DIY: A Fire Escape-Style Garden - Gardenista
Fire escapes are romantic places; just ask Tony and Maria. Add a splash of greenery in the form of potted plants, and an eyesore becomes an urban oasis. Walk through nearly any New York City neighborhood in the summertime and you’ll see fire escapes draped in plants, despite a law prohibiting fire-escape gardens. I don’t advocate that you follow suit, but I can offer some advice for a windowsill garden that can be just as lovely, as well as perfectly legal. I love my wooden window box, but when you’re housing pots in a place where high winds (or the threat of fines) could mean that you’ll sometimes need to bring your plants inside, it’s better to use smaller containers that are easier to maneuver. Think carefully about the amount of sun that your particular window gets. Available at local nurseries or online, Ageratum Blue Horizon is $7.95 per plant from White Flower Farm. I like to do my potting on the apartment floor covered in newspaper, but my sister prefers the easy cleanup of potting directly in the kitchen sink. In the past, my sister has also kept pots of herbs on her fire escape. Herbs grow quickly, so resist the temptation to cram lots of seedlings into small containers. A six-pack of Essential Kitchen Garden Herbs (rosemary, garlic chives, thyme, basil, sage, and oregano) is $29.95 from Williams-Sonoma Agrarian. Finally, If you amend your soil with fertilizer, make sure you’re using something organic, like the Plant-tone that I add to my window box. For more container plant ideas, see DIY: A Window Box Grows in Brooklyn. This is an update of a post originally published April 4, 2013.