gardening

News: Workers That Drive the World

Humans like to think we are the workers of the world and it all relies upon us, but without these little creatures, life as we know it wouldn't exist. This little bee is just off to work for the day—one of thousands of flowers he'll visit before sundown. How inspirational is that?

How To: Power Mulch Garden Clippings

Most local authorities offer green waste collection, but if you like to compost, then you'll be giving away some great ingredients.

How To: Mulch Vegetables

Growing veggies can be fun and have tasty outcomes, but it can also be hard work weeding, watering and just making sure they survive.

News: Mobile App for Setting Correct Sprinkler Times

Garden Apps have just unveiled their new Sprinkler Time mobile app, which shows users the correct number of minutes to set their sprinkler times for maintaining healthy gardens all year round.

News: Before eating organic became cool

This is an interesting article about a Hmong family who grew their own produce, not because it was cool, but out of necessity. It's brought up a lot of memories for me, as my own family also grew and continues to grow a lot of their own produce. My mom's got a total green thumb - whenever I go home I know I can look forward to dinners with snow peas, green onions, squashes and melons from the back yard.

News: Mushrooms!

So technically you can't actually "garden" mushrooms. But they're beautiful to look at.

News: Fertilizer proposal! (She said yes.)

How's this for creative and romantic? This owner of a lawn-service used fertilizer to grow his grass to ask his girl to marry him.

News: Bugs in your yard!

Flickr user Urtica finds bugs in her yard everyday. Love some of these pics! But I would probably run screaming if I saw most of them. Via MetaFilter.

News: James Irvine Japanese Garden - Downtown LA

Los Angeles isn't all concrete. This beautiful garden is smack in the middle of the city. Perfect for a short getaway from the smog.

News: Gorgeous terrarium necklaces

These terrarium necklaces couldn't be cooler. There's a little piece of charcoal at the bottom to keep the moss plant healthy, and you can replant it in your yard. How cool is that? Via NOTCOT.

News: Poor little trees art installation

Via Recyclart.

News: string gardens

I am not sure how this works, but the results are amazing and beautiful!

News: Bumbling our way to a greener life in Los Angeles

There have been a few recent developments in Los Angeles that only highlight how dysfunctional the city is when it comes to encouraging their citizens to develop greener habits.

News: Continuing obsession with vertical gardens

The individual planters are a cool look, but it looks like a pain to water unless they have drip irrigation installed.

News: organic jewelry

Designed by Hafsteinn Juliusso.

News: Vertical gardens

Recently I've become fascinated by vertical gardens. They're cropping up all over the place, whether it's in my neighborhood's newest hair salon or in San Diego as the beginnings of a new company. Vertical gardens have several cool advantages over horizontal ones:

How To: How would you design a school garden?

GOOD, a Los Angeles-based magazine focused on doing good in the world, along with LAUSD, The USDA People’s Garden Initiative, The Environmental Media Association, The National Gardening Association, The Urban & Environmental Policy Institute, The California School Garden Network, and Mia Lehrer & Associates, is sponsoring a contest for people to help design a garden for a LAUSD school. GOOD will help build the winning garden design, and they'd like your participation, too. 

News: Emily Dickinson's garden - The Poetry of Flowers

If you're in New York, you absolutely cannot miss this beautiful exhibit at the New York Botanical Gardens. Emily Dickinson, the famed reclusive poet of the 19th century, was a lover of nature, and her garden was recreated in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. What can I say, except that it's just stunning...

News: Our front yard garden on New Year's Day

These are pictures of our garden, as of New Year's Day. Everything looks different now. The grapevines are coming back, and the oranges have finished their season. Our artichoke, sadly, got trampled and didn't really survive the pollution of the large Station fire.

News: ants protesting insecticide

This is a cute video about ants who are tired of insecticide and won't take it anymore!

News: the garden of cosmic speculation

Image credit: Wikimedia commons

News: the toilet made from poop

I am simultaneously awed and grossed out by the idea and execution of said idea. In this video, Virginia Gardiner decided to make a waterless toilet. From poop.

News: Food and Flowers Freedom Act

Food & Flowers Freedom Act in Los Angeles

Oakland Food: Rooftop gardening

As someone who suffered the indignities of an Oakland school education, I'm always thrilled to hear about education reforms that take place and are successful. In this video, you'll get to hear about the program that lets Oakland high school students participate in rooftop gardening and learn valuable skills. And recognition of vegetables other than French fries.

News: tilt-shift video of joshua tree

This gorgeous video demonstrates how something as simple as tilt-shift photography can result in a really beautiful video. I've never been to Joshua Tree, but would love to go sometime. This video makes Joshua Tree look so small that I could just crush it with my hands.

News: foraging for food

Are you hungry? One of the great things about Los Angeles is the abundance of food. I'm not just talking about restaurants. You need to get out of your car, and walk around your neighborhood. You could make a great meal just from what you find out on the streets. It's free, and most of it's organic. Just be sure to wash any dirt off of your treasure before you bite.

News: April is National Garden Month

April is National Garden Month, according to LAist. They offer 7 things you can do to celebrate, including starting a garden, planting food for the homeless, and taking a gardening class.

News: l.a. botanical garden

People always say there's no green in Los Angeles, but that's not true. You just have to know where to look, and to find those pockets of greenery for yourself. One of the places I've been meaning to go back to is the Los Angeles Botanical Garden. It's full of pretty flowers and trees, and is a lot bigger than you think it is.

News: fig from my tree

Here's a giant fig from one of my fig trees. Most of the figs grew this big or bigger.

News: artichoke blossom

This is what an artichoke looks like when it opens up. From my garden. I love this one because it looks almost like a water lily.

News: urban farming

Urban farming has gotten a bit of notice in the past few years. One of the most vocal advocates is local Tara Kolla, who runs Silver Lake Farms out of her home. Along with her and the support of passionate Los Angelenos, urban farming advocates won approval clarifying an ordinance on whether people can sell fruit and vegetables they grow in their yard.

News: Rachel's Favorite Gardening Books

How To: make your own tomato planter

This is a great tutorial on making your own tomato planters. It's ingenious because the biggest issue I've had is just finding a good spot in my yard. Tomatoes need lots of sun and water, and they die if neither condition is right. This way I'd be able to move the plant around. Problem solved!