Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Thinking Green(lee)


About three weeks ago now, I got an email with the subject line, "Here to serve my goddess." Since my family has not had a working bathtub for six months, I opened the email with visions of free plumbing work in our future. Turns out that the services being offered were photographic in nature. Specifically, photographs of any place, or anybody, in Pomona. And so it came to pass that Richard E. Nunez, most westward Second Street artist and life-long Pomona resident, has been doing his part to keep the blog pretty -and pretty active- with a regular stream of photographs.

Today's photo was his idea and creation. Here's the complete credits:

Art work and creative/ technical direction - Provided by Richard E. Nunez

Original Photography - Shot by the Goddess of Pomona

Styrofoam cup (look close on the right hand top corner of the sign) - Donated by a Pomona homeless person

Black and White "plant a meadow" poster inset - Ripped off (I mean recycled) from John Greenlee

Groundcover - Courtesy of John Greenlee (it's his trademark ornamental grass)

Fence- made possible by the City of Pomona Historical Ordinance (please give me about 4 blocks leeway for this one to work)

Dream - made possible by readers like you, alongside members of Covenant Methodist Korean Church

The update on the Towne Avenue garden project is that I am in communication with a Cal Poly Pomona landscaping architecture student, one of the same guys who did the Tri City garden. For whatever reason, it took a long time to actually get his contact information in order to get in touch with him. He was excited about the project and agreed to check on the site and give us a break down of how and what we should plant there. When I told John Greenlee's assistant Carlos about the project, he offered to donate plugs from their nursery. Slowly, but surely, it's coming along.

THE END

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just wanted to mention (in regard to drought tolerant, and geographically suited plants), that there is a place I found online called High Country Gardens where I have ordered many of the plants for my yard. You plug in your zip code, and it shows you all of the drought resistant plants, ornamental grass, and decorative flowers suited to your climate zone. Best of all, the plants even have a warranty, and they wont ship them to you until its the right time of year to plant them. Very cool, found it through a friend, and they are pretty affordable too.

Ed said...

Linknpark, any chance you could elaborate? Which plants did you choose? why? Watering by hand? drip irrigation? Sprinkler? How do the prices and plant quality compare with HD, Lowes, or Armstrongs? Mulch?

Could make for a nice gardening post. A two or three part series, perhaps?!

Anonymous said...

Ed,

I will have to refer back to my purchase list. Bought them over the winter, so they haven't been shipped yet. I actually completely shredded my front yard, roto-tilled everything and added amendments and let it lay fallow for about three months. Then I tore up the old sprinkler system that was originally done incorrectly and replaced it with a more efficient system complete with a built in rain gauge and delay. Did river rock retaining walls and planter beds and planted Marathon I grass.

After the new plants arrive I will be replacing sections of the grass with the drought tolerant plants and converting sprinklers to tube-drip type targeted heads.

Plant prices are actually slightly cheaper than big-box stores, and you dont pay tax because its out of state, just shipping (which isnt that expensive).

Ed said...

Did code enforcement stop by for the bare dirt? If so, it happened to my sister about 8 years ago. When she informed the official that the parking strip was going to be grass, the individual's response was that parking strips in Pomona have to be grass. Sure enough, the vegetation on just about every (if not every) parking strip throughout LP was grass. Wow, have times changed (at least with respect to parking strip vegetation).

Thanks for the info. I'll check out the reference you left.

IMan said...

Hello Goddess . . . love your blog. Thanks for keeping me informed of the latest happenings and your thoughts on our community.

Just a quick question precipitated by my post (pasted below) to the Student in Pomona blog. BTW, thanks for making me aware of yet another interesting local blog.

So, what is the latest on the Towne Avenue Garden Project? I want to help . . . maybe Student in Pomona and his fellow landscape architecture can offer there expertise, as well (if they haven't already). Thanks again and hope to hear from you soon.

Comment posted in response to Friday, March 14th, 2008 blog entry of Student in Pomona:

Student in Pomona I agree with your final point on city beautification, environmentalism and student activism. Pomona could really use the help of vigilant and community-minded landscape architecture students.

I drive around the city and see the great need for basic, low-maintenance, waterwise and, of course, beautiful landscaping, especially when it comes to city-owned medians, sidewalks, gateways, freeway exits, etc. The city is clearly dropping the ball on this important issue of beautification and environmental quality of life. For example, as the Goddess of Pomona has blogged and tried to organize around, the Towne Avenue 10 East exit is a bare lot of dirt and trash and heads directly south into the Lincoln Park historic district. Community activists/gardeners have tried to work with the city to landscape this area but to no avail. Just goes to show the level of commitment the city has to landscaping, even when it has community support.

I'll check with the Goddess to hear what's the latest is on the "Towne Avenue Garden Project". Good luck to you and keep blogging.