My favorite thing to find in the garden is fruit trees in bloom. The smell, the pop of delicate blossoms, and tiny burgeoning fruits. Unfortunately in most small gardens, fruit trees spend most of the year as thorny tangled messes whose branches lazily droop into nearby vegetable beds. The kindly gardener has to tip-toe around her lemons lest they reach out and tear her sleeve, or worse, … Read More
Meet the Rosmead Garden Our friends who have volunteered their yard and enthusiasm live just off the cutest lane called Rosmead Place. With the park, shopping, and Town Hall around the corner, we are excited about the prospects of this garden becoming a central teaching opportunity. This also challenges us to design for a more aesthetically oriented population, combining sustainability, high yields, … Read More
In addition to our rooftop efforts, we have a tiny courtyard garden to make use of. When I first moved in, the garden had several lovely tropical varieties in pots, but the soil was either paved over or covered in stones to prevent splashing mud during the monsoon seasons. There were no edible varieties, save two tiny curry saplings. There were also … Read More
As more and more urban families begin to explore growing food at home, we read about more and more run-ins with homeowner’s associations and city councils claiming that our gardens are unsightly and inappropriate. While I do not recommend backing down or growing apologetically as we strive to show our communities what can be possible, I do want to encourage the aesthetically … Read More