The Garden

Coming soon to a local-independently owned-socially responsible-sustainable-organic pop-corn serving-theatre near you... o.k. so AMC might screen it too.  

The 14 acre community garden in South Central Los Angeles was the
largest of it's kind in the United States. It was started as a form of
healing after the devastating L.A. riots in 1992. Since that time, the
South Central Farmers have created a miracle in one of the country's
most blighted neighborhoods. Growing their own food. Feeding their
families. Creating a community. But now bulldozers threaten their
oasis. "The Garden" is an unflinching look at the struggle between
these urban farmers and the City of Los Angeles and a powerful
developer who want to evict them and build warehouses.

Release date: April 24, 2009

 

Guerrilla Gardening and May 1st Sunflower Sowing!

If planting flowers at 2 AM under the cover of darkness sounds like a great time,  check out Richard Reynold's radical approach to beautifying neglected green space: GuerrillaGardening.org  

Reynolds started his blog out of the U.K. in 2004 as...

 a record of [his] illicit cultivation around London.  It is now also a growing arsenal for anyone interested in the war against neglect and scarcity of public space as a place to grow things, be they beautiful, tasty (or both!)  

We can get behind that!

The site includes Community links to happenings around the globe, including Massachusetts as well as updates about global events. May 1st is the third annual International Sunflower Guerilla Gardening Day.  Facebook provides details as:

The third annual event for guerrilla gardeners around the world to get out there and sow sunflower seeds in their neighbourhood. All you need are the seeds, something to poke a hole 2cm in the ground and a bit of imagination.

Launched by the Brussels' Farmers in 2007
http://brussels-farmer.blogspot.com/ and championed by http://www.GuerrillaGardening.orgthis year should be a bigger planting event than ever! More people are feeling the urge to make a positive contribution to their local environment and have some fun at the same time. 

The sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is a beacon of the potential in our land. Not only do they boldly beautify space but also to make it productive too as a favourite with wildlife across the urban jungle.

Make a plan for May 1 to meet somewhere public at 8pm (your local time) with seeds, tools and a location or route of neglected land. Post your ideas on the wall of this event or on your local COMMUNITY pages of GuerrillaGardening.org.
http://guerrillagardening.org/community/index.php

And hey, there's really no need to wait until May 1 across much of the world, it's fine to be planting sunflower from now, or indeed most other hardy annuals!

Tips about planting are here: http://www.guerrillagardening.org/ggsunflower.html

(At this time of the year sunflowers are best suited to residents of the Northern Hemisphere so go for daffodils if you're coming into winter.)

Plant a seed, join a group, and meet other people with the same mission.  Enjoy!

SPROUT 2009: A Benefit for Waltham Fields Community Farm

SPROUT 2009: A Benefit for Waltham Fields Community Farm

Come out to support local agriculture in Waltham!

Saturday, May 16th 6-9pm

at the Charles River Museum of Industry, 154 Moody St. in Waltham

Fabulous silent auction, great food and an open bar!

Ticket Prices: $35 for members, $45 for non-members.

Purchase Tickets Now through Wainwright Bank's secure website. When you go to the site - skip down to #2, enter the dollar amount, and make sure to WRITE THE NUMBER OF TICKETS AND MENTION SPROUT IN THE SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS BOX.