See the Video and Join the Pit Tour

Lisa Gaye at 19th and 8th filmed her gardening experience and posted it on Youtube. Watch the video and you'll say: "Holy Sunflower Batman!!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIumg_FgJ0s

Don't forget the Pit Tour Sunday for a closer look. This has been such a happy project full of really terrific people. I hope you'll join us.
Flower Power!
Missy Adams

THE CHELSEA GARDEN CLUB’S
First Annual Tree Pit Tour
Mark your calendar for Sunday, July 31st.
You are invited to join us in a stroll along
Eighth and Ninth Avenues
(26th to 18th Streets)
to survey the flowers and foliage we’ve
planted in the bicycle lane tree pits.
Meet at 23rd St. and 8th Ave.
in front of Dallas BBQ at 3 P.M.
Flower Power!

The Chelsea Garden Club's First Annual Pit Tour

Mark your Calendars for Sunday, July 31 and spruce up your pits! Let's meet at 23rd and 8th in front of Dallas BBQ at 3pm. We'll stroll along Eighth Avenue and back up Ninth Avenue to admire each others' handiwork--before the August heat takes its toll on our beautiful flowers. Bring your friends...and anyone else.
See you then and Flower Power!

High School of Fashion Industries

Welcome to the High School of Fashion Industries students (and their librarian-leader)!
They will be tending the pit(s) on 24th and 8th so if you see them, say hello!!

Bits of bark and mulch

The Parks Department dumped a big pile of wood chips on Eight Avenue for the Garden Club pits. There are still a few bags worth of bark and mulch available to anyone willing to trek over to Eight Avenue and 22nd Street, It's piled just north of the pit on the North side. Help yourself. Hopefully is will keep your garden moist. A very grateful "thank you" to Parks!

A late Spring/almost Summer celebration

Mark your calendars for Sunday, June 19 at 4pm. I'd like to get everyone together at Clement Clarke Moore Park (22nd Street and 9th Avenue) to celebrate our achievements so far, share tips (and plants if you want to bring them) and make plans for future gardening.
I will provide some lemonade and cookies. If anyone else wants to bring some refreshments, that would be great too. We'll meet at the Park and if everyone is up for it, perhaps we can tour the pits on 8th and 9th Avenues and admire our handiwork.
I look forward to seeing all of you.

Flower Power!

Iron sulphate and good soil

Phyllis Waisman and Paul Bodden made an attempt to rescue the tree in the
bike lane island on the south side of 21st Street at 9th Avenue. The
tree, a pin oak, has recently started turning yellow (chlorosis). It turned
out that the base of the tree trunk was buried by almost 5 inches of dirt
and debris including some large chunks of cement. Paul and Phyllis
excavated the soil to the tree base level for about 1 to 3 feet around the
base of the tree.


Phyllis filled the tree garter with water and the cement and dead juniper
were discarded. The soil, which is of fairly good quality, was loaded up
into 5 bags and taken for storage in Paul's yard. Any one suffering with
poor soil on 8th Avenue might want to take some of this better soil and work
it into your pit.

At the advice of Steven Boyce from TreesNY, iron sulphate has been ordered
and will be added to the soil next week. Pin oaks are particularly
sensitive to alkaline soils and cement and lime can affect them adversely.

Ideally, the soil level should be lowered 4-5" for a full 3 feet around so
that the tree roots can breathe, but we didn't want to disturb the plantings
in the pit. Again, ideally, some kind of barrier could be put in to keep
the soil from spilling back towards the base of the tree.

If anyone need some iron sulphate or good dirt, contact cgc.nyc@gmail.com

Thanks!

Need Volunteers April 30

Twenty first street could use our help. (And you might learn a thing or two). Bring whatever tools you have and dig in. Saturday from 10a-4p on 21st Street between 8th and 9th Avenues.

Flower Power!