viva verde

A friend of mine Joel Robinson was in the Orange County Register today because his Wildlife Federation Certified backyard has been under attack by his neighbors.

(Joel in his yard- photo from Register)

I guess some of his neighbors are very anti-what-is supposed-to-be-growing-in-California because, “he’s received anonymous, threatening notes and even had some of his plants killed with herbicide. He says the situation in the neighborhood has become so tense he is thinking of moving away. ” Neighbors have actually defaced signs he has had posted ON HIS PROPERTY saying Wildlife Habitat.

Reading some of the comments from those against Joel (let me guess, from the neighbors), many said that they are for the “green” but not for his landscaping…some have even threatened to destroy his yard and call the city to intervene. UGGG!

here are my suggestions to those on Joel’s block:

1. prioritize people: there are so many other things that are more important….like the election, world hunger, the olympics, crime/graffiti, the dishes…heck anything is more important.

2. for probably the billionth time on this blog: southern California, if not the entire state is having a serious water crisis!

3. people need to remember that this is what was growing here before we imposed our tropical, British, high-water BS lawns that do nothing more than make us think we are somewhere other than Southern CA.

4. landscaping: yes you may not like it but hey, i dont like that you decided to grow yellow roses rather than red. and hey, i told you to to trim that hedge in the shape of an egg, not a square! your lawn, your taste.

perhaps i am bitter, living in Irvine, yes the city that says it is green that fined me for my own native yard, but we have a bogus HOA so they have an excuse.

if you agree with Joel and the use of natives, i urge everyone that reads this post to call the City of Orange City Council and demand that they not only protect Joel, but our future water supplies by encouraging people to grow more natives.

Mayor (714) 744-2200 Council (714) 744-2211

Love the butterfly garden! But I really want to add something to it that reflects the themes of the store: the combination of nature and human creations.

Remember i went to the Tree Huggers Ball a month ago? Well i happened to meet these great ladies from the Orange Circle who have a kick a** garden and garden art store….one of the things where these AMAZING metal flowers: check-check

I am obsessed with the large obnoxious ones, it makes me fell like i am an insect in the grass or hanging out out on a leaf. I met the creator, Richelle (of The Elegant Garden in Orange) at the store and this is what i bought, what do you think?

i have been watching cars stopping at the light next to the garden, people can’t help but look…a customer’s little girl even pretended like they smelled like roses…AWESOME!

Will be carrying these soon…LOVE THEM!

I am very very fortunate to know the fabulous people that run Back to Natives: a local non-profit that encourages and educates on local conservation and restoration. Well these fantastic people held a seminar at the store and focused on this nasty excuse of ivy as an area to build a native CA butterfly garden YES!

(before: yes i know, boring and ugly…you dont want to know what we found in there!)

(Reggie and Lori to the rescue!!!)

(it was not that easy. ivy was growing there for over 30 years probably, took several days of work to get them out-and there are still some roots!)

Remember: ivy does NOT go into green waster, it is evasive and will take over everything, it must go in the trash. Reggie, in addition to making a stellar plan (i will show it off later, it is framed in the store), designed this awesome path made from decomposed granite (aka “the road less traveled”) in the middle of the garden with a collection of native, butterfly attracting plants like yucca, 3 different types of sage, blue-eyed grass, deerweed and others (Reg, don’t hate me for forgetting!)

(2 months later)

this was only after watering the garden every few days for the first 2 weeks and then removing weeds/ivy every so often. So beautiful and EASY to care for…we get a ton of compliments all the time, it smells good and people stop littering around it

If you are interested in getting a consultation with the amazing Reggie to have your own garden, contact him at Back to Natives or..

we also sell the seeds at the store!

i was forwarded this great thing to do in September: PARK(ing) DAY!

What is Parking Day you ask?  Started a few years back from a collective of artists, designers and activists, Parking Day is a celebration and call-to-action for public space.

How so? By parking yourself with greenery and vegetation with a hint of creativity.

(bringing the park to you!)

(lounging in the sidewalk park in NY)

this is such a great idea!  THIS NEEDS TO HAPPEN IN THE OC PEOPLE!

Just to quell some fears for those who might be doubtful, I have calculated the costs & benefits to both types of “parking”::

conventional parking: lots of oil and trash, road rage, idling and wasting fuel, leaving the scene as soon as you park, not talking to people or enjoying life.

Parking Day: making things clean and beautiful, hanging out and meeting people, relaxing and no rage, making a case for urban beautification/public space, having fun, getting your green on….

PARKING DAY IS SEPTEMBER 19th, 2008

if anyone is interested in participating, please contact our store and we will lead you to people who are working on bringing this event locally!

i have an overzealous rosemary plant that has taken over 1/2 of the small front of my yard. i have exhausted the “wrapped rosemary in twine” gift that everyone i know has received at least twice and the cooking it in every meal. love the plant, but i am getting a little over it, but the plant seems to keep getting bigger…..what do i do??

lately, i have been putting the plant’s hardy branches to work in a vase here at the store. i don’t know why i haven’t thought of this earlier, but this is the perfect use of just any plant that has had growth spurts, yet you just don’t want to give it up to compost.

the left is the rosemary, well over a foot high. the right is a handful of basil in a mason jar from our CSA basket a couple weeks ago, YES a couple weeks ago! both arrangements are easy to make and you can dress them up: pebbles in the vase, the occasional flower or a few strands of twine…or keep it simple like above. i must say, people have been complimenting them quite often because of their mouthwatering smell.