There's really nothing better than a pizza party - except if it's a Garden Posse homemade pizza party. I've been working for years on perfecting my pizza making technique, persisting despite early experiences of verbal abuse from college roommates when my dough wouldn't rise and the pizza came out like dense flatbread. But it did get better. Now I've declared that if I had to eat one or two foods for the rest of my life, one would be pizza. (The other would be pancakes.) Pizza allows for infinite variety, which some say is cheating.
Last Friday, the Garden Posse made and enjoyed pizza with pesto, tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, and local cheeses. And then we plotted. The most difficult thing we experienced with our garden at Project Imagine was rallying people to come out to the garden and commit to volunteering. People would show up for a meeting, maybe come by for a couple of weeks, and then disappear. A full garden can't live like that. But with guerrilla gardening, we'll have an evolving group of projects ranging from small to large, some vegetables, some flora, none requiring intense maintenance. That way you can have the good, dirty accomplishment of gardening, the thrill of evading the law, and keep an eye out for the plants and water them if the garden is in your area. And we hope to temper the hard work with post-guerrilla gardening potlucks (and maybe more pizza parties).
Of course, guerrilla gardening still requires the collection of plants, soil, compost, and those little stone squirrels and frogs that add such a nice touch to any garden. Let me know if you have any donation suggestions, or suggestions for guerrilla gardening sites! I've already scouted out several sites within walking distance of my house. I imagine them filled with wildflowers, and gnomes.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
Garden Posse Guerrilla Gardening
The Garden Posse has been on hiatus for the summer, but we're regrouping for the fall with a new project: Guerrilla gardening in Austin!
Guerrilla gardening is about cultivating plants and beauty in the forgotten places of public space. It's about taking a dusty plot of dirt and making it into something productive. Without permission.
We're in the planning stages now - scoping out potential sites, rounding up plants and soil, scheming, plotting, masterminding - and we hope to have guerrilla digs planned throughout the fall. We'd like for these digs to be social events, and eventually build a community of like-minded gardeners.
If you're interested in joining the planning, participating, or even have experience with digs of your own, please respond to this post with contact information. Serious inquiries only, though. Meaning, if we're going to give you the enthusiasm and courtesy of a response, we'd like you to intend to meet us and fully participate.
To learn more about guerrilla gardening, visit:
GuerrillaGardening.org
New York Times article on Guerrilla Gardening
Guerrilla Gardening at TreeHugger
Guerrilla gardening is about cultivating plants and beauty in the forgotten places of public space. It's about taking a dusty plot of dirt and making it into something productive. Without permission.
We're in the planning stages now - scoping out potential sites, rounding up plants and soil, scheming, plotting, masterminding - and we hope to have guerrilla digs planned throughout the fall. We'd like for these digs to be social events, and eventually build a community of like-minded gardeners.
If you're interested in joining the planning, participating, or even have experience with digs of your own, please respond to this post with contact information. Serious inquiries only, though. Meaning, if we're going to give you the enthusiasm and courtesy of a response, we'd like you to intend to meet us and fully participate.
To learn more about guerrilla gardening, visit:
GuerrillaGardening.org
New York Times article on Guerrilla Gardening
Guerrilla Gardening at TreeHugger
Thursday, July 24, 2008
"Project Imagine, not Project Fruition"
A number of months ago, the Garden Posse made the decision to leave the garden at Project Imagine. It had to do with a number of factors. Basically, we couldn't get an agreement with the landowner for long-term use of the land, which is Objective Number 1 in the community garden handbook. Eventually, with the lack of land commitment, members moved on to doing other things or starting other projects.
But our year's worth of experience at Project Imagine taught us a lot, and we intend to parlay that experience into new and exciting gardening projects. Stay tuned.
But our year's worth of experience at Project Imagine taught us a lot, and we intend to parlay that experience into new and exciting gardening projects. Stay tuned.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Garden Posse Potluck on Monday
Join us to celebrate Malcolm X's birthday and the full moon! The Garden Posse is hosting a community potluck Monday, May 19 at 6:30 pm in Givens Park.
It's a great opportunity to meet new people while eating delicious dishes. Let's share gardening tips! Or we can just talk about how great gardening is. Or, tell us your problems and we will listen and give sympathetic advice. We're that kind of posse.
You may want to also bring chairs, a card table, plates and utensils, games, or musical instruments.
We'd love if you RSVP'ed, and we'd also love if you showed up. Givens Park is on 12th St between Airport and Springdale in East Austin.
It's a great opportunity to meet new people while eating delicious dishes. Let's share gardening tips! Or we can just talk about how great gardening is. Or, tell us your problems and we will listen and give sympathetic advice. We're that kind of posse.
You may want to also bring chairs, a card table, plates and utensils, games, or musical instruments.
We'd love if you RSVP'ed, and we'd also love if you showed up. Givens Park is on 12th St between Airport and Springdale in East Austin.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Help our garden grow!
Hello! and welcome to the Garden Posse.
We're a small group of young, sustainably minded urbanites in Austin, Texas. We have a beautiful communal garden on the banks of the Colorado River, at a place called, "Project Imagine." Surrounded by a dense, almost tropical forest, our garden is an escape from the city in the middle of East Austin.
The Garden Posse is different from a community garden because it's a communal garden. That means no individual plots, and everyone works on all parts of the garden together.
The Garden Posse been around for about a year, and we're working to create a place where people of all ranges of experience can come to garden and be a part of the community. We want you to join us! The garden needs your helping hand and our posse - well, the bigger the better. And no experience is necessary.
What You Can Do
Maintainence: Planting, watering, weeding, patrolling for bugs
Resources: Searching out materials and donations
Future Planning: Garden design, schedule planting, starting seeds
Get the word out: Tell your friends how awesome it is to be in a posse and garden - at the same time!
Posse Membership Benefits
Gardening equals fresh veggies, lower food costs, and a happy, healthier you
Unlimited opportunities to refer to your "posse" in casual conversation
A welcoming community of friends
Monthly food-centered gatherings
A beautiful, unique place to spend an afternoon
Garden experience/ food survival skills, because you never know when it might come in handy
Participation in the growing and vital movement of urban agriculture across Austin
Posse Requirements
Garden with us for a while, let us get to know you and you to know us.
Time commitment is flexible - but you should spend time with the garden on a regular basis.
The harvest is spread when you have commited to working in the garden for 4 weeks.
Basically, we are looking for collaborative gardeners who understand the importance and benefits of a community grown around food. We look at each season as an experiment in urban agriculture and local food networks, which we believe promotes healthier, more sustainable cities and happier people.
Where You Can Find Us
Project Imagine is located at 3421 E Cesar Chavez St, hidden in the wooded section on the river side between Springdale and Tillery St. There's a sign that says "Project Imagine" over the parking lot, right before the developed roadside. Walk down the stone pathway to the balcony, and you'll see the garden.
We organize workdays on the weekends. Please contact Lindsay to find out when Posse members will be there, at lindsayjpatterson@gmail.com, or 518-669-7117.
We're a small group of young, sustainably minded urbanites in Austin, Texas. We have a beautiful communal garden on the banks of the Colorado River, at a place called, "Project Imagine." Surrounded by a dense, almost tropical forest, our garden is an escape from the city in the middle of East Austin.
The Garden Posse is different from a community garden because it's a communal garden. That means no individual plots, and everyone works on all parts of the garden together.
The Garden Posse been around for about a year, and we're working to create a place where people of all ranges of experience can come to garden and be a part of the community. We want you to join us! The garden needs your helping hand and our posse - well, the bigger the better. And no experience is necessary.
What You Can Do
Maintainence: Planting, watering, weeding, patrolling for bugs
Resources: Searching out materials and donations
Future Planning: Garden design, schedule planting, starting seeds
Get the word out: Tell your friends how awesome it is to be in a posse and garden - at the same time!
Posse Membership Benefits
Gardening equals fresh veggies, lower food costs, and a happy, healthier you
Unlimited opportunities to refer to your "posse" in casual conversation
A welcoming community of friends
Monthly food-centered gatherings
A beautiful, unique place to spend an afternoon
Garden experience/ food survival skills, because you never know when it might come in handy
Participation in the growing and vital movement of urban agriculture across Austin
Posse Requirements
Garden with us for a while, let us get to know you and you to know us.
Time commitment is flexible - but you should spend time with the garden on a regular basis.
The harvest is spread when you have commited to working in the garden for 4 weeks.
Basically, we are looking for collaborative gardeners who understand the importance and benefits of a community grown around food. We look at each season as an experiment in urban agriculture and local food networks, which we believe promotes healthier, more sustainable cities and happier people.
Where You Can Find Us
Project Imagine is located at 3421 E Cesar Chavez St, hidden in the wooded section on the river side between Springdale and Tillery St. There's a sign that says "Project Imagine" over the parking lot, right before the developed roadside. Walk down the stone pathway to the balcony, and you'll see the garden.
We organize workdays on the weekends. Please contact Lindsay to find out when Posse members will be there, at lindsayjpatterson@gmail.com, or 518-669-7117.
Garden reading material
Don't take our word for it: Here are some links to tell you why gardening is the best thing since before sliced bread.
"Why Bother?" - An illuminating essay on the many local and global reasons you should garden, by Michael Pollan.
"Leaving Behind the Trucker Hat" - A New York Times article about what happens when young city people get ideas about farming.
Wait, there's more! ... coming later.
"Why Bother?" - An illuminating essay on the many local and global reasons you should garden, by Michael Pollan.
"Leaving Behind the Trucker Hat" - A New York Times article about what happens when young city people get ideas about farming.
Wait, there's more! ... coming later.
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