Who I Am

WHO I AM

I grew up on Eastern Long Island, on the North Fork, graduating from Mattituck High School. I always had a concern for the environment. I remember I felt like the only kid in HS that was concerned about the fact that Long Island Lighting Company (LILCO) was attempting to build a nuclear power plant about 25 miles from our house. (LILCO didn’t succeed.)

While I wasn't born on the North Fork, I loved the years I did live out there. Our family house was literally next door to a farmer. Up until 10th grade I thought tomatoes grew in packs of 3 or 4 with a cellophane wrapper.

We lived across the street from a saltwater wetland; it was called a marsh then. We were about one mile to the public beach. About one-half mile to the marina where Dad kept the sailboat he convinced Mom to let him buy, even though she gets motion sickness.

There was a potatoe farmer behind our house. We could see his farmhouse from ours, half a mile away - nothing between us & him but potatoes. The next door farmer, Pete, raised corn, jerusalem artichoke, rhubarb and tomatoes.

I used to walk, down our street about ¼ mile to the creek and dig for mussels during low tide. Then Mom would boil some fresh corn. Since my three sisters didn't like mussels, Mom and I would sit outside, at the picnic table, eating the five gallon bucket of freshly steamed mussels, throwing the shells into the driveway. This is a part of Long Island that would go to the clam cannery to get bushels of shells to crush and use as if it were gravel.

God how I miss those carefree days.

Anyway I grew up with a great appreciation for natures' bounty, whether it's fresh caught fish, just steamed mussels, newly picked corn on the cob or tomatoes my Mom grew in the backyard. I also grew to appreciate the beauty of the North Fork. Even more so that I live in the big city. The beaches, the farm, the wooded areas, the marshes, all natures’ beauty.

So when it came time for college; I applied to two only colleges: Cooper Union for architecture and Nassau County Community College for liberal arts, which could be transferred to State University of New York at Syracuse for Landscape Architecture.

I didn't get into Copper Union. I spent two years at NCCC and three years in snowy Syracuse, finishing with a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture.

Since graduating from Syracuse, I've applied my knowledge and skill as a Landscape Architect to design a large variety of projects: gas station renovations, small 4-6 bldg townhouse developments in inner cities (Newark, NJ), small and large residential subdivisions, public parks and playgrounds, large exclusive residential estates in the Hamptons & Dutchess county, wetland habitat restoration projects, alternative memorialization projects in California cemeteries. And of course, my all time favorite project: Millennium Skate Park in Bayridge, Brooklyn.

WHAT AM I ABOUT?

So after all that, you may wonder what I am about. Why did I get into Gardening, Landscape Design and Landscape Architecture?

Certainly, where I was raised had a large influence on my vocation. And my mothers’ own gardening hobby was another influence. As I wrote previously, in my years of practice as a NYS Registered Landscape Architect, I’ve worked on a wide variety of projects.

The most personally rewarding projects were always the public work projects. Projects that reconstructed an existing downtrodden playground, a bare patch of ground, an underutilized public beach. Those projects revitalized not just the park, beach or playground, but the surrounding neighborhood. I have, for the most part, worked with a local friends group, a neighborhood group which identified with the proposed project.

So what did the new project do, aside from the thankful pats on my back from the neighborhood group? Well the new construction actually spurred a rebirth and a renewed interest in the surrounding area. Suddenly, the rundown building across the street was renovated, the vacant lot down the block was cleaned up by neighborhood volunteers. There was a renewed sense of pride in the neighborhood. Crime went down, drug dealers no longer felt welcome, parents brought their kids to the playground, because they felt the park was safer. Developers bought the other vacant lots and built new housing. The newly planted trees and shrubs helped to clean the air a bit.

I have witnessed a new public space project transform a neighborhood from a ghetto into a respectable neighborhood. Well designed and maintained public spaces can make or break a neighborhood, even whole cities.

So, I am writing this blog to encourage people to garden, helping to improve their own personal health, their city and the world. Garden you say. How can gardening improve the earth? How can your own little garden improve your city and the world?

Well, here’s the logic. I live in New York City, Manhattan to be precise. I am very fortunate, I live in a middle income housing project supported by the City through a huge reduction in property taxes. I couldn’t afford to live in this neighborhood if it were not for this housing project. I am also very fortunate to have one of 1,300 apartments, out of 2,800 apartments, with a balcony, in my complex.

So, I look at the outside of my building and the other buildings in my complex, and what do I see? I see empty balconies. Or a few chairs and a table, maybe a bicycle. But I don’t see any plants.

Plants take in carbon dioxide and provide oxygen and flowers and vegetables and stunning colors and interesting foliage or just plain beauty. Plants provide nectar for bees and butterflies. Plants provide berries for the birds and insects. Plants help clean the air. Plants and flowers help us reduce stress and relax. There is a great feeling of enjoyment from eating your own balcony raised tomatoes as you overlook the cars and trucks rushing to get somewhere.

Plants transform the space they are in, whether it is a large nature preserve, a public plaza or a fire escape. Plants improve the air around us, they help to calm us. We can’t live on this earth without plants. There’d be no oxygen for us humans to breathe. (I know I’m discounting the role of bacteria and algae as oxygen producers.)

So garden as a way to improve the air quality of your city and the earth. Garden as a way to reduce your stress. Garden as a way to improve your health by eating more vegetables. Garden as a way to reduce your grocery bill by growing your own produce. Garden on your balcony to improve the appearance of your building façade and your neighborhood.

Imagine if every person with access, could grow a few plants. What a difference that would make in the greenhouse effect in your town or city!

So go out and garden! Improve your own well being and the well being of planet Earth.

Stay tuned here to read about gardening tips, plant suggestions, field trips to local garden centers, an other gardening and landscape commentary.

Help yourself breathe easier; plant a tree, a shrub, a flower or a tomato plant.