When Jake and I decided to expand our apartment search from the Upper West Side to Brooklyn, outside space was our number one criterion and never did I imagine we’d get our own urban haven. We knew almost nothing about Brooklyn at the time, but as it turns out, Brooklyn is more our vibe. You can see the sky, it’s more laid back and quiet, and we are still only a 20-30 minute subway ride from all the places in Manhattan we love to go. And outdoor spaces like this were within our reach!
THEN I stumbled upon a book called The Edible Balcony and discovered the amazing garden that’s possible to grow from containers. Fig trees! Raspberries! Corn! Lavender! Potatoes! WHAT?! I began a garden wish list. We found a massive garden store in Queens and made the trek out there to buy most of our starter supplies, crossing off most of the items on my wish list – perhaps I bit off more than I can chew, but this year is a learning year!
Our terrace is transforming into our very own private space surrounded by the greatest city on earth that at the same time can transport me to a different world. Drink a smoothie with pineapple and I feel like I’m in Hawaii, open a bottle of wine and I feel like I’m in Sonoma, California. The walls surprisingly muffle quite a lot of the city sounds and it’s peaceful. Planes occasionally fly overhead on their way to land at LaGuardia and we use an app to see where they’re coming from. Charlotte, Chicago, DC, etc.
With the sudden arrival of summer here in NYC, the plants are happy and growing, and every morning I rush out to see what’s happened overnight. I’m an urban farmer, hahaha! The last time I had a garden I was 12 and all I remember what a drag it was to stand out in the heat weeding and watering for a few measly carrots at the end of the summer. I’m hoping I’ll like container gardening more!
We already run out to snip some herbs for dinner, and I can’t wait to be able to harvest vegetables and greens for dinner moments before needing them. Yum yum! And I can’t wait to see it in a few years when the meyer lemon tree is blossoming, the fig tree is 10 feet tall and the pineapple sage reaches four feet tall.
We still can’t get over that this is our very own space! We marvel every time we sit out there how amazing it is and how lucky we feel. We still need to hang the twinkle lights and get an umbrella and an outdoor rug – those tiles get hot hot HOT in the sun, but we are stoked to have many a dinner party out there. The table seats ten! So come to New York and we’ll chill on the terrace and keep the wine flowing!
