Kitchen garden

The downside to a corner lot is that you have very little backyard space, and you have a lot of what seems like wasted space facing the streets. But this household has turned that wasted space into a magnificent kitchen garden, producing enough veggies to last them all summer.

And, it provides a scenic stop on my regular dog-walking path.

Private park

Many of the units at the new Centerpointe development on Paramount Blvd. are done now. The outdoor areas and this private park are landscaped and ready for entertaining (residents only, of course).

Except for the back areas, where construction and landscaping are still in progress. It takes a lot of containers to turn an empty lot into a green area.

Looks like California

In the "not new, but new to me" category is this Native Plant Garden and Murals, created by the Art Club and Environmental Club at Warren High School, back around 2012. (I'm not sure if the "Tree People" on the sign refers to members of the club, or is perhaps the name of the mural behind the sign.)

The garden is filled with blooming native plants, to be enjoyed by people and insects alike. Monarch butterflies flitted from bush to bush (although they seemed to delight in avoiding my camera). Bees were doing a lot of flitting, too, but with them the avoidance was on my side.

"Native plants give us a sense of where we are in this great land of ours. I want Texas to look like Texas and Vermont to look like Vermont."
~ Lady Bird Johnson

Kitchen garden

Yesterday Steve posted about the signs of spring. I love this time of the year—it is when I start to see the tomatoes ripening and my herbs sort of exploding in their boxes.



I have a bit of a mixture of things—a dwarf potted orange tree as well as a few different flowers mixed in for color. Oh, and peppers...I really like peppers.

"Gardening is cheaper than therapy...and you get tomatoes." 
~ FOODMATTERS.TV

Kitchen garden

From blossom to fruit—in this case, vegetable. This is my cucumber vine. I love growing fresh veggies in my kitchen garden.

The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul.
~ Alfred Austin

Sometimes it's good to be tolerant

I have seen more and more drought-tolerant yards popping up all over Downey. While the City of Downey encourages replacing your lawn with drought-tolerant options, the city's codes still require the front and street side yards to be landscaped with a living plant material.

While I like the idea of low maintenance and reduced cost, I have a bit of a hard time with the thought of giving up my grass. It's the perfect place to sit in the shade on a hot day.

The secret of the cosmos

Here's another example of drought-tolerant landscaping. This one, with all its wildflowers, is more to my personal taste—and made me a bit jealous. No matter how hard I try, I've never been able to successfully grow cosmos (those purple and white flowers along the back). Maybe I've been overwatering them all this time?

Desert days

Just next door to yesterday's "mountain retreat" is landscaping designed to remind us of the desert that we actually live in. This drought-tolerant landscaping has its own beauty, but mentally cooling one off on a warm afternoon is not one of its benefits.

Elaine's garden revisited

About three years ago, I wrote about this garden, created by Dave Lopez in memory of his wife Elaine. In those three years, the roses have flourished, to the point that the abundance of white made me stop this week for a closer look.

It has grown into a beautiful and peaceful place.

Patriotic gardening

I've seen (and posted) so many variations of flags lately, I couldn't resist adding this patriotic wheelbarrow. It adds a real splash of color to an otherwise dry and dusty (that is, drought-tolerant) scene.

Plant your own garden

This yard made me smile. Initially I thought about drought tolerance, but there is such a fun explosion of color here. And there is something to be said for immediate gratification. No waiting for a bloom...instant flower, instant color.

Sustainable gardening

Back in 2012, I noticed a new garden being planted at the Southern California Gas Company. In the four years since, those baby plants have grown into a beautiful sustainable landscape that flourishes even in our current drought conditions.

The garden uses a drip watering system that is smart enough to adjust for weather conditions all by itself. And in spite of desert-like conditions, there are lots of flowering plants to add to the beauty.

Take a walk through this garden some time, and get some ideas for your own garden!

New uses

I like new uses for old things. These ladders came from the alley behind our street....so, I guess that makes me a dumpster diver of a sort. They were castoffs, something a neighbor had no more use for. But I just thought of the possibilities of how they could help in my garden. And, one of the nice benefits is that they are portable. I actually move my garden around because most of it is above ground.

"There is no such way as "away". When we throw anything away, it must go somewhere." 
~ Annie Leonard 

Making your own garden

Stacy, the lady that lives in this house, told me that the yard used to be grass all the way up to the house. One day earlier this year she thought, "Maybe I can plant a garden in my front yard." So she cleared away the grass from in front of the house, put a rock fence to divide the lawn from the garden, and planted some flower seeds. She had some sunflower seeds in the house and thought, "I wonder if these will grow."

A few weeks after she got her answer to both questions. Yes, she could have a beautiful garden in her front yard, and sunflower plants will grow from those seeds.

Have you planted anything to make your life more beautiful lately?

Mary, Mary, quite contrary

It's spring, and my garden is a little bit wild at the moment. Our nasturtiums typically bloom in the fall, but these have sprung up again for another round of blooms this spring.

How does your garden grow?

Alternative gardening

When you live upstairs, you can't really plant a garden. But this upstairs dweller near downtown Downey has done the next best thing by creating a potted garden on every available space.

Worth the wait

When La Barca Grill and Cantina opened in 2012, they of course landscaped all of the outside areas. But if you've ever landscaped your yard, you know that it can take a year (or two, or three) before you see the full potential of what you've planted.

I've thought about that every time I've passed La Barca this summer, as I've enjoyed the vibrant abundance of blooms mixed in with several varieties of cactus plants. It's a beautiful (and environmentally friendly) sight!

Drought conditions

According to CA.gov we are living through one of the most severe droughts on record. In fact, this past January a drought state of emergency was declared.  And, Downey has not escaped.

I have noticed more flower beds in Downey that have the look of becoming "drought tolerant." The county of Los Angeles defines drought tolerant as a garden full of plants that can get by on rainfall alone.

According to the LA County handbook on "The Drought Tolerant Garden," fresh water is a valuable resource and our local supply is not being replenished. We bring in most of our water from other places, and the cost of that is very expensive. We currently use at least half of our drinking water to irrigate our lawns and gardens. By making our gardens more climate appropriate, we can have beautiful, lush gardens full of flowers, herbs, fruit, even grass and meadows, at a fraction of the water cost.

Today, I noticed this yard, which has a nicely done drought tolerant side section. One of the things that initially drew my attention was the sort of exterior trellis that surrounded this cactus—it is very inventive.

While the City of Downey encourages drought tolerant landscaping, there are some city codes you must follow. See the city site for more info.

"We never know the worth of water, til the well is dry." 
~ Thomas Fuller

Alternatives

We live in a desert.

The only reason we have green grass and lush landscaping is because we pipe the water in. And now (in spite of yesterday's unusual May rainstorm), California is facing one of the most severe droughts on record.

Drought-resistant landscaping has been around for a long time, but I've noticed a definite trend around Downey toward saving water. This strip mall recently replaced their grass with this water-saving alternative.

Spread your wings and fly butterfly

Springtime brings not only flowers, but butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees.

This is the best time of the year. Thanks to daylight saving time, the evenings are longer, so there is more time to spend outdoors. I love to watch hummingbirds flit from flower to flower. They are so quick and delicate as they poke their beak into the petals. And, the variety of colors on butterflies always delights.

"We were children in the garden where the flowers kiss the sky and the birds sang out in wonder as the day went sailing by."
~ lyrics to Daydream by Robin Trower