Plants have a way of making us smile. In unexpected places they can even make us downright joyful and elated! That’s why the Woolly Bunch has been out and about in New York this week planting spontaneous pop-up gardens all over the city.
Nothing makes us happier than to bring joy to people’s lives through plants and gardens! We’d love to know if you’re enjoying the pop-up gardens all over town, so send us your photos and thoughts on Twitter or Facebook!!
Woolly Pocket wants to give the city of New York a beautiful gift this summer – the gift of green. Woolly Pocket Volunteers (plant-loving New Yorkers knows as “The Woolly Bunch”) were out in selected areas of New York today creating surprise Pop-Up Gardens around town! The Woolly Bunch of gardeners is committed to showing everyone that they can bring life anywhere (a fence, a brick wall) and want to encourage others to do the same. The Woolly Bunch’s first gift to the Big Apple was planted today on Bleecker Street, amidst children playing and people enjoying a beautiful day!
Keep your eyes peeled, the Woolly Bunch will be planting more Pop-Up Vertical Gardens in unexpected places around the city tomorrow as well. Think chain link fences and scaffolding now covered in stunning succulents and gorgeous greens – all a gift from Woolly Pocket to make the city a bit healthier and all the more beautiful!
Anyone who wishes to join The Woolly Bunch and be a volunteer gardener can email iloveplants (at) woollypocket.com. For every four volunteers that sign up, another installation will be planted!
Earlier this week, Woolly Pocket had the honor of installing a living wall and living chandelier for
A Living Chandelier floats above the stage!
The Living Wall looked amazing with flashes of blue peeking between the plants!
Even the podium was brought to life with Pockets!
Photo Credit: Carlsbad Current Argus
Last weekend, gardeners from around Southern California and beyond gathered at the Los Angeles Arboretum for Living Green: Essentials for the Home Gardener, the latest edition of the L.A. Garden Show. Visitors were able to view a selection of beautiful gardens that incorporate sustainability and best practices for edible gardening.
Woolly Pocket was right at home as an ideal vertical garden system for a ”Habitat Wall” designed by Stephanie Barton & Mayita Dinos. Their design caught the eye of celebrated garden writer, Debra Prinzing, who recently wrote in her review of the show:
using the Woolly Pockets planting system, the installation overflowed with plants providing nectar, larval food, forage and nesting spots for local butterflies, bees and birds…
Photo Credit: Debra Prinzing
A successful garden will inevitably have multiple benefits. One we find particularly Woolly is providing nature’s critters with nourishment and sanctuary. In urban gardens, this is especially important. Another benefit of a vertical garden is the cooling effect that plants provide as they absorb the sun’s energy, instead of heating your home. In the winter, the living wall insulates the home, retaining heat where you need it, indoors.
We’ll be sharing more benefits of vertical gardens in future blog posts. For now, visit our website to learn more about the Wally Vertical Gardening System. Happy gardening!
One of our favorite architects in L.A., Barbara Bestor, recently had us over to her home. When we were there, we obviously had to take photos!
If inspiration is what you seek, behold the photos below, including some amazing interior and exterior vertical gardens using the Wally Vertical Garden System, as well as some happy Islands stylishly adding greenery indoors!
Photo Credit: Suthi Picotte
Last week Woolly Pocket teamed up with New York Restoration Project to grow a Woolly Wall in Union Square to celebrate Earth Day!
With help from a team of expert pocketers, especially Billie Cohen who designed and planted this living gateway!
All Photos by Shannon Sturgis
The Living Wall remained on display for the NYC Grows event held last Sunday. Several New Yorkers signed up to become an NYRP member during the NYC Grows festival and received one of the 300 Wallys from the wall. In addition, Woolly Pocket and NYRP donated more than 100 Wallys to local schools!
Many bloggers couldn’t resist sharing the Living Wall with their readers! A Big Woolly Thank You to:
photo: David Shankbone
photo: Kate Romero
Celebrate Earth Day with Woolly Pocket at Union Square in New York! We’re planting a spectacular living wall (our largest ever!) made with 300 Wallys filled with edible plants and lush native species. The ninety six foot long Woolly wall will be on view until Sunday April 25th, when New York Restoration Project will host the NYC Grows Festival to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day!
Click here to RSVP on Facebook!
One of the best things about Woolly Pockets are their versatility. It’s great to see people finding new and exciting uses to fit their needs and goals. Here’s a case in point:
In Historic Williamsburg, Virginia, a newly planted Vertical Garden now lives in an 85 year old boutique department store, Binns of Williamsburg! Tom writes to us:
“We have started to photograph customers in front of the wall in the gowns they are considering and buying. It makes a great backdrop.”
What a Woolly idea! Thanks Tom! If you find yourself in Williamsburg this spring, be sure to visit Binns and the outdoor farmers market taking place in front of their store!
photo credit: Suthi Picotte
Wally loves herbs (and vegetables)! This charming surf shack grows annual vegetables, perennial herbs, and some flowers for the pollinators.
Window Wally (W3)
One cherry tomato anchors each pocket, flanked by basil (a good companion plant – Genovese and ‘Magic Mountain’), Swiss chard (‘Bright Lights’) and ornamental salvias (Cleveland Sage, ‘Sage of Bath’). The dramatic black sweet potato, Ipomea ‘Chillin’ Blackberry Star’ will spill down to the ground as spring turns to summer. Always plant a few flowers to make sure your veggies get pollinated.
Herb Door (W1 x 5)
Top row: prostrate rosemary (on sides), evergreen bunching onions, everbearing strawberries
Pepper row: ‘Yolo Wonder,’ ‘Chervena Chuska,’ ‘Golden Treasure’ with Greek and Italian oregano spilling over
Eggplant row: (two each)‘Lavender Touch,’ ‘Chinese Eggplant’ – with thymes (German and ‘Variegated Lemon’)
Fourth row: cilantro, onion chives, Italian parsley
Mint row: ‘Orange mint,’ ‘Pineapple Mint,’ ‘Apple mint,’ ‘Spearmint’
Ingredients:
one sunny wall (at least six hours of full sun!)
herbs, vegetables, flowers (plants and/or seeds)
really good potting soil (vegetable mix)
Wallys – as many as you like! (hanging hardware included)
handy water source (hose or big watering can)
organic vegetable food
tools: level, drill, masking tape, pencil
Instructions:
1) Measure your space, calculate your Wally order, shop for plants and soil.
2) Hang your Pockets
3) Fill halfway with soil
4) Plant your garden
5) Water (regularly) + feed (follow the instructions!)
6) Harvest + eat
photo credit: Suthi Picotte
Notes:
Think about how your plants will grow, both on top and in the Pockets. Aggressive rooters, like mints, should be in their own Pocket as they won’t be good neighbors.
Combine upright plants (eggplant, peppers, onions) with low growing and spilling plants (oregano, strawberries, sweet potatoes).
Plant what you really want to eat and drink. Hate salads? Don’t plant lettuce. Love mojitos? Plant LOTS of mint!
Don’t forget to include some flowers. Many of the herbs will bloom, but you need some big beautiful blooms to attract those friendly pollinators.
Trim the bigger plants (tomatoes, rosemary, sweet potatoes) as they get leggy. Pick the fruit as it ripens, and cut off herb stems and leaves as needed – don’t pull out the roots though, as they will keep growing.
Replace annual vegetables and flowers as their seasons end. If your climate allows, rotate crops seasonally (broccoli in the fall), and try a cover crop (alfalfa, vetch) from seed in the winter, or early spring, to refresh your soil.
Compost? Worms? Winter color? More on these to come…
Happy Gardening!
Stephanie
If anyone knows how to grow an edible vertical garden it is Meg Glasser, regional director for Urban Farming. Over the past 5 years, Urban Farming has helped to create over 800 urban gardens in 30 cities. Check out her 5 easy steps to growing a vertical garden, including using Woolly Pockets!
www.good.is/post/how-to-grow-an-edible-vertical-garden-in-5-steps/
www.urbanfarming.org