This evening I came home via the Cortelyou Road stop on the Q train. I wanted to stop by John's Bakery to pick up some munchies. I had to cross the street: the Daffodils are just starting to bloom.
They've started on the north side of the street, as I expected. The south side has been shaded by the stores and apartment buildings until recently. The soil in the tree pits there has not been warmed by the sun which the north, unshaded side of the street has been getting.
Last fall, two dozen volunteers planted 1,000 Daffodil bulbs and 400 Crocus corms over two weekends. The Crocus are all but spent now; just a few raggedy blooms hanging on here and there. The Daffodils are just getting started.
As in past years, there's no way to know what you're going to get when you plant the bulbs in the Fall. I saw at least four different kinds in bloom today.
It seems a far remove from 9/11, the inspiration for the Daffodil Project. But it was very much in the consciousness of at least some of us who planted these bulbs. And certainly in the minds and hearts of my neighbors who took the initiative to request these bulbs to be planted in their neighborhood.
Related Posts
My Flickr photo set of this projectCortelyou Crocuses!, March 6, 2008
Cortelyou Road Crocus Watch, February 4, 2008
Tree Pits are not Dumpsters, November 18, 2007
The Daffodil Project Plantings on Cortelyou Road, November 4, 2007
1,000 Daffodils for Cortelyou Road, October 27, 2007
The Daffodil Project: Grief & Gardening #5, November 26, 2006
4 comments:
Hey, maybe someone here can help me. My husband and I are trying to rehab a tree pit at Church and Westminster. People keep knocking down the various simple barricades--those slender wire barriers and small, short plastic picket fencing. Both are they kind that one just inserts into the soil. People have pretty much destroyed the fencing. Does anyone know who I can get to help put up permanent barriers, like on Cortelyou? Is this something that FDC can help with? We've already contributed time and money and work on this and don't want to see it fail, but don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on it either. Thanks.
It’s great to see the “fruits” of our labors. Some of the tree pits worked better than others and the clumps of daffodils are a little thin but all in all it’s terrific to see the blooms.
I hope we can add many more next year creating real thick displays and maybe add tulips, ground cover and mulch.
Can the gardening committee ask the Daffodil Project for more bulbs for next year?
I’ll certainly donate time and elbow grease again, it was nice to do something for the neighborhood and get together with friends.
I was on the upper west side last week and saw little laminated signs on each tree guard that said “Don’t litter and curb your dog”. Any way we can add some signage?
Of course the best incentive for people to keep the tree pits clean will be more flowers and greenery.
Great job by everyone involved.
Baly: Sorry, I don't know of specific resources that could help you out. I would start out as local as possible: block association, neighborhood association, CB14. You could also try FDC, or even CAMBA, since you're at Church Avenue.
The Cortelyou Road streetscape redesign was a massive, complex, million-dollar multi-year Project involving multiple organizations.Two of the tree barriers have already been smashed by cars or trucks. I don't know who can replace or repair them.
Peregrine: I don't know how folks hear about the sign up for the Daffodil Project. I think it goes out to community organizations, neighborhood associations, and the like. I'm going to keep my ears open. if you find out how to register, please let everyone know.
Some kind of signs would help. I found several bags of garbage, again in the tree pit closest to the subway station. Those buildings in particular need some education about what's going on in the tree pits, in addition to signs.
I've got some clover seed we can plant in the tree pits. If local gardeners have leftover divisions from Spring cleanup, some of those could be planted as well.
I saw a sign at the farmers market in Park Slope last fall and signed up to receive a couple of hundred bulbs. The only stipulation for receiving the bulbs was that they be planted in a public space. I then had to go back to the market to pick them up on the designated pick up date. Of course the planting and the coordination of the planting could not have been accomplished without Xris. This fall we will definitely make an organized effort to secure more bulbs (and volunteers) for planting. Stacey
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