hardly unpredictable — turn when there was a discrepancy with the workers and my landlord over materials. The upshot was that all that got accomplished this past Friday was that my terrace floor was stripped of its interlocking tiles; and the surface underneath them washed; but no replacement tiles were added, for there were none to add! Moreover, since it was Friday, there was no way (supposedly) for materials to be procured, and I was looking at a weekend of having my living things in my apartment when they survive outdoors!

Fortunately, I was permitted to put down drop cloths so I could bring my "stuff" outside. I managed the smaller plants and shrubs but needed help from friends with the trees and shrubs! What a blessing it is that my friends appreciate what grows in my garden (especially Michael) and so they were willing to take my trees outside for the weekend, knowing we'd have to put everything back inside before the workers came at their "scheduled" time of "early morning" on Monday!

We did not bring my table out for such a short duration, but I accommodated my visiting birds by placing their tray on a plant stand. They seemed to enjoy the set-up as evidenced by a few photo-ops below.

Mourning Dove Wonders What Cam (Cardinal) Sees!

There's ALWAYS Room for One More at the Table!

"My" Visiting House Finch Enjoys a Laugh at Lunch!

(

Cam's (my visiting cardinal) Wheels are Always Turning!
(She seems to always have a lot on her mind!)

And one of the sweet house finches (seen at the right) even paused to say grace (as seen below) before noshing!

The relocating of some of my things and moving others back and forth inside and outside in two "rounds" proved that we succeeded in putting a square peg (my garden) in a round hole (my studio apartment)! Moreover, for the most part, it seems that the things I grow survived too! And my birds had little disruption to their lifestyle in my garden! 

Even the next day, before the worker's arrival, I accommodated them by placing a tray on the garden's floor, a floor, that after thirteen years of wearing the same interlocking tiles, was looking at a new wardrobe; and my visiting red finches and mourning doves were quite happy to nosh — regardless of the situation as evidenced below.

Cam (my visiting cardinal) is a late sleeper, so she missed her breakfast as I had to take up the tray for the work in my garden to be done. The saga was arduous (understatement), but it did end eventually, and I did manage to get everything out of my apartment and outside once again!

This was a relief because the things I grow just had to be put back outside as my trees, shrubs, plants, flowers and I were sleep deprived! They are used to the night air, so when they were inside apartment they stayed up all night talking about their upheaval, and, when they finally did get some shut eye, they snored! And we all finally got much needed rest!

So, hopefully, this brings me to the end of my garden upheaval story, and with that, I'll see you on Friday and continue with my regular schedule.