Oh dear.

Posted by Andrea Bellamy at 9:52 am | Permalink | Comments (11)

So, today’s the frost free date for Vancouver, and this is what it’s doing outside? Big, fat flakes. Doesn’t look like much in the photo, but come ON! 

Posted by Andrea Bellamy at 9:34 am | Permalink | Comments (8)

As a member of the Vancouver Guerrilla Gardening Group, and of course, through this blog, I am often privileged to be in contact with guerrilla gardeners around the world – a very cool feeling! The similar challenges we all face – and of course, the differences – are fascinating to me.

This week, Julia from Berlin emailed our group to let us know about the destruction of Garten Rosa Rose, a community garden in the Friedrichshain neighbourhood of Berlin. The garden, started by a group of neighbours in the spring of 2004, was situated on three adjacent vacant lots. That’s right – the gardeners didn’t own this space.

Julia writes: “The property had been sold last summer to an investor and the new owner never contacted us to let us know; we found out by chance. Despite a lot of moral support from different politicians, ‘nothing could be done’ since it is private property and we have a new fast-track building permit process here in Germany. We have been trying to buy the property ourselves for years but were too slow in getting the money together…”

On March 14, the gardeners of Rosa Rose were evicted by police, a real blow “as the first flowers are just blooming and we are still harvesting winter vegetables and herbs,” says Julia. The account of the garden’s destruction is shocking and sad, and my heart goes out to these Berlin gardeners.

I know there are some people that will say, “but it wasn’t their property – what do you expect?” And part of me recognizes that part of being a guerrilla gardener means accepting the transitory nature of your plantings, and the possibility that your plants could be mowed down by the City tomorrow. But still, I find what happened at Rosa Rose disheartening. I can only imagine how the gardeners must feel.

I wonder if this would happen here in Vancouver. On one hand, despite the rapid pace of development, the City officially has a positive attitude toward community gardens. There’s the Green Streets program, for example, as well as a project to see 2010 new community garden plots available before the 2010 Olympics. And the City was open to a collaborative effect between gardeners and Onni Developments, in which a community garden was temporarily established on an Onni-owned lot downtown. (The gardens will exist for one or two growing seasons or until the development permit is approved for condos.)

On the other hand, money talks. And if green space is in the way, look out. Ultimately, developers have greater sway than do community gardeners. A forcible eviction – such as happened at Rosa Rose – isn’t unthinkable here. When will we value community and green space over the almighty dollar?

In true guerrilla fashion, the gardeners of Rosa Rose haven’t given up and are trying to raise enough money to buy the property back from the developer. To learn more or to help, visit their website.

Posted by Andrea Bellamy at 5:40 pm | Permalink | Comments (5)

Happy solstice, friends! Soon we’ll be planting and digging and watering up a storm. Can’t wait!

Posted by Andrea Bellamy at 5:49 pm | Permalink | Comments (2)

Lately, I’ve noticed that more and more designers are having fun with indoor planters. From miniature pink flamingos for your cacti to “treehouses” for your ficus, decorating your houseplants is definitely big.

Then there are containers that make more of a statement than any terracotta pot could dream of. (Remember the IV plant pot from Vitamin Living?) The newest – and possibly baddest – kid on the block is the Park Planter from Science & Sons.

Drawing inspiration from the bonsai, designer
Tristan Zimmermann created the Park Planter “to
elevate the common household plant to the status of full grown tree.
The potted plant becomes the backdrop for an urban park scene.”  Scenes include both the innocuous – dog walkers – and the sketchy – flashers and muggers. No two scenes are alike. Park Planters will be available sometime in spring 2008.

Posted by Andrea Bellamy at 3:19 pm | Permalink | Comments (7)

Posted by Andrea Bellamy at 11:42 am | Permalink | Comments (2)

I read Second Nature: a gardener’s education by Michael Pollan (who has been getting lots of press lately for The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food) for the February-March 2008 selection of the Garden Blogger’s Bookclub, hosted by Carol of May Dreams Gardens.

I thoroughly enjoyed Pollan’s writing – so much so that I deleted my name off the library wait list for The Omnivore’s Dilemma (number 157) and shelled out the coin for my own copy.

Second Nature is, on one hand, the tale of Pollan’s trials and successes as he tries to put his stamp on his new property – an old Connecticut dairy farm. But in doing so, he educates himself – and the reader – in a collection of essays meditating on the sociological constructs that define a “garden.”

At first, Pollan vacillates between a romantic, Emersonian take on gardening – believing that “natural” is always superior to “artificial” – and a slightly more aggressive approach, particularly in regards to the woodchuck that is devouring his carefully-planting vegetable garden. It is this tension between naturalist (”who gazes benignly on all of nature’s operations”) and if not developer, at least an experienced gardener with “a somewhat less sentimental view” that is at the heart of this book.

At first, Pollan takes the naturalist’s route, planting a wildflower garden and adopting a laisse-faire attitude toward weeds, which he approaches as “not a category of nature but a human construct, a defect of our perception.” But after a year battling bindweed, pigweed, burdock and other assorted thugs in his wildflower bed, Pollan realizes that his “idealized wildflower meadow now looked like a roadside tangle and, if I let it go another year, would probably pass for a vacant lot.”

On the other end of the spectrum, the hungry woodchuck incites Pollan to try everything from attempting to firebomb the woodchuck’s burrow to “an act of terrorism” – bringing home roadkill and shoving into the hole. His fury at the woodchuck makes him realize some of our “darker attitudes toward nature: the way her intransigence can make us crazy, and how willing we are to poison her in the single-minded pursuit of some short-term objective.”

Pollan’s exploration of how we confront the natural landscape is ultimately the theme of this book – and like most things, it doesn’t fall neatly into some predetermined category: “Domination or acquiescence? As developers or naturalists? I no longer think the choice is so obvious.”

Second Nature is full of insightful gems like this, and any gardener is sure to recognize him or herself in Pollan’s musings.

I’ll end with one of my favourite paragraphs from the book:

Domination, translated into suburban or rural terms, means lawn. A few acres of Kentucky bluegrass arranged in a buffer zone between house and landscape, a no-man’s-land patrolled weekly with a rotary blade. The lawn holds great appeal, especially to Americans. It looks sort of natural – it’s green; it grows – but in fact it represents a subjugation of the forest as utter and complete as a parking lot. Every species is forcibly excluded from the landscape but one, and this is forbidden to grow longer than the owner’s little finger. A lawn is nature under totalitarian rule.

Posted by Andrea Bellamy at 10:56 am | Permalink | Comments (19)

As you know, I was too pregnant to make it to the Northwest Flower and Garden Show in Seattle last week. Thankfully, my friends Caitlin and Owen (aka “O”), the brilliant minds behind garden design group Aloe Designs, made the trip and took notes. This is Caitlin’s report back from the show. Thanks Cait! (P.S.: Caitlin has just launched a new blog called Nesting, about “all things home and garden.” Check it out!)

Northwest Flower and Garden Show 2008
by Caitlin Black

With all this yucky rain, we have really been itching for spring and some garden inspiration. So O and I headed down south to the Northwest Flower & Garden Show in Seattle. We took a break from it last year, so we were pretty excited to see what was in store for ‘08. Lots of great goodies. We managed to complete it in a day and were definitely inspired by some great ideas. Some of the highlights:

1.0 Going Native

It seemed a few years back the overall theme was bulb mania. This year it was replaced by lots of exhibits featuring indigenous plantings and mild mulches, which as we all know require little maintenance and are drought tolerant – an easy recipe for any urban gardener. One we loved: A Weekend Adventure – by New Leaf Creations (above).

2.0 Eat Your Greens

Thanks to the Northwest Horticulture Society, we were so thrilled to see that a large amount of the show was dedicated to kitchen gardens. From small container arrangements to large potagers this was definitely my favorite part of the show (above and below).

I was just as ecstatic when I saw the live chicken coop at the Seattle Urban Farm Co. display. This was way too cool for its own good, with a vegetable garden-lined brick pathway, edible green roof, mini orchard, farm kitchen and the beloved livestock. Way to go guys!

3.0 Contemporary Arrangements

We always seem to gravitate to the modern, but there were so many great
container arrangements this year. Check out these sleek planters (above
and below).

4.0 Think Green

Sunset sponsors this event, so I felt like a kid in a candy shop trying to make sure we made enough time to hear some of the speaker series. The most memorable talk was by one of their editors, Lauren Bonar Swzey, who spoke on the design savvy sustainable gardens she has visited over the years. Can we say “job envy”?

5.0 Designer Spotting… And a Little Bit of a Crush

To say that I didn’t go bright red and a bit sweaty when I got to meet one of my favourite international designers, Jamie Durie, would be completely lying. He was just as gorgeous and lovely in person. I talked with him for a bit about his books and even scored an autograph. O was thoroughly embarrassed for me.

6.0 Monrovia Plants

Monrovia is, in my opinion, one of the best plant suppliers out there. If my long-desired job at Sunset doesn’t pan out, I think these guys would be my second choice. It was great to see some of the new species they have developed. Two that intrigued us were Baby Bliss Flax Lily and Wate’s Golden Pine. Now if only our nurseries carried more of their stock.

7.0 Farmers Rock

We talked with some great suppliers in the Marketplace but our favorite couple were from Half Moon Bay, CA. Farmer John Muller and his wife Eda run Farmer John’s Pumpkins and distribute Franchi old world heirloom seeds from Italy. We bought up some gems and successfully managed to smuggle them back home – yippee!

8.0 Classic Designs

I have been on a serious search for some girlie-as-girlie-can-be rain boots. I finally found them at the Smith and Hawkins booth. As much as I am ready to see the rain disappear, maybe a few more days wouldn’t hurt so I can sport these cuties.

9.0 Eco Friendly Products

Two interesting products caught our eye. One is a non-toxic organic pesticide spray that has packaging reminiscent of Method. It’s called Pharm Solutions and is made locally in Washington State.

The other was a five gallon compost tea brewer made from a company called Keep It Simple.

10.0 A Resting Place

After being on our feet all day we were ready for a seat and a tall one. We found the perfect answer in Ballard at Kings Hardware – a local watering hole that served cold local brews and mini little burgers. A nice end to a great day.

Posted by Andrea Bellamy at 9:14 am | Permalink | Comments (4)