Last fall during the Get Up! program, one of the class projects was the removal of our small turf lawn. Although only 9 feet by 12 feet, our lawn demonstration has become obsolete in the 21st century. Even a small turf lawn requires more water than we want to commit. After some experimentation, we decided on a water-wise meadow as a replacement for the lawn area.
Read MoreGardening is an odd combination of solitude and company. Many of us do the actual work of gardening alone for hours. This is when gardening books and garden writers become important allies. The best books scold and strategize as well as inspire and encourage. They remind us of what is possible as well as saying “I told you so.” They become good friends, whose humorous critique and encouragement are as useful as any other garden tool.
Read MoreIt’s too much to expect us to give up our tulips and crocuses “cold turkey.” Yet, this annual planting spree followed by throwing out the bulbs can’t last in a world were sustainability is the new byword. That’s why we need a substitute: beautiful, graceful spring flowering bulbs which are suited to our climate so that they can naturalize, returning year after year.
Read MoreMany people, when they think about native plants, conjure up a vision of rangy, sparse, weedy looking shrubs. And sadly, many native plants have been set out around town in well-meant projects and then neglected, giving native gardening a bad name. But native plants, when well-cared for, can produce as many graceful, magical effects as plants from anywhere else on the planet.
Read MoreOpen daily from dawn until dusk every day of the year!
Garden address: 1590 7th Avenue, San Francisco
info@gardenfortheenvironment.org
Mailing address: 2150 Allston Way, Suite 460, Berkeley, California 94704
Garden for the Environment is a fiscally sponsored project of Earth Island Institute.
