Lawndale Library OFG August 2012
As many of the California native chaparral plants catch a siesta during the hot summer months, the edibles at Lawndale Library Ocean Friendly Garden burst forth with luscious fruit and luxuriant foliage, demonstrating that a well-designed California native garden can be visually stimulating all year long. This Ocean Friendly Garden was installed through a series of community-build Hands on Workshops in Spring 2010.
Lawndale Library Vegetable Garden
Each year, the Teen Friends of the Library plant and harvest the vegetable garden, learning about healthy food choices and growing local organic food. The garden plan included two distinct areas: One featuring edible California natives that would appeal to both humans and birds, and one enclosed vegetable garden with organic intensive beds.
The Teen Friends had requested that their vegetable garden be enclosed in a fence to deter vandals; the neighborhood was not pleased with the idea of “another chain link fence,” and pushed-back on G3’s original design. With support of project partners, Surfrider Foundation, West Basin MWD and the Library staff, including the award-winning Head Librarian, Melissa McCollum, G3 convinced the Lawndale City Council to approve the fence plan, claiming that within 2 years it would be nearly invisible, embraced by an exuberant green cloak. These pictures prove us right.
Roger’s Red grapes and Catalina Cherries Cloak The Fence
This garden replaced an approximately 1,200 sq. ft. lawn area that consumed more than 50,000 gallons of water a year and provided no remediation for the thousands of gallons of wet weather runoff from the adjacent Community Center building. As proven by the on-site dedicated landscape water meter, the Lawndale Library Ocean Friendly Garden utilizes only 20% – 30% of the potable water used by the lawn.
Catalina Cherries For Birds And Kids
The new garden also produces organic produce grown in green waste recycled on site into compost, and remediates 100% of the adjacent building’s runoff. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, this predominantly California native garden provides a beautiful reminder to the neighborhood of how easy it is to convert a boring, resource-guzzling lawn in the middle of a very urban environment into a walk through nature!
The Lawndale Library OFG is located at 14616 Grevillea Avenue, Lawndale, CA 90260. Stop by and take a seat on the bench.
Watch Birds Get Drunk On Elderberries
