Name: Uma.Michael.Ana
Location: Park Slope
Size: 4' x 8'
Favorite Resource: GRDN, ZUZU's petals, Farmers Market...irresponsible friends.
Pitch:
""OUR GARDEN ESCAPE" is one of the most important places of our home. At roughly 4ft x 8ft its technically a fire escape, but to us it's the perfect place to find enlightenment and tranquility, read a book or have a private conversation. Its also a great spot for chats with neighbours while they BBQ and look up with a smile...." [more below]
Some of our plants have been rescued from friends that are not up for the responsibility, while others were bought locally from places like GRDN or ZUZU petals. Our rubber tree, which has been with us for over 4 years is only getting stronger from the rich Brooklyn sunshine and it will soon be joined by our Bamboo plant that we brought home on the same day.
.
This year we are supporting The Prospect Park Farmers Market (SATURDAYS) were we get great stuff.
I did attached 3 pictures but to pick only 3 pictures is impossible. Since I can't leave the others behind here is also a link to MORE at FLICKR.
Must-See Small Cool Homes: Week Two
Beth's Romantic & Retro Residence
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Commercial Flour Sa...
A Real Dinner, Fast: 5 Favorite Types of Almost-No-Work Meals
How To Cook Tender, Chewy Wheat Berries on the Stovetop
All these gardens on the fire excapes looks dangerous. What happens when there is a mass exodus of people?
This is such an amazing garden! Forgive me an ignorant question- what happents to the plants during the winter? Shell they be taken indoors?
I have the most amazing large square balcony, but everything I plant dies ( bad carma?) The only plant I had there was a tiny cilantro in a pot, and, after this weeks' rain, I think it's dead...
Where do I start?
this makes me smile b/c i'm moving in a month to a place that has a technical fire escape as well. but it's huge & sturdy unlike most escapes & also has it's own private stairs. so, i'm planning on doing something like this. very inspiring. :)
FIRE ESCAPE-
Luckily most people using fire escapes live in 2 or 3 family buildings so the exodus is limited...
It's actually illegal to have ANYTHING on a fire escape or hanging from the railings in NYC.
What a beautiful escape in the middle of Slope!!!
I whish I had a fire escape to be able to play with all of this color, shapes and beauty!!! Good Job !!
Lovely garden! I am very envious of your green thumb, especialyl considering my considerable black one. Did I mention that I can kill bamboo?
The beauty of the flowers ,represents the grower,and all you winer's leaving comments,should relax,enjoy the beauty of the moment!
Lets all appreciate someone putting beauty in the world and not focus on "what ifs". If there is a "mass exodus" I think they will use the stairs and if its illegal to have anything on the fire escape, I think the Brooklny pd have much bigger things to worry about than a beautiful flower garden.
The thing that worries me the most about this whole thing is the horrific spelling that the people leaving comments have.
Keep up the good work, MH
Dear Apt Therapy,
I have recently started a fire escape garden.
I am also concerned about is a fire safety, and try to keep the plants to the side, so they will not be in harms way.
A friend whose family runs a nursery (for plants), said fire escape plants need far more water than usual:
The wind dries them out, plus the heat from the bottom (b/c they are not in the ground)
I water my plants 2 - 3 times a day & they do much better.
All the best!
jill
Williamsburg, B'lyn
Está lindo annie... te felicito... acá va mi voto por tu lindo jardín... Me queda un pregunta que leí también de otra persona... que haces en invierno???
My fire escape is about 7x12, it's pretty large for a fire escape. I live in a converted warehouse building in Bushwick/East W-burg, and even though we're on the 2nd floor, there are no stairs or ladder leading from our fire escape to the ground level. I guess if there was a fire, you'd have to jump off our fire escape and break a leg on your way out... so everyone in the building with the fire escape has converted theirs into a patio of sorts.
I've never heard the landlord complain about chairs, plants, etc on the fire escapes so if anyone commenting on this is worried about this, I'd advise checking with your building super. We have a glider swing, plants, and thee more garden chairs on ours! :) I'm planning on constructing a better blockade on our stairwell - right now we have the bottom four steps blockaded off from the rest of the staircase with a piece of sheet rock. I want to get iron or wooden fencing and hang it instead
A neighbor whose apartment is in the front of the building was told by the Fire Department to get everything off the fire escape. That was about 10 years ago. Now, for the past approximately 8 years, on the very same block, there are neighbors in the front of buildings who have plants, storage bins etc. on their fire escapes but, not one of them have been told by the NYFD to get rid of them. Needless to say, those of us in the back of the building have never been told to remove items from the fire escape.
I've installed window boxes in metal window box holders over the fire escape railing so there isn't any problem with blocking walkways. Also, if you keep plants segregated to small corner of the fire escape away from the walkway, I cannot foresee that being problematic in case of an emergency.
For those of us without the luxury of a patio or garden or penthouse, sitting out on the fire escape in the spring and summer with a cool drink and a bit of greenery near us is a very relaxing experience, providing you don't have neighbors with backyards where the smoke from barbecues wafts into your asthmatic lungs. Thankfully, those neighbors moved away.