Waterwise is a Strategy, not a Style ~ Eat Your Garden

"Gardening simply does not allow one to be mentally old, because too many hopes and dreams are yet to be realized."  ~ Alan Armatage

Edible Landscaping 

 It was a class at the Los Angeles Arboretum and Botanic Garden  by Rosalind Creasy. She's the woman who wrote the book on planting a garden good enough to eat. Literally. In fact, many books. 

I was in the mood for her brand of optimism. Waterwise is more than succulents and cactus interspersed amongst gravel. It is a strategy to get the most out of the resources at hand. Its beauty is not just one vision of paradise- and it can taste mighty good.

Two of her books came home with me. I  intended them as reading material for the stack I'm saving for some soon scheduled bed-rest, but I was too tempted. That weekend's Sabbath was filled with joy and wonderment. For I am a gardener who likes to bring the outside in. Not just the view through the window. I like to bring the ingredients  which the rabbits and squirrels leave as our portion for working "their land."

Lavender blossoms infusing scent and taste into a jar of  Bakers Sugar

Some facts from 'Ros'. The scalloped shape of the tomato below is sculpted from multiple fertilized ovaries. The reason the ugly brown and funny green tomatoes taste so good is that the color genetic-code comes with a flavor boost. 

 Haggen  grocery is open in Diamond Bar. On a nieces recommendation, I went in. They know where to find delicious produce when it isn't in season in my garden. The gorgeous specimen sliced up on a bed of baby spinach and feta cheese just waiting for a family member to anoint it with their choice of salad dressing- this is heaven on a plate.  

Recipes from the Garden

It makes me smile to know that anything edible which can be grown at home is not only more delicious than store-bought: it uses far less water than a commercial crop. When we grow our own food, this leaves more produce for the rest of the nation. Which makes my using a little bit of water patriotic. 

 Last winter, all of California prayed for rain. A polite amount fell. Mostly on weekends: followed by warm workdays. Good for not tying up our notoriously wicked commuter traffic more than usual. Also good for keeping the local mosquito population off any endangered list. 

Next year we need to throw in a request for snowpack. May God throttle- up the volume of fluffy white frozen crystals evolving into clear liquid from trickle to flow. And during this time of drought, may we have the wisdom to be preparing for the rain to come. 

Until we meet again- Thank YOU for all YOU do to make the world more beautiful. 

Lydia 

Quote found on Self Sustainable Life