We begin again

Hey everybody, great to see most of you at the annual meeting!  Our new steering committee is up and running and soon you'll see email updates with helpful information, what we're up to and easy things all gardeners can do to contribute to bettering our gardens and community.

For now let's look at some pictures of the bugs that have been moving in to garden East--Armstrong's Garden Center sells thousands of ladybugs and praying mantises and if there's a more fun activity than releasing them into your plot I don't know what it is. They control pests in the most organic and cute way possible. Here are some newborn praying mantises moments after their big release.

Got any pictures and/or stories of what's going on in the garden? Please send them to Hannah or anyone else on the steering committee and we'll blog 'em up.  

A few east garden flowers

Poppies!  Popping up all over.

Lavenderland had a visit from this butterfly

And the colors on the poppies are thrilling

Nora's peas reach for the sky

Hope your garden is coming up rainbows too

Sad news

The New Geneva Garden!

It's up, it's running and it's full of plants!

Great job everybody who helped make this magic happen

and welcome new gardeners to the Monterey-Geneva

eco-community garden group!  Glad you're here.

Seed Saving Workshop

Hi Folks!

Another spectacular job by our workshop coordinator Katy Tafoya - thanks so much for organizing Katy! 

Please see the attached flyer for more information.  The Seed Saving workshop will be held on September 8 at 9 a.m.  Reservations required athttp://glendaleseedsaving.eventbrite.com/

Please distribute to your friends/family and anyone else that is interested.  We want these gardens to be accessible to everyone and this is the way we are able to do that.  Hope you can attend!

If you have any questions please feel free to contact Katy Tafoya directly at ktafoya@gmail.com.  Also if you have any suggestions or want to see specific workshops, please let her know.  Thanks!

Best,

Alek Bartrosouf

This morning at the garden

Karen's tomatoes are, as usual, stunning

Bronwyn and Melissa's fennel is hypnotic

I love water droplets on these kinds of leaves

and Joan's turnip sculptures are laughing it up.

Paddle the LA River!

Fully-outfitted boating tours will be offered on the Los Angeles River within the Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area.  Ticketed tours will take place on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from July 21 - September 29.  Each date will offer one full run at 7AM ($50), one full run at 10:30AM ($50), and a third, shorter tour at 1:30PM ($25). Ticket price covers the cost of labor, equipment, vehicles, training, and insurance.  A variety of guest speakers will offer educational information about wildlife and the environment during the program.

The Paddle the LA River program represents the collective efforts of several environmental organizations uniting to enhance public perception about the Los Angeles River.  By paddling this scenic stretch, people experience first-hand that our urban river is part of an ecosystem that is both beautiful and significant to Los Angeles’ past and future.  Program partners include: Los Angeles Conservation Corps, Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority, Friends of the Los Angeles River, Urban Semillas, and The River Project as well as The City of Los Angeles and The US Army Corps of Engineers.

More info:

http://www.paddlethelariver.org/Paddle_the_LA_River/Home.html