In todays update I bring one of my FlyerPlanterboxes to New York.

In it, I have planted an Alberta Dwarf Pine- Hopefully it will do well in the cold weather coming. I have named her “Alberta”, and I hope someone will decorate her if she makes it ’till Christmas! Here is a photo of Alberta on the train!

Wee! Alberta is HEAVY.

So if you are new to these FlyerPlanterboxes the idea is to take the empty & disused newspaper and flyer boxes that litter our sidewalks and put them to a better use than say “Trashcan” or “Space-Filler”.

In this case, I’ve used a Newspaper Honorbox. This is the first time I’ve done this. Before I’ve always used free flyer boxes. For this project I’ve had to pay .75¢ twice- once to open the box and get it’s measurements so I could build the planter box for Alberta, and once again to install her. Add that to the build cost, boys!

I can hear you now, you’re saying: “Well, .75¢ isn’t too bad, The New York Times will cost $2.00 on a weekday, $5.00 on a Sunday!! I’ve never heard of this ‘National’ but it comes at a good price!”

Here’s the deal: “The National Sports Daily, or The National, was a sports newspaper in the United States which debuted January 31, 1990 and folded after 18 months. The newspaper was published daily (Sundays through Fridays) and had a tabloid format.”

That’s why the price is so low, the last time this box could have possibly seen papers was 1992. I remember 1992. Under the Bridge by The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jump by Kris Kross, Black Or White by Michael Jackson and Achy Breaky Heart by Billy Ray Cyrus were all chart toppers. I slow-danced awkwardly to November Rain by Guns N’ Roses. I watched Bob Saget on Americas Funniest Home Videos, instead of watching You Tube. People born when the last newspaper was removed from this box are about 16 years old now. It was some time ago.

So this empty, useless box has somehow managed to consume valuable sidewalk space in New York (just across from Bedford Station, to be precise) for 16 odd years. It’s held up surprisingly well! Though the rust has messed with the mechanisms- I had to struggle to get it open the first time. I had forgotten; It actually ate two quarters too! Add that to the build cost, boys!

I really like this one. The pine tree emerging from this dead, rusting shell of the print industry is very striking, since trees very much like this one were used to make the papers that this box once held. This box, more so than any of the others I’ve done, is a Phoenix.

It’s beautiful.