All photos via Angela Sinclair
Gardening, especially for folks in arid, hot Arizona, can be a challenge. The natural southwestern United States landscape is amicable towards hardy, sturdy plants that can withstand huge temperature swings and long, dry stretches. It’s no wonder that Angela Sinclair, an interaction designer who lives in Phoenix, was struck with the idea to help foster creative container gardening in the area. She herself is an avid gardener, not only growing her own food, but cooking it as well. Her friends believed that gardening and growing their own fresh food was out of their reach, even an impossibility for them. Angela decided to show them otherwise.
Fresh Start gardens became Angela’s Master’s thesis project. It was a turning point for Angela because she realized that gardening was the intersection of all of the things she was looking to explore and connect (community, health, authenticity, etc) and Fresh Start was born. At its core, this project grew out of a desire to empower her friends and others like them, who didn’t believe they were capable of growing a garden.
Angela held a kickoff event on April 16 at the downtown Phoenix Public Market. She created an interactive booth encouraging and enabling people to start a small container garden. Keeping it small-scale and intimate, she gave a single container to each person who could then choose to plant with radishes, lettuce, or spinach. Fresh Start and Angela provided the materials and instruction. People were really enthusiastic about the project and quickly filled up all the available spots! For folks to follow-up with, Angela hosts a social networking community as a forum to ask questions, post photos, and share experiences. The project is still under way as people’s starter gardens are still growing.
I personally love this project for so many reasons. Community-centric, giving back, and providing tools for growth and learning are all priorities I ascribe to design and designers alike. And she did a great job with the aesthetics of the project as well. All the signage pieces were designed to be both sustainable and low-cost, using cardboard and a laser cutter. Angela made sure that no space was larger than what she could print at home, skipping large format printing in favor of small sections that she could glue behind the openings (genius). The signs have an organic yet industrial feel with the cardboard, hardware, and colorful images. Congratulations, Angela!
Photo via Denver Urban Farm Truck
Last week, we took a little trip out to Denver, Colorado. Nestled right between the mighty Great Plains and the looming Rocky Mountains, this city is a convergence of food, sites, and culture. The entire city, or so it seems, was built using brick. Besides being absolutely charming, fusing old world sophistication with present day style, those homes are super sturdy and there to stay! It reminds me quite a bit of the Washington D.C. neighborhood, Capital Hill–but with a bit bigger lots and a little more yard (only a little though). However, interestingly enough, there is a reason behind the mostly brick architecture in Denver. In 1863, Denver had a huge fire, akin to the Chicago fire of 1871. The mayor of Denver at the time was also the owner of the city’s only brick manufacturing company. So, he deemed it “illegal” to build with anything other than brick–for the safety of the city’s citizens of course–oh, and his bank account. However, even though the ethics of what he did were highly questionable (both then and now!), the city’s history and character have been preserved beyond most cities I’ve seen and it is truly beautiful.
Denver also has something else really amazing going for it: an urban Truck Farm!
Photo via Denver Urban Farm Truck
Two University of Colorado master’s in landscape architecture students, Ashleigh Quillen and Ryan Sotirakis, decided they wanted to give Denver a new idea about what urban agriculture means and where it can reside. They are demonstrating for the city that “growing your own food can happen in even the most unlikely of places. Remnants of the past can literally become new vehicles for growing food”. Just because they didn’t have access to a backyard or garden plot to grow fresh food didn’t stop them–and they don’t want it to stop others either. Check out how they turned an old Ford 250 from Craigslist into their garden here! Personally, I think it’s a fantastic idea and am a little bit jealous that Portland doesn’t have something like this too. Seeing what they were up to was so inspiring, it made my mind explode with ideas–teaching gardening demonstrations for inner-city neighborhoods, school or corporate teaching/lunch programs… Just the sheer accessibility of the garden in a vehicle is a tremendous asset, and it really puts them way above and beyond the average “community garden”. Keep your eye out for them, they are going places! (pun totally intended).
Thank you all for playing along with Where in the World! I was, in fact, on a cruise hopping along the south east coast of Alaska–so kudos to those of you who threw that one out there! Norway, Patagonia, and Sweden were all fantastic (and places I plan to visit sometime) guesses. I chose the winners based on if they knew the exact location of the picture which makes Mary, Rebecca, Rainbow, and Grace the winners! Congratulations!
Day One: Glacier Bay
Day Two: Juneau
Day Three: Sitka
I didn’t post pictures of these places (only so many hours in the day!) but we also went to Ketchikan…
…and Victoria, B.C.
The trip exceeded our expectations with the beauty, lush sea life, forests, and diverse landscapes. From the baby hump back who wanted to play with us to the still waters and quiet forest we kayaked in, the people, rich history, and stunning vistas in south east Alaska absolutely blew us out of the water–pun intended 
.
Winners: please email me your address and which picture (choose any of the ones posted from the trip) you’d like. Congrats again!
And now I leave you with a picture of our first garden harvest: heirloom French (also known as breakfast) radishes! We ate them sliced with a fresh avocado, a squeeze of lemon, and some sea salt.
1) Identify a landscape near you that you think should be “edible-ized”. Chances are that you won’t have to look far. Start with your own yard, neighborhood, or child’s schoolyard. Then, why not ask your elected officials at the state and local level to lead by example. The Governors of Maine, North Carolina and New York are already eating from gardens planted at their official residences.
2) Sign the “White House Food Garden Petition” which they will deliver to President-elect Obama along with a diverse collection of heirloom seed packets.
3) Contact President-elect Obama’s transition office directly here. Tell him you’d like him to replant an organic garden on the White House lawn. There’s an opportunity to attach a photo to your request. You can grab one here.
4) Join this campaign and website. Use their site to share your stories of edible landscapes you’re creating, planning, or already eating.
5) Join their Facebook Cause
V is for Victory in our choices, methods and empowerment through food!
