                             And some vivid Fall color just north of the 91st Street Garden   The first 5 images are from the 'Rock Garden' in remembrance of Ken Weissman who designed and tended that unique section of our 91st Street Garden. Like many things in modern life, these smaller plants are easy to miss when rushing by or when surrounded by splashy attention-getters. In fact, of course, they are treasures to be savored and enjoyed, as they have been by countless people who have admired the results of Ken's dedicated efforts over his many years of gardening.          Reprinted with permission from the West Side Rag, Sept 9, 2022. All copyrights reserved.  Rudbeckia in the Lotus Garden. Photo by Shanna Forlano. By Meg A. Parsont Labor Day may have come and gone, but the green spaces on the Upper West Side continue to flourish. Plot tenders in our local community gardens have commented that the gardens are particularly lush and dense for this time of year thanks to our hot and humid August, and visitors to the gardens marvel at nine-foot-tall purple butterfly bushes, sunflowers, and yellow rudbeckia. Standing sentinel at the entrance to the gate of the 91st Street Garden on the Promenade level of Riverside Park, a ten-foot-tall red canna lily is flanked by stately wild fennel. Other plants that tower over the garden right now include native deep burgundy amaranth and Joe Pye weed, whose tiny mauve flowers grow in round clusters atop their tall stems and are irresistible to pollinators. Also look for a remarkable purple and white dahlia in the Octagon, which is close to six feet tall.  Hydrangea and Japanese anemone in the 91st Street Garden. Photo by Meg A. Parsont. Dotted throughout the rectangle and octagon sections of the 91st Street Garden, delicate Japanese anemones in palest lavender, pink, and ivory are the dominant flower right now, blooming among mauve hydrangea blooms, white allium, and fuchsia-colored phlox.  Rose in the 91st Street Garden. Photo by Meg A. Parsont. Visitors to the garden are treated to a display of late-summer roses in lovely shades of butter yellow, peach, and hot pink.  Caladium in the 91st Street Garden. Photo by Meg A. Parsont. This is also a great time of year to admire the colors and textures of the foliage in our gardens. Showy caladium in its many hues of magenta, pale pink, and white abounds throughout the 91st Street Garden.  Ferns in the West Side Community Garden. Photo by Meg A. Parsont. In the West Side Community Garden, between 89-90th Streets, caladium and ferns nestled along the walkways and by the 89th Street entrance create a sylvan feeling in the garden.  Coleus in the West Side Community Garden. Photo by Meg A. Parsont. Different varieties of velvety coleus are sprinkled throughout the garden in delectable shades of burgundy, hot pink, and acid green.  Elephant ear plant in the 91st Street Garden. Photo by Meg A. Parsont. You can’t miss the massive elephant ear plants in both the 91st Street Garden and the West Side Community Garden. When they catch the light, their texture is breathtaking.  Zinnias in the West Side Community Garden. Photo by Meg A. Parsont. Brightly colored zinnias in shades of pink, orange, and red are still thriving in the West Side Community Garden and the Lotus Garden, which is perched over a parking garage on West 97th Street. They will continue to go strong for a while, especially in the Lotus Garden, which, because it’s a bit more shaded than the other two gardens, often has a slightly delayed growing period.  Dahlia in the Lotus Garden. Photo by Shanna Forlano. Visitors to the Lotus Garden will also see bountiful yellow rudbeckia in a number of the plots, as well as several stunning end-of-season dahlias, which have created quite a splash this season.  Quince tree in the Lotus Garden. Photo by Shanna Forlano. While there are signs that autumn is almost upon us—like the fruit-bearing quince tree in the Lotus Garden—it’s still summer in our community gardens. Stop by to admire the late-summer blooms! Plan a visit:
The West Side Community Garden (89-90th Streets, between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues) Open 7 days/week from dawn to dusk Note: The West Side Community Garden conducts a compost collection on Sunday mornings from 11 am-noon outside its 90th street entrance, between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues. Please read their guidelines before dropping off compost. The Lotus Garden (97th Street between West End Avenue and Broadway) Open to the public on Sunday afternoons between 1-4 pm, from April 10-mid-November The 91st Street Garden on the Promenade level of Riverside Park Open 7 days/week from dawn to dusk Reprinted with permission from the West Side Rag, 8-19-2022. All copyrights reserved.  Lacecap hydrangeas in the 91st Street Garden. Photograph by Meg A. Parsont. By Meg A. Parsont As hot and humid as this summer has been, I’m not ready for fall. Yet, there are certain undeniable signs in our community gardens that their end-of-summer glory is approaching: the blooms of the hydrangea bushes are mellowing into dusty mauve from their earlier blue and pink flamboyance; the purple butterfly bushes have attained their peak height of nine-plus feet and are aflutter with migrating orange-and-black monarch and yellow-and-black swallowtail butterflies; and a host of colorful dahlias are making their garden debut.  Rudbeckia hirta, black-eyed Susan in the Lotus Garden. Photograph by Shanna Forlano. In the Lotus Garden, perched over a parking garage on West 97th Street, this week’s theme is the color yellow and various varieties of the native rudbeckia plant. Whether it’s the familiar black-eyed Susan or the spiky version, rudbeckia are the predominant flowers at this this time of year in the garden, and they are scattered throughout various plots, some growing an impressive seven-plus feet tall. You also can’t miss an enormous golden sunflower towards the center of the garden. Sunflowers typically grow to be very tall and this one towers over the center of the garden at nine feet tall.  Rudbeckia subtomentosa ‘Henry Eilers,’ Quilled Sweet Coneflower in the Lotus Garden. Photograph by Shanna Forlano.  Sunflower in the Lotus Garden. Photograph by Shanna Forlano. Fun Floral fact: Origin of the Name “rudebeckia” In the early 18th century, natural scientist Olof Rudbeck mentored a young student named Carl Linnaeus, who had come to study at Upsala University in Sweden. Years later, when Linneaus developed his system for classifying flora and fauna, he named a wildflower from America “rudbeckia” in honor of his mentor.  Japanese Anemone in the West Side Community Garden. Photograph by Meg A. Parsont. Another sign of late summer in our gardens is the proliferation of Japanese anemones, and these ethereal beauties can be found now in the 91st Street Garden in Riverside Park and in the West Side Community Garden on 89th Street between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues. (They’ll also bloom in the Lotus Garden, although they tend to make their appearance there a bit later in the season.) These delicate pink or lavender blooms are informally known as windflowers because of the way they sway on their long stalks when a breeze blows or under the weight of a bee.  Zinnia in the 91st Street Garden. Photograph by Meg A. Parsont. The 91st Street Garden is exploding with color right now: brilliant orange zinnias, amethyst-colored butterfly bushes, yellow and orange lantana, hot pink phlox, and pink and white dianthus (a perennial relative of the carnation), among many others. You can’t miss the yellow nine-foot-tall rudbeckia on the western edge of the rectangle, or the bright red late-blooming roses in the octagon portion of the garden.  Lantana in the 91st Street Garden. Photograph by Meg A. Parsont.  Dianthus in the 91st Street Garden. Photograph by Meg A. Parsont.  Hydrangeas in the 91st Street Garden. Photograph by Meg A. Parsont.  Dahlia in the 91st Street Garden. Photograph by Meg A. Parsont. Dahlias add a vibrant, multi-hued splash to the late-summer canvas. Look for a particularly whimsical-looking dahlia in the plot just south of the gate to the rectangle portion of the garden. With its purple petals, white inner ring, and bright yellow center, it’s not surprising to learn that it came from a mix called “Carnival Mix!”  Cleome in the West Side Community Garden. Photograph by Judy Robinson. In both the 91st Street Garden and the West Side Community Garden, which spans 89th-90th Streets between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues, look for showy pink cleome (pronounced clee-OH-mee), commonly known as spider flowers because of its clusters of spidery-looking flower heads atop tall stalks. Cleome is an annual, but because it self-seeds prolifically, it can be found in a number of beds throughout both gardens. Another stunner is the crepe myrtle, with pinky-purple flowers that have wrinkled petals that resemble crepe paper. A small subtropical tree, crepe myrtle is now able to flourish in NYC due to the warming climate.  Elephant ear in the West Side Community Garden. Photograph by Meg A. Parsont. Near the 89th Street entrance to the West Side Community Garden, the prodigious leaves of the aptly-named elephant ear plant are almost four feet tall.  Creeping zinnia and marigolds in the West Side Community Garden. Photograph by Meg A. Parsont. Other harbingers of late summer in the garden are beds of yellow creeping zinnia, stunning displays of black-eyed Susans, and vivid fuchsia zinnias.  Zinnia in the West Side Community Garden. Photograph by Meg A. Parsont. Come visit the gardens now, while they are in their late-summer finery! Plan a visit:
The West Side Community Garden (89-90th Streets, between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues) Open 7 days/week from dawn to dusk Note: The West Side Community Garden conducts a compost collection on Sunday mornings from 11 am-noon outside its 90th street entrance, between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues. Please read their guidelines before dropping off compost. The Lotus Garden (97th Street between West End Avenue and Broadway) Open to the public on Sunday afternoons between 1-4 pm, from April 10-mid-November The 91st Street Garden on the Promenade level of Riverside Park Open 7 days/week from dawn to dusk |
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