Picture Sunday: Images of Detroit

June 30, 2013

...s week I discovered that regular reader Jill Nienhuis is not only an urban homesteader, but a talented artist, too. Her paintings and other projects are wonderful – -you can see more at her website : Jill Nienhuis Jill lives in a neighborhood in NW Detroit called Brightmoor. It’s a neighborhood which has fallen on hard times, but is being revitalized, largely through gardening. She and her boyfriend, Michael, are growing a large garden on several...

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Author William Powers to Speak in Los Angeles

Mr. Homegrown

September 18, 2015

Events

I had the great pleasure of hearing William Powers speak about his book 12 by 12 a few years ago. He’s returning to Los Angeles for a book talk and signing at Skylight Books on Saturday October 3rd at 5 pm. Powers is a very thoughtful, honest and engaging speaker. Living simply in the big city is, obviously, a subject close to our hearts. From the book description: New Slow City Living Simply in the World’s Fastest City Burned-out after years of...

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How to Get Skunks Out of Your Basement and Yard

Mr. Homegrown

March 19, 2014

Animals, Gardening, Pests

4 Comments

Basements and crawl spaces under houses make idea dens for urban critters. If we could charge rent for all the skunks, raccoons and feral cats that have taken up residence under the house we’d have paid off the mortgage by now. Our particular crawl space critter B&B was opened by virtue of a flimsy access door. Some animal, most likely a raccoon, pried it open. The problem with this situation is that you can’t just close up the door. Some poor cr...

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Our new front yard, part 3: design

Mrs. Homegrown

November 17, 2015

Back to the Garden, front yard series, Garden Design, Gardening

3 Comments

...not native purists. They point out that in a disturbed environment like an urban center, where even the soil might be imported, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to chase after a lost past, especially when local conditions have changed so much that what once might have grown there simply can’t anymore. It’s more important to focus on what works, and on fostering abundant life. But they do like the way native plants give a strong sense of place and lo...

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Visit the Eco-Home

Mr. Homegrown

April 3, 2009

Events

1 Comment

...ril. Visit Eco-Home for one of this April’s Eco-Home Tours on Sunday, April 12 and Sunday, April 26 from 2 P.M. to 4:30 P.M. In addition to learning how to begin or expand your personal urban garden, the tour will also display new technologies that will help turn any house into a green environment. The Tour is conducted by Eco-Home Network, a non-profit dedicated to educating the public on how to make lifestyle choices that protect the environment...

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