Battling the Elements: Tips on how to plant a garden in Manhattan

On a sunny morning in May, there are few things more satisfying that toiling in the soil.

No, I’m not writing this while gently rocking on my porch swing in North Carolina. I’m in New York City, known more for its concrete towers than pastoral gardens. But yesterday a group of volunteers and I outwitted Manhattan’s elements (tar, smog, and steel) to plant a beautiful – and yes, green – garden for low income seniors.

Gardening has never come easily to me. I’ve never considered myself as having a green-thumb. But being a volunteer coordinator forces you to be a fast-learner, so recently I’ve learned a thing or two about how to plant a successful garden in New York.

First of all, I had to find somewhere to buy plants that delivers (inexpensively) to the Upper East Side. Surprisingly, that wasn’t too difficult to find. Home Depot has a great fresh flower selection and offers same-day delivery at a reasonable price. They also have a great variety of plant-life that can thrive with little-to-no sunlight (sunlight being a precious commodity in this city).

After that, I just had to hope for good weather. Luckily it was a perfect spring day when eight volunteers from Temple Shaaray Tefila arrived at our Upper East Side senior residence. Coincidentally several volunteers had considerable gardening experience, which made my life much easier. Even the young teen volunteers knew what they were doing! One teenager even gave me a helpful hint: when transplanting, you should remove the soil from the roots so that they grab on to the soil faster (see the roots in the photo below). I concluded from this experience that, despite the odds, lots of New Yorkers know what they’re doing in a garden-patch.


Here are the flower arrangements we decided on according to growing conditions and – of course – how great it looks.


We had more than enough flowers to create a border and used the extras for nice looking clusters every ninth flower. It was a volunteer’s suggestion and I think it made the space look fuller and more symmetrical. You can see our floral arrangement in the picture above.

At the end of the day, we all felt proud of our handiwork. Now, with a little tender love and care, these flowers will be around all summer for the enjoyment of Met Council’s low income senior clients.