Kicking off the season, we snapped this pic from our scooter as we headed up through Chelsea last evening. It was an amazing evening with the sun setting to the west, and we were taken with this little garden hideaway up above the corner diner. The view must be amazing. Check out the nice brown door they've swapped in and what a jump they have on their upstairs neighbor. This is the shit.
renegade scooter garden mission!
I saw a great fire escape garden on the Northwest corner of Houston and 1st Ave....or was it 2nd....one of those....
If your scooting around there this weekend....
Not to be too pedantic, but that building's on the corner of 10th Ave. and 23rd St., not 9th Ave. I've noticed those flowers too! (I used to work at 10th and 22nd.)
Brian
I find the enthusiasm about this a little puzzling. It does look like a nice sized terrace but I can't tell what is planted in the planters - the pic is so far away it could be anything. I also don't see anything original or inspired about it - what am I missing? Is there another picture I can't see?
Matilda--I'm sure I'll be corrected if I'm mistaken--but LOOK at that picture again. See all the fire escapes? Look at all the neutrals--the grey--the white...and then this tiny little oasis in an expanse of blahness.
And it's especially striking that the planters and the door pick up the warmth from the brick building in the background.
That's what I see--a little bit of "home." (That wonderful ivy doesn't hurt either! I feel badly for their upstairs neighbours!)
Alana - those two are decks, not fire escapes. It is against NYC fire regulations to put anything on a fire escape, even a window box held off the side. Yes you sometimes see it but I bet this is a coop so they are probably more on the ball about regulations and things.
So that is why the fire escapes in the left side of the picture are bland. As for that deck, most of the greenery is the ivy or other vine growing on the building. I see what looks like 2 white plastic chairs and some brown plastic pots, a lot of them empty. I would certainly give anything myself for this deck, but I just don't understand the hullabaloo.
My eye spotted 11 planters total. Most people have trouble remembering to water just two or three. I agree, can't really tell what is in the pots or if the plants are flourishing. But I think the surprise and delight of green up high is really nice. Usually one looks up and sees glass. Or brick. Ivy gets taken down because of the potential damage to mortar. This is just a hint of green up high. For all of the balconies (not fire escapes)here in NYC there are still precious few that have some green on them. And we could chastize them for not having a show-stopping display - but personally, in a city with less and les gardening resources, I applaud anyone who does even just a little. More than anything they serve as a reminder and inspiration to do our own part - clean air is important.
Thanks for the explanation about the fire escapes, Matilda. Makes sense. On the computer screen they're strong graphic elements that eerily mimic the "eat" sign.
I guess I was looking at this scene like a composition as a whole: and not just at the balcony. I still think it looks marvelous.