Garden Bus!

Let's talk about plants!

I saw this post on the GOOD magazine website and immediately knew I had to share it.

http://www.urbangardensweb.com/2011/02/01/gardens-on-top-of-city-busses/

The organization is called Bus Roots - it was developed by an NYU student for a masters thesis. The gist is this: he is using the top of a public bus to plant a garden! Each bus top is 340 square feet. There are approximately 4,500 buses in the fleet. If each bus had a garden on top, that would add 1,530,000 square feet of rolling garden space to the city!!!

It made me think: what space could I use to create more greenery? What would that do for my environment, both on a small and large scale? What would it do for my neighbors? I can only imagine sitting in an office building at work, glancing out my second or third story window for a quick mental break, and a garden rolls by on the top of a bus. How would that change my outlook in the moment? How would it change my outlook over time?

I am so inspired by people who think outside the proverbial box, or in this case think on top of it.

The Garden went native.

The seeds were planted in mid spring. The seedlings came up. They grew. I watered them everyday (sometimes twice on really hot days). We were gone for 4 days and I had to find a friend to come to the apartment to water the plants. The seedlings grew into flowers and herbs and edible things. They flourished and lived. And now they have died.

Instead of replanting seeds and running "the race" again, I have decided to go native. That means succulents, drought-resistant plants, species that only need watering once or twice a week, and things that LOVE the sun. I spent a little time at Armstrong Gardening in Santa Monica this week. The staff were friendly, helpful and provided me with more information then I have received in every visit combined that I made to Home Depot or Osh over the last 4 years. (Armstrong did not pay me for this or give me any sort of kickback and does not even know I am writing about them... I just wanted to share that they were GREAT!)

That being said, I would like to introduce you to some of the new additions. I am excited to see how they take to their new environment. As usual, it will be a fun experiment to see what thrives and what dives. I am going to have to return to Armstrong soon; I have already forgotten the names of some of our new plant pals.

Hens and Chicks is also called Sempervivum arachnoideum. Apparently, under the optimal conditions, it has very rare, bright red blooms. Maybe I will get lucky!

SharkSkin Agave is a bit dangerous, but cool looking. There are sharp little spines along the edges of the leaves. I do not think I will be getting too close and personal with this little guy.

Garden update.

Welcome to the garden!

I am welcoming two new friends to the garden!  Please make the acquaintance of Basil and Sage. I hope they choose to stick around for a while and grow happy, healthy and hearty. Cheers!