All trees need pruning

Karin Kiontke

An old pine tree grows in the part of the garden that we call “North Garden”. This tree may have been there from the very beginning. Few of us would know. Over the years, the lower branches of the pine died off, and its south-facing side grew more vigorously than the other sides. Thus, this tree needed some TLC.

We hired Tony to prune our pine professionally. He did a wonderful job and was also very careful not to step on the flowers that are starting to come up everywhere now. They will get more sunlight now, too.

When we were inspecting the tree to see where Tony should prune, he pointed out little holes all over the bark. While he explained to us, that these holes were made by a woodpecker, a beautiful male of just this species, the yellow bellied sapsucker, hopped on a branch in front of us. He briefly looked at what was going on and left before we could take a picture. Therefore, I stole one from the internet. The bird was really this colorful!

Holes in the tree bark made by the yellow bellied sapsucker, who is seen on the right (from All About Birds).

What else is new… Today, Jeff continued to work on our water system since he noticed a substantial leak last week. This time, he opened the manhole cover to get a better look. Hopefully, all is well now. We do not want our precious water (of drinking quality, like everywhere in NYC) to seep unused into the ground.

Spring bulbs continue to pop up. In addition to daffodils, there are hyacinths, tulips and the large “summer snowflake” that actually blooms in April and not in July.

We will resume our official open hours next weekend. One of our gardeners will be there to greet guests and answer questions from 2-6 PM, weather permitting as always.

More colors

Karin Kiontke

Last Saturday we got a fluke of a summer day in March. It was almost a little too warm until late afternoon, when a strong wind came up and the temperature dropped by 30 degrees within a few minutes. Lucky who had packed a sweater!
This warm day coaxed the first queen bumble bees out of their winter quarters. More flowers opened and brought bright colors where there were mostly brows and grays for several months.

Yellow daffodils are dominating the color palette
Few flowers shine as brightly blue as squills. Grape hyacinths have the color of lapis lazuli. Quince and early tulips add orange and a cheeful red.
Hellebores come in subtle shades of mauve, greenish pink and cream.

With Spring arriving, we’ll soon need water. LaGuardia Corner Garden has the luxury of a system of water pipes that reach almost every corner. We are lucky that way: Convenient spigots allow us to water with a hose instead of watering cans. Many other community gardens in the city rely on water barrels that gardeners must fill from a nearby fire hydrant.

Our system was installed decades ago and the PVC pipes are a little delicate by now. Each year, the water is turned off in November to protect the pipes from freezing temperatures in winter.
Last weekend, our water master Jeff began to turn the water back on. This is a rather complicated and a little mysterious process as the valves and water meter are hidden in a pit underground. Jeff monitors for leaks with a camera at the end of a fiber optics cable. If all goes well, water will soon be available everywhere. Thank you Jeff!!

What a few warm days can do

Karin Kiontke

Last week we had a few days with mild temperatures, and on Monday, it rained. The difference to just a few days ago is amazing: Suddenly, the first daffodils are blooming. And there are crocuses in multiple colors plus my absolute favorite, the tiny Iris reticulata. The lenten roses are also coming up strong now (right on time this year).

  • Iris reticulata

The buds are breaking on the roses (which we had time to prune before they started to leaf out) and on the tree peonies. This is such a wonderful time of the year!

A little sign of Spring

Karin Kiontke

It has been a little quiet on this site, but we promise to be better for the next gardening season that is just beginning now.
This winter has been pretty cold and quite long. But finally, Nature is stirring. Crocuses and winter aconites are among the first flowers to open.

Two weeks ago, on a sunny Sunday, we were happy to see that some of the neighborhood bees had made it through the winter as well.

Soon, tulips and daffodils will appear. Their leaves are already peeking out of the ground. We can’t wait!

The worms are back!

Karin Kiontke

For many years, we have had a “worm bin”, a specially designed container to keep compost worms and feed them with kitchen scraps. This works pretty well, although the worms sometimes find it a bit too hot in summer. However, come winter, they often do not survive the cold. Last spring, we had to buy new worms. (In case you wonder: ‘red wigglers’ can be ordered on Amazon.) Last fall, we were determined to keep the worms alive. Someone would have to take them home and foster them durning the winter.

Barbara found the perfect place for our worms: Two classrooms at the Winston Preparatory School on 17th Street. The students picked worms up in late fall, put them into a bucket and kept them happy, warm and fed all winter. This was a good thing: even though last winter was very mild, only one worm survived in the garden’s worm bin.

A couple of weeks ago, it was time for the worms to come back. 9 students and their teacher came to put them into heir summer home. They added shredded newspaper, a little water and some of the favorite worm food: watermelon rind. Now it is our job again to keep them healthy and well fed. In return, the worms create valuable compost that we can use to feed our plants.

And this is how worms look under a microscope!

After checking out our compost bins and looking at worms with a microscope, the students went on a tour around the garden to see how everything looks in spring. We hope that they will come back in fall and take our worms to their winter quarters.

Thank you very much for coming and for taking care of our worms!