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.
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:
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.
If you live in any of the residential areas in Los Angeles, you'll know that we love our fruit trees. Did you know that it's not possible to sell the fruit you own at local farmers' markets or to restaurants? New local Silverlake eatery Forage originally accepted food from their neighbors who lived in the area, but was stopped by city health inspectors who informed them that they could only sell produce from certified sources. Meanwhile, Silver Lake Farms owner Tara Kolla has run into several...
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.
There are some great ideas for indoor gardens here. My favorite, of course is the small garden inside a PC case. These indoor gardens definitely add life to an interior in a way that no wallpaper or painting can do.
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.
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.
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.
I don't know about you, but my mom was planting food in her yard long before it was ever considered "cool" or "progressive". We had scallions, plums, apples, pomegranates, melons and zucchinis in our yard. It was part of our sustenance, and at no point was it ever considered a luxury. It was just something we did to supplement our groceries because it was practical.
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.
Gardening is difficult, in the best of times. I was very inspired by this post from You Grow Girl about how she's not a perfect gardener, either, and no one is. Truth is, I forget to water, forget to trim, and am terrible at weeding. I don't even feed the compost properly. Nevertheless, I keep trying, and I'm amazed when the plants actually show up and flower.
This is an interesting idea. You could recycle books as planters, combining two of my favorite things. It has a certain elegance, especially if you're using really old books.
