Big city highrises are chockfull of penthouses and terraces that garden innocents hope to turn into a sylvan paradise or a bower of roses. That's at least what they see in movies and real-estate ads. With honesty and humor, and thirty-five years of challenges and triumphs, best-selling author, Susan Brownmiller describes her battle to sustain an oasis of beauty twenty floors above street level in Manhattan, in less than hospitable conditions caused by more than the wind.
My City Highrise Garden examines various natural and man-made catastrophes: barred from daytime access during the apartment building's pointing and re-bricking projects; the sad death of her peach tree from winterkill after fifteen productive years; and the bidding goodbye to the birches in the wake of a hurricane. Brownmiller reveals the unexpected results from encouraging nature where it was not meant to exist: annual visits from Monarch butterflies; bees zooming for nectar suck the life out of her flowers; and a crazy mockingbird that once commandeered the whole terrace for his mating season. However, when things go right, Brownmiller stresses, she is astounded by the ability of her garden to prosper against the odds.
With over twenty beautiful color photos depicting the complex relationship between the growing city and the dwindling natural world, Brownmiller provides a passionate account of a struggle for urban highrise gardening and the ever-changing landscape of the city.
