Poppy Print goes live
The return to the Theodore Payne Foundation of some of Jane Pinheiro’s botanical watercolors is among the subjects covered in the summer edition of the Poppy Print, which has just gone live online for non-members. Also read it to learn about the foundation’s new executive director, Lynnette Kampe, then proceed to summer gardening tips, a schedule of classes, and a nifty gallery of our local lizards.…
The Dry Garden: Vertical waste
Detail of a "Woolly Pocket" (actually recycled plastic) at the SmogShoppe vertical garden in Culver City in summer of 2010. Normally drought tolerant succulents require routine irrigation in a mouldering setting. Photo: Emily Green
They say you catch more flies with honey than vinegar, but I’ve never wanted to catch flies. Moreover, as borrowed phrases go, I far prefer, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, sit by me.” And so, I issued an invitation: If you are skeptical about the vogue for vertical gardens, sit by me.
A few smart people from the worlds of gardening and landscape architecture took the chair. Here’s what they had to say.
Click here to keep reading this week’s ‘Dry Garden’ in the Los Angeles Times.
A comment string to do with this post has been removed because it was overpopulating the home page and descending in tone. The sentiments of the …
Arguing with drunks
Los Angeles City Hall on a foggy morning seen from the top floor of the DWP building. Photo: Emily Green. Click on the image to be taken to the City Council 'on demand' service to watch LA's politicians try to pass a lawn-watering ordinance.
Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti yesterday encouraged colleagues to approve a 3-day-a-week lawn-watering ordinance while defending himself against criticism from a recent op-ed piece in the Los Angeles Times (written by me).
“There was an editorial or op-ed in the Los Angeles Times, it was well written, it argued that we shouldn’t go to 2-3 because it kills more plants,” he said. “If you actually look, there’s a lot of research on both sides and that is really more about grass only and certain types of grass. And even in the hottest hours, we know that if you only do it twice a week …
The week that was, 8/1-7/2010
“It is unprecedented …” — Major General Athar Abbas, Half a million evacuated from Pakistan floods, Daily Telegraph, August 6, 2010
“I appeal to the world to help us.” — Pakistani prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on floods now estimated to impact more than two million people, Rains worsen Pakistan flood misery, Al Jazeera, August 8, 2010*
Refugees from record monsoon flooding in Pakistan. Click on the image to make a donation to British Red Cross relief efforts. A £20 sterling donation will translate to roughly $32 US dollars.
“If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them?” That’s an excellent question, but it turns out [Chief Seattle] never asked it. The entire “web of life” speech was concocted in 1972 by a Hollywood screenwriter. — H2Ownership: Ancient, Equitable Traditions of Efficient Water Resource Trading …
The Dry Garden: Choosing fruit
Central to the promise of the California dream is the idea that you can reach out of your kitchen window and pluck a lemon. As we hit the limits of our water supply, that specter of home-grown fruit remains steadily possible, even a social ideal in the complex matrix of energy and water footprints.
In attaining it, the first hurdle is choice: What kind of lemon? What about oranges and limes? A modest lot in Los Angeles can produce full loads of not only citrus but also avocadoes, plums, apricots and nectarines. And don’t forget figs, pomegranates and apples. A long list only becomes longer when you consider the varieties and crosses available for each type of fruit. Valencia orange or blood? Eureka lemon or Meyer? Plum or “aprium”?
Choice of fruit trees is one of the most important decisions that you’ll make in a garden. You’ll be eating the …
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