Lawns Versus Gardens In Beverly Hills

I have something in common with Michelle Obama, a brand new vegetable garden in my back yard. Mine was started by my 21 year old son, home from college where he is majoring in Environmental Studies and minoring in Horticulture. For his Senior Thesis, he designed a sustainable vegetable garden in our backyard using a 'no-dig' method and is beginning to reap the harvest from his first crop. We have arugula, tomatoes, soybeans, kale, squash, sage, basil, rosemary, and others beginning to show the fruits of his labor.

Today we picked arugula and made our first meal from the garden, an arugula salad with mango, tomatoes, and pine nuts in an olive oil and lemon dressing. I have to say it was perhaps the best salad I have ever eaten - in my life. After eating this delicious lunch, that many restaurants in LA would charge $12-20 to serve, we looked up its nutritional content on the internet and discovered that arugula on a 5 point scale (5 being best) is a superfood of sorts, scoring 5 for nutritional value and 4.5 for fullness.

One of the most profound parts of lunch was that I could connect with its origins. We prepared the garden for planting (well 'we' isn't quite accurate; my son did most of it with a little some help from his girlfriend, some buddies, and our gardener), but we (I and he) picked the arugula this morning, washed it, dried it, and created the masterpiece salad. For those of you that garden, I[m sure this is routine but I come from the school of buying my produce at the local grocery store so it really is a novel experience.

I see why growing your own food can greatly impact your relationship to food. When I saw the roots (literally) of what is found on my table, I felt a sense of heightened consciousness - a greater sense of connection between the planet and myself.

I'm just glad my son decided to create a sustainable garden for his college requirement. In the experience I saw him make something beautiful and life-sustaining out of a patch of grass. And now that we are beginning to eat the produce, I've discovered a new way to relate to the foods I often take for granted. Perhaps equally valuable, I've been able to help him when he wants my help and in that experience have a first-hand touch of the mother-child experiences that shift and change as our adult children build lives of their own.

Gardens are great metaphors for the changes we experience in life; from the growth of our children to the waxing and waning of work, family, and home experiences as we age. Having a garden in the backyard yielding food and changing with the seasons is another reminder of the constancy of change that is life. I love this reminder of our 'changing nature' every time I walk in the backyard. And, if I ever forget my role as a parent - to nurture and support but let our children change and grow in their own ways, the garden is a reminder. James Carse used the Garden as a Metaphor for this parent to child relationship:

A garden is a place where growth is found. It has its own sources of change...True parents do not see to it that children grow in a particular way, according to a preferred pattern or scripted stages, but they see to it that they grow with their children. The character of one's parenting...must be constantly altered from within as the children change from within. --Carse J, Finite and Infinite Games: 1980, page 153.

Comments

[intrstd]

I'm so inspired! Thank you.

[intrstd]

I would love to learn more about your son's method of gardening. It sounds great! I imagine all of the grassy lawns as vibrant little organic mini-farms. How amazing would that be? Can't wait to hear more...

[Dap]

Dear Dr. Smalley,
It has been awhile since I last dropped in on ya, excellent post, change and growth, it's a wonderous and beautiful thing. Agape, dap

[zizyphus]

I hope this article inspires someone to grow their own food. I have spent more time this year in my garden, and the results are fabulous. It is now like a mini botanical garden, except that everything is either edible or medicinal. I can walk outside and pick a salad, or a stir fry. I planted sweet potatoes where lawn once grew, and just pulled up most of the vines and got about 25 pounds of super sweet, deep purple Hawaiian sweet potatoes.

Another smart thing people can do is get rid of their Victorian-­consciousn­ess lawns. Grow peas, beans, or sweet potatoes instead. Save time, money and energy.

[AngieMom57]

I'm with you on this one!

[Dr. Patricia Fitzgerald - Huffpost Blogger]

What a great and inspiring article! Your description of the arugula salad is absolutely making my mouth water!

[iblogleft]

We should all rip out the grass and plant food and medication :-) Imagine the water savings alone.

[liarsclub75]

I have a garden too. Tomatoes ( 7 varieties), squash, and eggplant. I wish I would have planted some arugula. It really is a tasty vegetable.

[AngieMom57]

It's never to early or late to start gardening, mulching, composting!

It's been fresh picked tomatoes and basil all week here and the corn must be the most beautiful plant on the planet IMHO (well me and the Hopi's)...

[MerrieWay]

Bravo! To your son, lucky family to enjoy the veggies of his labor. "Live Green Dream " would like to feature his efforts. We all applaud him!!!

[Sue Smalley]

Hello MerrieWay,

Love that Idea "Live Green Dream" Great Show. How shall I connect my son to you?
He would love to do it!

[FrTown]

I have tried to turn my backyard into a vegetable garden a few years ago, but the moles have taught me a lesson. They ate everything I grew and ravaged the grassy areas where the raised tunnels were clearly visible.
I wish I could restart the experiment.

[liarsclub75]

We had moles when we first moved here, but we adopted a shelter dog who turned out to be excellent at keeping them at bay. I haven't seen a mole now for three years.

[Ryoki]

Get a cat. A good mouser will get rid of moles. And mice and rats. Will also help to keep the rabbits away.
Pests are part of the gardening experience just like any other.

[djgonebad]

DON'T LET ONE BAD YEAR GET YOU DOWN; there are many other things that can ruin a garden, you just have to study and try again.

My family loves our garden and we eat GOOD because of it; plus, it's good for the mind and soul, when you grow things from seeds.

Check out this site and the forums, there is some great info for the home heirloom gardener:

Baker Creek Heirloom seeds:

http://rareseeds.com/

My Idig member's profile page:

http://idigmygarden.com/forums/member.php?u=6461

[TaylorRae]

My garden is my place for solace, joy and sustenance. It is a a place where I can marvel in the miracle that is mother nature, where a small seed becomes a luscious tomato, a jalapeno pepper and beautiful flower. My garden is where I find myself and where I can share what I've grown with my friends and neighbors. I have had a garden since I was only 9 years old and I am now much older but still learning about the earth and how it can produce. I hope that I'm a little wiser, too. I know that I am happy when my hands are busy pulling weeds, tying vines and sampling the herbs. Like a little slice of heaven.

[MelanieWatson]

Gardens are great and even if you live in an apartment or home without a lawn you can grow a window box garden filled with fresh herbs or edible flowers. What this helpful video on how to do it:
http://www.citizensreport.org/2009/06/02/window-boxes-bloom/

[dawnec1957]

I left San Diego two years ago and planted a few things...But this year I have a big garden and I now get to eat fresh veggies every day! It is great!

[Punkynsnow]

Started organic gardening at the same age as this woman's son (though I lived in a much more modest area of So Cal) and have been at it ever since. The food you grow at home is fresher and tastes better than most store-bought, and if you grow organically it has substantially higher nutritional content as well.

To the person snarkily questioning the water restrictions, if you mulch heavily and use drip irrigation sparingly you don't have to use a lot of water on your garden. Rain barrels are great too (depending on where you live of course).

Where i live in FL we use recycled water for the garden.

[kapalabhati]

Are there any watering restrictions due to the years-long drought conditions in CA?