this past weekend, our loft building in downtown los angeles had the first planting of our community garden. we started with a tabula rasa, added some organic soil, trellises, stepping stones, lanterns, tables and chairs.

we all agreed we wanted it to be organic, so no gmo’s or pesticides allowed. one of our members, and original instigators, linda, also known as the farmers market fairy, was able to pick up a good portion of the seedlings at the wednesday’s santa monica farmers market, and dan, our hoa president, was able to find the remaining at armstrong’s nursery, including a dwarf meyer lemon tree he has named ‘lucy.’

to celebrate the occasion, dan mixed up a pitcher of refreshing strawberry basil cocktails, which with all the herbs we are growing was a fitting premonition and inspiration for upcoming garden cocktail parties.

we spread out our newly adopted wee loved ones, guided by what little knowledge we knew of what needs sun or shade, and some other random tips we had collected.

with that…we started digging.

once everything was planted, we did a trial watering to get the roots good and soaked.

we are all aware that urban gardening has it’s challenges. for instance, here in skidrokyo, we find trash thrown over the fence daily, like this welcoming pile of clothing on this particular afternoon…

…but bringing together our neighbors…

…and seeing those vibrant green sprouts sticking out of the dark brown soil…

…makes it all worth it.

‘when i go into the garden with a spade, and dig a bed, i feel such an exhilaration and health that i discover that i have been defrauding myself all this time in letting others do for me what i should have done with my own hands.’  -ralph waldo emerson

for those interested, here is a list of the fruits, vegetables and herbs we have planted thus far:

• arugula
• spinach
• mint
• spearmint
• parsley
• thyme
• mediterranean thyme
• rosemary
• variegated sage
• oakleaf lettuce
• chamomile
• cilantro
• lavender
• basil
• thai sweet basil
• purple basil
• oregano
• mexican oregano
• greek oregano
• poblano pepper
• fatali pepper
• serrano pepper
• green bell pepper
• red bell pepper
• yellow bell pepper
• maui onion
• bunching onions
• honeydew
• snap beans
• appalachian pole bean
• tsungshigo tomato
• cherokee purple tomato
• hawaiian pineapple tomato
• sungold cherry tomato
• sausage tomato
• armenian cucumber
• persian cucumber
• meyer lemon