Now You Don't

The day after...  The palm tree has come down and has gone away.  The greenhouse, staff and students are much safer and the light has changed remarkably in the areas impacted by the palm.  Already we can see the plan of a refurbished green house taking effect.  It's all very exciting.  

'In other news,'  the Garden suffered another break in last night, losing chain saws, tables, Felco pruners, a scythe and other tools to someone who thwarted the school gate to get into the Garden.  Locks were cut and where that wasn't possible, a crow bar was used to pry the locked door of the tool shed open.  We believe they ventured into another part of Venice High School campus and were caught on security video, but it makes us wonder why we don't have a security video camera?  From a clock on the wall in my office that stopped, they were in the office at 2:41 AM.  I will post a wish list asking for folks to help us recover from this loss.  

david

Today Is The Day!!

Now you see it.  Take a long last look for today is the end of the palm tree that towers over the greenhouse.  This palm, Washingtonia robusta, is the one remaining of two palms that had grown up over the greenhouse.  It was the falling fronds of these two palms that broke the greenhouse glass and left the greenhouse an open shell.  With the demise of this very tall tree, the greenhouse and the adjacent shade house are now much safer and passage by the greenhouse is safer too.  Fronds from this tree have come crashing down around students as they come to and from the Garden.  So, on many accounts, the tree needed to go.  

Now that these fronds no longer threaten the greenhouse, staff or students, we can begin to restore the greenhouse to a usable structure that will work for us - this Winter's UCLA Extension class, Propagation for Gardeners, will the be the first one that will be able to propagate their cuttings in a proper greenhouse!  In addition, this term, Venice High School horticulture students are going to be growing herbs to sell at the Mar Vista Farmers' Market and an enclosed greenhouse will enable us to provide basil year round! 

This is a big step forward for The Learning Garden.  It makes us almost giddy.

david