The Ultimate Gardening Challenge?

First, a welcome to those participating in the Ultimate Blog Challenge.  If you haven't signed up, it isn't too late.  31 posts in 31 days.  Sounds easy but it isn't. But it is well worth the effort.

 I hope you like what you see, and return again.   I have scheduled topics I blog on every Wednesday (flowers), Saturday (sustainable living) and Sunday (the U.S. Civil War).  The rest of the week, I write on a variety of topics.

This past week, I spent a couple of days in Brooklyn, in New York City, and have been sharing some of my finds with you.

Have you ever wondered how people garden in New York City?  They do it in a variety of ways because space is precious. You find gardens in front yards, in back yards, and even on roofs.  New York City's climate is not the harshest, but growing conditions can be - acid rain, thieves (sadly), concrete, pollution - but these devoted gardeners don't let anything stop them.

This pepper plant is one of a number of ornamental pepper in an immigrant's front yard.  I spoke to the gardener briefly - his English wasn't good but his gardening skills more than made up for it.  Note to thieves, he warned me that this pepper is HOT.

A strawberry blooms and fruits in a container.

A rosemary plant sprawls on a concrete back yard.

A luffa squash takes over a fence.

There were more plants growing within a few feet of these yards.  Several fig trees had ripening fruit.  A squash grew up a fire escape.  Tomatoes, which had seen better days and were dying of late blight, were in many yards.    If I had come a month before, I suspect I could have taken even more photos.

They say "bloom where you are planted". Gardeners in Brooklyn respond "Garden where you live!"

Is gardening a special challenge where you live?