First was a vegetable garden, then just herbs and drought tolerant plants, then the shift to thinking maybe I could help out critters more with native plants rather than just growing fresh herbs for my dinner.
Coping With Covid Through Gardening
I am grateful that my landlord lets me keep plants at all. That being said a certain fervor swept me in March of 2020 for a vegetable garden that might have pushed him over the edge. In March on 2020 amongst the chaos of my entire industry shutting down I decided to start a veggie garden in the narrow patch of dirt along the driveway of the quad I rent an apartment in. We are the apartment along the driveway so I figured I wasn't bothering anyone with it.
The Veggie Garden Gets Evicted
Throughout Spring and into Summer these plants were the reason I got up in the morning. It was a rough time for everyone. Having some vegetables to take care of was a great way of coping through the initial crisis of the pandemic for me. Unfortunately, my landlord told me I had to stop planting here because he was afraid I was "hurting the bougainvillea".... but all was not lost! He (very graciously) told me I could have plants in the back corner of the quad common area.
Reimagining My Plant Therapy
So I had to move my plants to the back corner but lost a little steam in the process. I was saddened by my lack of autonomy over my living space and the back corner gets intense summer sun that makes it hard to keep veggies alive without constant watering. So the idea that I would move towards drought tolerant and California native plants began. Pictured below is what was left of my original space that brought me so much comfort.
Through Fire Comes New Life
Summers are brutal here. My lackluster enthusiasm having to move to the new space, the sun and distance for my hose to reach the parched plants, led to a lot of plants dyeing by the end of summer 2021. But when an opportunity for me to visit the California Native Botanical Gardens in Claremont after driving east to volunteer for The River and Lands Conservatory, I decided it was time to go for my dream of planting more California native plants. Here I am moving a Bush Monkeyflower I just bought into a bigger container while I figure out how to actually do this.
To A Hummingbird and Insect Filled Future
I have a lot to learn but I'm excited to share the progress with you all! I'll share updates here with resources and information I learn... as well as the mistakes I might make along the way. I hope you will join me in my learning process!
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