Search Results for: label/lead

87 results

Rearranging the yard, yet again!

Mrs. Homegrown
Garden Design, Gardening
11 Comments
...proved. These are the three things that the redesign addresses: 1) Flow. Movement within the garden. The old layout looked great but lacked flow. I think gardens should have paths. They should invite you to move through them, lead you on a small journey of discovery, rather than challenging you to make left-right decisions, as if you were playing Pac-Man. The primary change in our layout is that I’ve established a new curving path that will...

Continue reading…

A Review of Williams-Sonoma’s Agrarian Line

Mr. Homegrown
Thoughtstylings
20 Comments
...about the Agrarian line. One reader likened the “Agrarian” items to Marie Antoinette’s 18th century cosplay mini-farm. Another hoped that mainstream acceptance of things like chicken coops and beehives might lead to fewer uptight home owners association restrictions. Yet another speculated that Ikea would come out with similar, but more modernist, options. But rather than delve into the cultural meaning of the Agrarian line (you...

Continue reading…

The Stages of Alchemy as a Metaphor for Composting

Mr. Homegrown
Composting, Gardening, Thoughtstylings
5 Comments
...angentially in the case of fungi) connected to the solar power of the sun. Rubedo, a reddening At the final stage, the rubedo, a multiplication takes place – life pervades the compost pile in a highly concentrated form. Lead becomes gold and, in fact, everything the rubedo touches becomes gold. The same goes with our compost. Everything it comes in contact with is pervaded with microbial life. At its heart, alchemy is a metaphor for spirit...

Continue reading…

Salvia Means Salvation: White Sage

Mrs. Homegrown
Gardening, Herbs, Native Plants
21 Comments
...f you’re just starting out with herbs. If you have access to white sage, I’d encourage you to try the white sage leaf in the water bottle–just to experience where that sort of relationship with a plant might lead you. But for other purposes I’d recommend you stick to culinary sage, unless you’ve studied this plant, maybe have Cecilia and James’ book, and are clear on what you’re doing. Here’s a qui...

Continue reading…

Vote Yes on 2 (if you’re in Cali)

Mr. Homegrown
Thoughtstylings
4 Comments
...see that University of California veterinarians, supported by our tax dollars (not to mention our past tuition dollars), have lent their support to the anti-prop 2 campaign alleging that removing animals from confinement will lead to disease outbreaks. Since these researchers get their funding from industrial agriculture, one can’t expect anything but biased, junk science. Given the funding situation, it’s also wise to view all extens...

Continue reading…

Emergency water storage

Mrs. Homegrown
Preparedness, Water and Power
24 Comments
...is because some food stuffs leave behind residues which is impossible to clean from the drum. These might just manifest as off odors that make the water smell and taste bad, or they might even contain tiny traces of food will lead to bacterial growth during long term storage. For example, it is impossible to clean away traces of dairy, no matter how hard you scrub. It seemed better to just pay the extra money than to worry about it. I don’t...

Continue reading…

Update on the Food and Flowers Freedom Act

Mr. Homegrown
Events, Thoughtstylings
1 Comment
...ck gardening” and off-site resale of produce and flowers grown in residential zones in the City of Los Angeles. The tide is turning. Once the poster child for urban blight and bad planning, Los Angeles may just take the lead the in access to local, healthy food. I almost cried when I heard a Planning Commissioner lovingly describe the taste of a homegrown tomato. There’s still two more steps, however, before these changes become offi...

Continue reading…

Know Maintanance

Mr. Homegrown
Gardening, Resources
8 Comments
...o that garden unless it has a striking form (spiky, billowing, vertical spire), strong foliage color (blues/golds/purples, etc), or a long season of blooms (2 month minimum). We had to redo our yard after last year’s lead soil reports (more on that in another post), and the design of our own space is a frequent source of marital disagreements. After reading Rainer’s advice together we vowed, “plant drama, not couple drama....

Continue reading…