Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase #3...

Happy Monday!!!

We are so proud to have our garden featured in The 2011 Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase, on Saturday April 30th from 11:00 AM to 4 PM.

We will have a very special guest at the garden...Tom Folan from Solar City, the company we lease our panels from, will be onsite to answer all things sun-power! We will also have a copy of Ivette Soler's, amazing new book The Edible Front Yard (we are so lucky to be a featured garden in this book! So exciting!), for you to peruse...

About The Tour:
Think of it as a giant eco festival comprised of block parties throughout Mar Vista. With most people making it a walking or bike tour, there is a tremendous sense of community as residents throughout Southern California come to Mar Vista to celebrate our shared vision for a greener life.

This year the Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase expands to include tours within the tour to address even more aspects of sustainability. We will showcase drought resistant landscaping, edible gardens, composting techniques, water capture and even chickens!

To further our goal of achieving 100% clean electricity by 2018, the tour will host the American Solar Energy Society’s National Solar Tour and showcase Mar Vista locations that have gone solar. See those gardens here.

You can find the mapped walking tours
and a little history of Mar Vista here.
Click here to download the pdf of maps for
tours 1 - 4 and tours 5 & 6.

Read this article by Emily Green in the LA Times "The Dry Garden"
for tips on how to take the tour.
Preview garden 5N in this LA Times feature by Lisa Boone
Visit Fresh Dirt on Sunset Magazine to see the previews
on gardens 5F, and 5B and 5M, by Sharon Cohoon

We hope to see you there!!!!!

XOXO
Yvette

Earth Day...

When, really, are we going to start, as a society, taking responsibility for our stewardship? When will the planet that we live on become a priority over profits and convenience? When will we decide to turn the light of when we leave the room? Or to put solar panels on the roof instead of buying that new SUV? When will we decide that we cannot allow more nuclear power plants to be built, and be outraged that it is still even a conversation? When will we stop dumping our crap into the ocean? When will we commit to going without, even just a little bit, to facilitate all of this? When will we? I'm waiting with baited breath...suffocating.

XOXO
Yvette

Bouquets Fit For A Foodie!

You may or may not know this, but I am a photographer...and, among other things, I photograph many, many weddings. I just did my daily check-out of my friend Jen Campbell's gorgeous blog Green Wedding Shoes, and found this fabulous post, which I think that all my gardener/foodie/gardener-bride/foodie-bride pals can't help but swoon over! Jen created and photographed these amazing bouquets herself.

I think I better get married again just to have one of these. Maybe I can just carry one around with me anyway? Is that too much?

Please go to her blog to see more!

Holy crap, Jen, I am in LOVE.



XOXO
Yvette

PS. All Photos Courtesy Of Jen Campbell!

Seed Library At Venice High School!

When we first moved to the west side of Los Angeles about 15 years ago, Venice High School looked like a prison. The whole place was run down and falling apart - in the front of the school, there was a wrought iron cage surrounding a statue of alumni Myrna Loy to keep her from being vandalized, and there were bars on all the windows. The tennis courts had giant cracks in the asphalt. God knows what the classrooms were like inside.

But our story begins with the 60,000 square foot, fallow, weedy, filled-with-trash area on the western edge of the school, where, in March of 2001, a group of amazing people had had enough, and The Learning Garden was established. It has since become one of the country's largest and most successful school gardens. The Learning Garden boasts organic produce grown by students, a culinary program, tai chi and quigong classes, a large medicinal plant section in conjunction with Yo San University of Chinese Medicine, a California Native Plant and Cacti garden, and a community garden. Last December, they embarked on a very exciting project - The Seed Library of Los Angeles. For a $10 membership fee, gardeners can "borrow" the seeds of specific edibles. Each borrower commits that part of the resulting crop be allowed to go to flower and seed, allowing the borrower to return the seed stock to the library. There are occasional seed saving workshops, open to the public, which you can find out about by going to their blog (HERE).

Also, be sure and visit The Learning Garden on April 30, when Mar Vista hosts it's annual Green Garden Showcase.

I have to say that in recent years, the school has flourished. The cage around Myrna has been removed, everything is freshly painted, and albeit there is a definite police presence that remains due to gangs, it is a wholly different place. Perhaps it was something to do with the garden. Perhaps not. Either way, songbirds and bees and growing things can't hurt, can it?

XOXO
Yvette

It's Officially Spring...

First Artichoke!



Artichokes are coming up in the garden...they are delicious and so easy to grow! They are practically no-care plants, and their beautiful green/grey leaves are gorgeous in perennial borders, which is where we have them. They are perfect for California climates and are very drought tolerant. If you don't grow them yourself, you can get beauties at the Farmer's Markets right now. I could live on them!

Try this incredible fritatta recipe from my pal Celeste's Blog, Meals At Home!

XOXO
Yvette

Tomatomania Is Back!

We interrupt Meyer Lemon Week to bring you this important message...
Tomatomania is here in LA, March 25-27! Find out where they'll be next weekend by clicking HERE! I went this morning and came back with a LOAD of seedlings!

Here's all the info (btw it was pretty muddy - wear your wellies!):

One of Los Angeles’ oldest garden traditions meets one of its newest sensations as Tapia Brothers Farm Stand hosts the largest of the TOMATOMANIA! seedling sales.

To get there drive north on the Ventura Freeway (101N), pass the 405 fwy and exit at HAYVENHURST. Turn right at the stop, then make a quick left into the very busy parking lot.

If you're driving south on the 101 exit at BALBOA, turn left at the stoplight, go under the freeway and then turn right on BURBANK BLVD. Turn right on HAYVENHURST and right again into the parking lot.

We’ll be open from open 9-5 all three days and there’s plenty of parking available. How many seedlings do you need? We’ll have almost 300 tomato varieties and everything you’ll need to have the most successful tomato season ever!

Wear your TOMATOMANIA! t-shirt and get 10% off your purchase!

March 25 - 27

Tapia Brothers' Farm Stand
5251 Hayvenhurst Ave.
Encino, CA 91436
818.905.6155

XOXO
Yvette

PS. While you're there you can pick up a copy of Ivette Soler's fabulous new book, The Edible Front Yard!

Meyer Lemon Week #4 - Minted Lemonade...

It wouldn't be Meyer Lemon Week without this classic!

Minted Lemonade

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
6 cups water
2 cups fresh Meyer lemon juice
A large handful of mint leaves

Directions:

To make simple syrup: Place 2 cups sugar and 2 cups water, and 1/2 of the mint in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir until sugar is dissolved and simmer until the mixture takes on a minty taste. Let cool. Place lemon juice in a large pitcher, add remaining 4 cups water and 1 cup of the simple syrup or more to taste. Stir in the rest of the mint leaves and refrigerate for 1 hour. Serve over ice.

XOXO
Yvette

PS. This lemonade+vodka+tonic water...um, yes!