Brownstone gardening

This post is probably as old as the house itself. I want to plant a climbing vine at the base.

I planted these rosebushes in early April. The one on the left hasn't leafed out, but the other two look good.

Assorted flowering plants in mulch along a retaining wall

No idea what these are but I hope they bloom.

A lonely lavender plant in a huge container. Not sure if it will thrive but I hope so--lavender loves dry soil and lots of sun--the perfect container plant in a temperate climate.

These mature hostas were a happy surprise in what looked like a barren bed.

This little nook is very pleasant, but what is that jar on the post?

View of our patio and back door from the garden

A wee little aster plant in the sun

Three hosta seedlings. The one on the left is supposedly "dormant" but I don't think it will make it to maturity.

This camellia won't bloom until the dead of winter. We'll see if it happens this year.

View of the garden and yard from our back door, with my dog Paco in the foreground

This old laundry tower isn't used anymore, except as a trellis. I'm hoping my clematis seedling will want to climb it.

After a series of unfortunate events that led to my taking a long hiatus from doing such relatively unimportant things as posting on this blog, I'm back and ready to capture Cobble Hill in pictures. Spring is a terribly photogenic season, and spring in New York is unparalleled in its urban beauty. I hope to take and post photos of this neighborhood every day, but we'll see.  For now, here are some shots of my garden--the first I've ever really tried to plant.  We'll see how it goes.

Smith Street meanderings

Whale mosaic at Bergen Street stop

Whale mosaic (detail)

Scaffolding on Smith Street

Subway grate on Smith Street

Stacked hand carts outside Tony's Hardware on Smith Street

Trap door cover on Smith Street

A ravaged bicycle

Today I had a dozen errands to run on and around Smith Street, one of the main thoroughfares in Cobble Hill.  Smith Street is home to dozens of trendy restaurants and bars, having therefore earned the nickname "Restaurant Row".  Despite the upscale businesses that stud its blocks, Smith is quite a bit grittier than Court and not nearly as aesthetically pleasing.  However, it a few things did catch my eye here and there.

The whale mosaic was interesting; I can't tell what the word or name inside the whale's body is supposed to be.  New York's subway stations are, of course, all decorated with distinctive mosaics and tile patterns, and Bergen Street is no exception.  I did like the contrast of the folk arty whale with the graffiti so typical of Brooklyn.

Busy with the move

Don't know that I'll be able to get any new photos up today, as I'm sort of cloistered inside my new apartment, unpacking boxes and cleaning and decorating and all that jazz.  Maybe later I'll get some shots of the rooms-in-progress and post them here.  In the meantime, check out this map of Brooklyn's many neighborhoods (click to enlarge).  Kind of interesting, right?

After the rain

Warren Street after the rain

House in puddle

Droplet on fence

Trees and sky in puddle

Tangled branches

A forgotten glove

Trellis and branches

Hydrant

This morning and early afternoon, rowdy thunderstorms drenched Brooklyn in an unseasonably warm rain.  The thunder woke me from a rather hungover slumber and I wondered if I should take the camera out while it was still pouring.  Fear of wetting the camera and the desire to get good puddle pictures kept me inside until it was over.

All of the above pictures were taken on Warren Street, where I live.  The sun was only sort of out and everything was still dripping while I shot.  What do you think?

Court Street meanderings

Old-timey sign

Tulips for sale at greengrocer

Side door

Exterior molding

Exterior molding (detail)

Tree bark camo

The 110 Amity Street debate rages on

A house on Clinton Street

It was gorgeous outside, so I snapped Paco into his ridiculous little corduroy harness coat, grabbed the camera, and off we went.  Despite my resolve to see more of the neighborhood today, I was drawn to Court Street and didn't stray far.  I don't know what it is about that strip of Court between like Atlantic and Kane, but I really dig it.  It's just so...Brooklyn.

Cobble Hill is a really photogenic place but the people are even more interesting.  Although I've had no trouble stealth-photographing people in Manhattan, something stops me over here.  This place has way more of a neighborhood feel, and I'd hate to become known among the locals as "that creep with the rat dog and the Peeping Tom lens".

Some things that occasionally shock me after a year in a Financial District high rise: laughing children, visible residential trash cans, people who carry Starbucks gear without a trace of shame, people besides us owning cars, no halal carts in sight, sunlight reaching the street, trees.

It's different, but I think I could definitely get used to this.

Birth of a blog and other sundries

Warren Street houses

A view from Cobble Hill Park

More houses on Warren Street

Despite the fact that there is no dearth of blogs about Brooklyn, I haven't been able to find one specifically about Cobble Hill [CORRECTION: I apparently overlooked the very cool and informative Cobble Hill Blog.  My apologies!].  And while I'm very new to the neighborhood (my husband and I moved in precisely one week ago today, in fact!) I think this newness may lend me a unique perspective on Cobble Hill and the people who live here.  So here we are.

We first discovered the Carroll Gardens/Cobble Hill area last summer, when we began frequenting the food vendors at the Red Hook Ballfields.  After stuffing ourselves with delicious huaraches and tacos, we'd meander up Court Street with our little chihuahua puppy, Paco.  Inevitably we would find ourselves at Abilene, and then maybe Trout, or the Gowanus Yacht Club, or, most recently, Bar Great Harry.  Fine places to drink, all of them, and dogs are always welcome.

Soon our forays into South Brooklyn became more and more frequent, until one day we realized were paying Manhattan prices to live a Brooklyn lifestyle.  Our favorite haunts in Manhattan, comfy as they were, couldn't compare to the ones in Williamsburg, Carroll Gardens, Bushwick, and Cobble Hill.  Everything cool and fun and real and yes, hip--had been priced out of the island.  Only the mainstream, the commercial, the glossy and the cartoonish remained.  Or so it seemed to us.  The decision to leave was easy.

Now we've moved and I've got time to spare.  The plan is to walk around Cobble Hill as often as possible, rain or shine or sleet or snow, and take interesting pictures of the neighborhood.  Maybe I'll even have news or a story to go along with them.  We'll see.