Name: Trish
Location: Thompson Street (Soho, NYC)
Size: about 22" x 8"
Favorite Resource: K-Mart for soil and greenery. Union Square Greenmarket for flowers. I just don't know where else to go, to be honest.
Pitch:
I usually try for some sort of color scheme but this year it's "anything goes". Purple petunias are smooshed in with "dynamite wine flash" pansies. A surprisingly strong yellow begonia in back is flanked by dusty miller. Ageratum is scattered throughout. The most recent addition is the ivy, which grew long and strong last year. I'm hoping for carefree cascading results as the summer goes on. I've lost the information on the tall maroon stalks in back and the pink flowers on the right (tripled in size!).
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Trish, this is nice! It's great to see the unsnowy version of the fire escape!
Thanks Jean. I know it's a very humble entry; it's just fun having a little box of dirt to play with.
Unfortunately, dog-walkers let their pooches use the railing as a place to lift their legs. It's getting to the point where I can't open the window because of the smell (hot days are awful!). Does anyone know how to deter the dogs? Is there something I can spray along the railing that will make them want not want to stop & christen that spot?
Sorry my post had an extra "want"!
Trish, there are a lot of products at garden stores, hardware stores, and pet stores that will address this problem. Naturally, I can't think of any of their names right now.
Trish,
I am both a dog owner and an urban gardener, so I am careful NOT to let my pup lift his leg over anybody's flowers.
Unfortunately, once dogs start christening the spot, others do it too, since it's a social, scent-marking behavior. (they all do it in response to one another.) I'd suggest you wash the garden area with something called "Nature's Miracle," an enzyme cleaner that claims to remove the scent of dog urine, thus preventing further marking by other dogs. But that's tough, 'cuz dogs' sense of smell is profoundly good.
Also, a well-placed, firmly worded SIGN might do wonders. As in: HEY! DO NOT LET YOUR DOG PEE ON MY FLOWERS!!
My own dilemma is not dog pee but the colony of feral cats that like to use my marigolds as...well...litterboxes.
best of luck!
kwj - Actually the flowers are not in danger since they are up near the window. It's just the railing and surrounding area that suffers - dog pee is making it rust along with the smell. I can't turn on my AC some days because it's *right there* and it pulls the smell in. Yuck.
I'll look for "Nature's Miracle" and try it out after the next good downpour - I always hope the rain washes away the nastiness but it never lasts.
p.s. I LOVE dogs.... just not too fond of the thoughtless folks who don't guide them to a better spot.
Picture update (click on name). Hanging planter arrived.... but now impatiens are drooping in the heat wave. yipe.
I always appreciate those people, like you, who take the time to create living sidewalk art. We totally enjoy it, thank you!