gardens

On May 12th, 2012, MATILIJA POPPIES…

Matilija Poppies at Theodore Payne

…or Romneya coulteri, or fried-egg flower, are the towering white petaled and yellow native Californians whose drama is greeting visitors to the Theodore Payne Foundation right now (the place I can’t get enough of, and where I have returned today for some native grape vines, currants, sages, and such) – which of course leads to excited inquiries about, and high demand for, a plant that really should to go in the ground before the rains in six months, and not now before the summer heat…patience.

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By Fritz Haeg on May 12, 2012 | flowers
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On May 10th, 2012, PEA HARVEST…

peas in the podded and shelled

…has been on my mind since I first noticed some of those pods plumping up a few weeks ago, and this afternoon I have the gumption to hunt them all down one by one,  then to a stump in the shade to shell, and finally to the kitchen where they go into the the big red pot with everything else looking good today – like kale, parsley, broccoli…

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By Fritz Haeg on May 10, 2012 | food, gardens
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On May 5th, 2012, ANNOUNCING THE LENARD FAMILY RESIDENCE…

The Lenard family photographer today by Andras Kare in the middle of their soon to be dug up and planted front yard in Wekerletelep, Budapest

…as the site for the Edible Estate Regional Prototype Garden #12: Budapest, Hungary to be planted over the weekend of June 2nd – commissioned by Blood Mountain Foundation and supported with a grant from the Graham Foundation – and check out this video by Réka Pigniczky of the search for the Budapest garden site at the local market.

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By Fritz Haeg on May 5, 2012 | Edible Estates
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On April 7th, 2012, ANOTHER ROOFTOP GARDEN REPORT…

today's rooftop garden with wildflowers, succulent rocky slopes, and veggies

…follows on the heels of others from Jan 16 and Mar 2, and today the reports are coming in of wildflower blooms, big fat broccoli heads, more kale than a kale-lover can consume, lines of leafy greens getting harder to keep up with by the day, meager strawberry harvests that allow for little more than a nibble on alternate days, onions that are shooting up, snap peas that are climbing the fence and putting out subtle white flowers, plus ambitious collards, early eggplants, and tangy parsley…

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By Fritz Haeg on April 7, 2012 | gardens
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On April 5th, 2012, LUNCH STRAIGHT FROM THE GARDEN…

today's lunch produce

…is the pleasure of late winter L.A., enjoyed as four guests are coming over for a midday meal, so today it will be everything veg for a big pot of soup, plus leafy green salad, and the last of the loquats.

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By Fritz Haeg on April 5, 2012 | food
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On April 4th, 2012, BROCCOLI IS IN THE HOUSE…

broccoli in half

…ya’ll, jealous? just violently beheaded from the plant out my window and now I’m slicing it up for steaming, but actually it tastes like heaven just raw.

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By Fritz Haeg on April 4, 2012 | food
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On March 20th, 2012, DECOMPOSED GRANITE…

decomposed granite terraced slopes

…is the beautifully warm-colored soft-textured stone that comes up with almost every shovel and trowel on my hill, which I covered my roof with as it was coming up from the ground in my early gardening days here – and these days re-working the land I first worked a decade ago, I’m making new terraced areas, digging up even more decomposed granite, covering the terraced slopes with it, and inserting cuttings of my favorite sprawling succulents.

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By Fritz Haeg on March 20, 2012 | gardens
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On March 18th, 2012, GATHERED ROSE PETALS…

yes, my rose petals

…from a wild climbing rose bush (which has surprisingly thrived as a neglected castaway – who knows how it got there – in a hidden overgrown corner of the garden where it is scrambling over some chain link and sending out runners) are drying on a favored Richard Bresnehan pottery plate, sending out good smells, and being something of a rose-hater for their smug needy preciousness, making me grudgingly love this crazy rose bush, now bringing me to the point of considering some potpourri-making as part of the next series of projects, what next?

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By Fritz Haeg on March 18, 2012 | plants
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On March 14th, 2012, COLLARDS…

collards flanks by broccoli and kale

…in a messy row between the broccoli and the kale are up and ready to eat on the rooftop garden ya’ll.

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By Fritz Haeg on March 14, 2012 | food, gardens
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On March 2nd, 2012, ROOFTOP GARDEN PROGRESS REPORT…

from left to right, rows of various natives, wildflower meadow seedlings, succulent rocky slope, and cool-season vegetable garden beds

…is so much greener than just 6 weeks ago, when dry dirt ruled over a newly terraced landscape of meager seedlings – but today the wildflowers have taken recognizable form – like lupine, poppy, and clarkia – the succulents are taking root, and I’m starting to eye the strawberry blossoms and munch on the greens from the veg bed.

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By Fritz Haeg on March 2, 2012 | gardens
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On February 2nd, 2012, BROCCOLI ON THE ROOF…

dusty brocolli green growing on the roof

…was planted a few weeks ago in the new terraced beds I labored over for weeks, now finally paying off with some evidence of slow February vegetable growth, plus that lovely spectrum of dusty peculiar shades green only seen in cool-season crops.

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By Fritz Haeg on February 2, 2012 | gardens
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On February 1st, 2012, WILDFLOWER SEEDLINGS…

green sprouts pushing up

…are taking their time popping up their heads above the soil on the roof that I carefully prepared for them, after planting a few weeks ago – a combination of the Rainbow and Shady mixtures of native California wildflowers seeds from Theodore Payne, my local non-edible plant mecca…..

Rainbow Mix:

  • Clarkia amoena, (Farewell-to-Spring)
  • Clarkia unguiculata, (Elegant Clarkia Mixed Double)
  • Eschscholzia californica, (California Poppy)
  • Eschscholzia californica maritima, (Golden West Poppy)
  • Gilia capitata, (Globe Gilia)
  • Lasthenia californica, (Goldfields)
  • Layia platyglossa, (Tidy Tips)
  • Lupinus succulentus, (Arroyo Lupine)
  • Phacelia campanularia, (Desert Blue Bells)
  • Phacelia tanacetifolia, (Tansy leaf Phacelia)

Shady Mix:

  • Clarkia amoena, (Farewell to Spring)
  • Clarkia unguiculata, (Elegant Clarkia Mixed Double)
  • Collinsia heterophylla, (Chinese Houses)
  • Nemophilia maculata, (Five Spot)
  • Nemophilia menziesii, (Baby Blue Eyes)
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By Fritz Haeg on February 1, 2012 | gardens
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On January 16th, 2012, THE GARDEN ON THE ROOF…

newly terraced and planted roof

…here was a crazy out of control mess that I first established when I moved into the house 11 years – featuring a lawn, of all things, plus some experiments that didn’t quite work out (like the thirsty kiwi vines which lasted only a couple of years) that slowly evolved into a messed up combination of wildflower meadow and veggie bed – but over the past few weeks I have ripped everything out (weedy growth and the passion flower vines strangling all of it) engaging in some serious but satisfying manual labor, moving dirt into proper terraces retained with all of the round rocks I could scavenge from the yard, with a small veggie bed above, succulents on the rocky slope, a level wildflower meadow below, and then a combination of natives and rosemary (Tuscan blue and prostratus) which will gradually and gracefully drape over the garage door below.

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By Fritz Haeg on January 16, 2012 | gardens
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On January 12th, 2012, THE THEODORE PAYNE FOUNDATION…

Theodore Payne Foundation plant nursery

…provides a literal and figurative breath of fresh air at the edge of the city as it pushes against the mountains to the north, in the wild foothills of Sunland/Shadow Hills just a 20 minute drive northwest from me – surprising proximity from the city to be teleported into a landscape that parts of the original city must have originally looked like – and today I come here hoping to return parts my yard to that landscape, with some native plants, trees, and wildflower seeds. (website)

Founded in 1960, the Theodore Payne Foundation operates a year-round California native plant nursery and education center with classes and field trips for all ages. Our mission is to preserve, propagate and promote California native plants and wild flowers because they provide beauty, habitat for wildlife and water savings. Our grounds are a great place to visit. Located in Sun Valley, we have a bookstore, art gallery, picnic area and hiking trail, plus a friendly staff to answer your questions about native plants. We also sell California native plant seeds and books online

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By Fritz Haeg on January 12, 2012 | gardens
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On December 28th, 2012, THE COMO PARK CONSERVATORY…

in and out of the Como Park Conservatory in the middle of a Minnesota winter

…is where we have come this morning with nieces and nephews in tow for some escape out of cold dry midwest winter and into the hot moist tropics. (website)

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By Fritz Haeg on December 28, 2011 | gardens
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On December 5th, 2011, THE LENAPE EDIBLE ESTATE…

Lenape garden 30 months later

…was established in 2009 in front of the Hudson Guild community center at Elliott-Chelsea Houses near the corner of West 26th Street and Tenth Avenue with thirty edible plant species that the native Lenape people of the island of Manhattan would have been eating from as recently as 400 years ago – and being in the neighborhood this morning, I stopped by to check it out (since there is no particular family that takes care of it and eats from it – as with most of the other Edible Estate gardens - I have always been a bit concerned about it’s future prospects) where some plants had gone and others had arrived, but it was still looking good, and even a little wild – in a good way. (webpage)

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By Fritz Haeg on December 5, 2011 | Edible Estates
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On October 17th, 2011, THE ALLOTMENT AT KENSINGTON GARDENS…

The Allotment at Kensington Gardens punctuated endless rolling green fields, viewed through a window

…was a highlight find hidden in the endless fields and lawns of Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens – first viewed through a mysterious high window…they have chickens that are regularly invited to wander the gardens, nicely designed wood compost bins, organized raised beds, and a welcoming outdoor conference room. (website)

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By Fritz Haeg on October 17, 2011 | gardens
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On October 16th, 2011, BRIAN ENO AND MIERLE LADERMAN UKELES…

Brian Eno and Mierle Laderman Ukeles at the Garden Marathon

…were the big hero highlights of the 2nd day of the Serpentine Garden Marathon – Eno giving an inspiring talk that had me scribbling notes for one of the first times since college, arguing for the approach of the bottom-up gardener vs. the top-down architect for the future where the creator/designer/composer/artist “…organizes only in parts…letting the dynamic create the rest…taking you in the direction you want to go…and their life (of the projects) is not exactly what you would envisage for them…” as evidenced in his own ‘generative music’ approach – and Ukeles talking about her time as the nonsalaried artist in residence at the New York Sanitation Department and series of  trash-related projects at the Fresh Kills Landfill for the past 40 years.

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By Fritz Haeg on October 16, 2011 | art
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On October 15th, 2011, MY PRESENTATION AT THE GARDEN MARATHON…

hey, I felt right at home in the the geodesic dome that the Serpentine erected just for the Garden Marathon, and interviewing Denise Withers, resident gardener at the London Edible Estate

…(part of a series of annual talks, performances, and interviews masterminded by the indefatigable Hans Ulrich Obrist at the Serpentine Gallery in London’s Kensington Gardens which has previously taken on maps, interviews, poetry, experiments, and manifestos – for which I contributed a London: A Manifesto from your Animals  in 2008 – with today’s line-up highlights including Elizabeth Diller, Gianfranco Baruchello, Dan Graham, Rodney Graham, Wolfgang Tillmans, Cerith Wyn Evans, FIELDCLUB, Alice Rawsthorn, Something & Son, and muf architecture) – began with the reading of a short autobiographical garden story (read the text here), followed by an interview with Denise Withers – the Brookwood Estate resident, who has been the resident gardening force at Edible Estate #4: London (at the corner of Lancaster and Weber in the Southwark neighborhood south of the Thames) for the past 4 and a half years since it was planted.

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By Fritz Haeg on October 15, 2011 | lectures
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On October 14th, 2011, THE ANNUAL SERPENTINE PAVILLION…

in and out of the Peter Zumthor garden pavillion

…the most elegant, austere, and simple yet in the series – designed this year by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor and Dutch landscape designer Piet Oudolf in London’s Kensington Gardens – is in it’s final days and the inspiration for this years Serpentine Marathon series of talks taking place this weekend organized by curator Hans Ulrich Obrist, and tomorrow I’ll be talking gardens at 19:40. (website)

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By Fritz Haeg on October 14, 2011 | Uncategorized
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On September 24th, 2011, SECTION 2 OF THE HIGH LINE…

Sunday afternoon stroll on section 2 of the High Line

…extending north through New York’s east 20′s just opened in June and today was my first chance to take a stroll and check it out – continuing the brilliant experience of rising above the city streets, up in to another dimension where your idea of the city is permanently altered. (website)

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By Fritz Haeg on September 24, 2011 | landscape
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On September 10th, 2011, ISTANBUL GARDEN WORKSHOP ACTIVITIES…

Edible Estates garden headquarters at SALT Beyoglu, Istanbul

…today and tomorrow (plus a talk this evening) have brought me back to town to check in on the Edible Estate rooftop hothouse garden headquarters on top of SALT Beyoglu, the ambitious new art institution (just before the Istanbul Biennial opens later this week) – and we have been lucky to find Pelin Demireli to work with on some of these garden activities…

Pelin Demireli leads gardening and cooking workshops for children with organizations including Sulukule Volunteer Association, Şişli Ecological Market, Kuzguncuk Elementary School, Kınalı Summer Camp and Minik Fırın. She is also engaged in a network of local farmers and seed swappers working to make traditional seeds available both within and outside of İstanbul. (SALT website)

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By Fritz Haeg on September 10, 2011 | Edible Estates, gardens
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On September 9th, 2011, A MORNING VISIT TO THE LONDON EDIBLE ESTATE…

corn popping up from the beds of Edible Estate #4: London

…(which was commissioned by Tate Modern in 2007) before heading to the airport for a flight to Istanbul, was a happy diversion (situated at the corner of Webber and Lancaster in Southwark, just around the corner from where I am staying) where I discovered the garden going gang-busters (as my aunt Kay says) with towering sunflowers, laurel bay trees filling out, rosemary plants now a hedge, strawberries trailing everywhere, robust apple trees coming into their own, plus chives, sage, chard, raspberries, and corn stalks popping up making ears lookeing about ready to eat, which I saw a father point out to his young daughter as he was walking her to school down the street. (garden webpage)

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By Fritz Haeg on September 9, 2011 | Edible Estates
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On September 6th, 2011, A WELCOME LONDON GLOOM…

welcome lush rainy back garden at friend's Elephant & Castle flat

…is what our flight from Italy descended into this afternoon, arriving into London City airport from Brindisi, and after ten days of constant summer heat and sun with barely a cloud in my memory I have been looking forward to an autumnal rainy chill here (as I settle in for five days to prepare for the October 13th opening of the London Animal Estates HQ) but still feeling the glow of the Puglia sun on my skin as I walk the city streets hunting for my first meal, struggling to locate some decent produce to make a stew – and it is at this moment that I am snapped back to reality of large northern contemporary metropolis life, where real food is not a basic pleasure and right, freely/simply/cheaply available around you, but a rare luxury – though what really did me in, and made me really miss Italy on my first hours out, was a display of figs – which once eaten off the trees around you, at the very moment they are ripe, during the few weeks they are in season, as a part of your daily life and landscape…you are ruined for good and never look at a shipped-in crate of them the same, did a tear come to my eye there in that supermarket? yes, maybe it did.

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By Fritz Haeg on September 6, 2011 | London
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On August 13th, 2011, PRETTY DUTCH GREEN STUFF…

Amsterdam green stuff - starring climbing grape vines and towering hollyhocks

…is allowed to go wild and have it’s way sprouting out of the corner between the sidewalk and the house facades all over town – the best part of the spring and summer urban landscape here.

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By Fritz Haeg on August 13, 2011 | landscape
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On July 26th, 2011, A NEW HOME FOR THE ROMAN ROOFTOP GARDEN…

a happy new home on the ground at the Ex-SNIA community center for the Roman rooftop garden

…on the ground of the former parking lot at the Ex-SNIA community center – a vast abandoned industrial complex east of Termini being reclaimed by trees and meadows and groups like Ciclofficina where you can get your bike fixed for free, also known in the 90′s for it’s raves, but now more frequently offering a place for the local unemployed and immigrant communities to gather, meet and hold events – so yesterday a big truck showed up at the Academy on the West side of town to haul the entirety of the Roman Rooftop garden to Ex-SNIA on the east side of town where local organizer installed it in a smart new arrangement working around a few existing plantings (such as a few small fruit trees and zucchini in bathtubs) and integrating locally scavenged materials in the spirit of the original garden (like wood palettes for enclosure and to lift the planting beds off the ground since this is highly contaminated soil), which was born and raised in high isolation on top of a building on top of a hill on the other side of the river, and will now continue to thrive down on the ground as the center of meals and community activities.

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By Fritz Haeg on July 26, 2011 | gardens
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On July 25th, 2011, A FAREWELL ROMAN ROOFTOP DINNER…

farewell Roman Rooftop dinner party

…last night, cooking for my local Roman friends, was the best way to say goodbye – to them, to the city, and to the garden, which was picked up this morning – after a final harvest – by a local community center this morning at 6:30am.

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By Fritz Haeg on July 25, 2011 | food
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On July 18th, 2011, ‘ROMA MANGIA ROMA’ INTERVIEWS #18-21…

the family home on the ground floor of this newish apartment building with underground parking also features a vast hidden orto

…took us to a family of three generations living in a newish housing development about 8 km south of central Rome – still within the Grande Raccordo Anulare, bordered by a few other housing developments, a few isolated farms, and to the east by the Parco Regionale dell’Appia Antica (the vast greenbelt flowing from the countryside into Rome and terminating at the Circo Massimo) – where they are lucky enough to have the space for a big orto (too bad we don’t have such a specific word in English for the homegrown kitchen/vegetable garden) tended by the definitive cook and oldest member of the family (who grew up Bagheria, Sicily – the picturesque coastal town where the 1988 film Cinema Paradiso was set – in the 1930′s and 40′s in a completely self-sufficient household where they even ate the bread made with wheat grown on their own land) where he is playing out his nostalgic memories of his childhood garden with mammoth Cucuzza Sicilian squash and Sicilian tomato varieties, and at his own family table he is adamant that all are seated together each night at the precise moment that his culinary creations are ready – which his 18 year old son tolerates less and less, as he is out most nights with his his friends (sometimes enjoying quick fast food, that he even convinved his father to try once when they were on a road trip) and his girlfriend of Veneto decent, though in a separate interview acknowledging his appreciation for that one occasion each day that the whole family is together and grudgingly admitting that he will likely require the same of his own family in the future.

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By Fritz Haeg on July 18, 2011 | books, food
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On July 11th, 2011, FONDAZIONE CINI…

gardens of Fondazione Cini, Palladian courtyard (left), Cypress courtyard (center), Jorge Luis Borges labyrinth (right)

…on the Venetian island of San Giorgio Maggiore is where I have come to visit an Italian designer friend (working with Michele de Lucchi on one of his many design projects for the foundation, whom we had the pleasure of sharing a dinner with tonight at a neighborhood trattoria in San Marco), exploring the ex-monastery now home to the foundation’s cultural center – featuring an impressive sequence of outdoor green spaces, including the original monastic formal garden courtyard with facades designed by Palladio, a spare cypress courtyard which today is carpeted with pretty purple flowers, a just-opened labyrinth garden to mark the 25th anniversary of the death of Jorge Luis Borges, and finally the comparatively hidden and overlooked modest kitchen garden tended by the monks who have moved next door into smaller quarters, but still seem to be growing some of their own food.

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By Fritz Haeg on July 11, 2011 | gardens
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On July 2nd, 2011, A WILD BOUQUET…

wild morning bouquet on the table

…of lavender, yarrow, and other colorful back garden finds was assembled this morning in anticipation of old friends arriving from the other side of the planet for their first visit to Italy.

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By Fritz Haeg on July 2, 2011 | flowers
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On July 1st, 2011, THE BEAN POLE WIGWAM…

bamboo bean pole wigwam dramatically on axis with top floor AAR corridor

…I placed on axis with the top floor Academy corridor – where I live and work – is providing some drama in the distance this morning as I wake up and head down the hall for coffee and morning garden watering.

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By Fritz Haeg on July 1, 2011 | gardens
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On June 29th, 2011, CUCUMBERS…

night portrait of Roman rooftop cucumber

…cetrioli, (two of them) are busting out, pumping up daily, from those vines creeping up the rebar structures that I installed months ago – finally, finally being put to use by those lazy climbers.

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By Fritz Haeg on June 29, 2011 | food, gardens
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On June 27th, 2011, BORLOTTI…

borlotti garden harvest

…beans have arrived to the rooftop garden, with harvest day for the speckled magenta pods hiding everywhere I look.

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By Fritz Haeg on June 27, 2011 | gardens
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On June 25th, 2011, YELLOW PLUMS…

yellow plums caught with flash in midday sun

…known as susine around here, in clustered abundance are bending tree branches out back with their weight while sneakily ripening to sweet perfection undetected as they remain yellowy green – but I see them and have filled a backpack to gorge on this weekend – and maybe a sugarless compote?

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By Fritz Haeg on June 25, 2011 | food
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On June 12th, 2011, THE MID-SUMMERS ROMAN ROOFTOP GARDEN…

a hazy June morning in the Roman rooftop Edible Estate

…is needing a good watering every morning (that nearby Lago Bracciano is happy to oblige, providing Rome with the abundant local clean water that is the pride of this city and celebrated in it’s generous bounty of public fountains) which I am happy to offer every morning, wandering with a hose from planter to planter, getting my head eased into the day, pondering the big picture of the sprawling city framed by the volcanic mountains beyond, and paying attention to each member of the wild assortment of ambitious little plants making the most of their shallow beds and cramped roots, reaching as far up and out of the dirt as they can manage – and today the real troopers seem to be the barlotti, zucchini, and pomodorini all setting fruit, but taking their time. (Roman rooftop Edible Estate webpage)

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By Fritz Haeg on June 12, 2011 | gardens
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On June 10th, 2011, LONDON SOUTHBANK CENTRE ROOF GARDENS…

the new Southbank Centre roof garden at Queen Elizabeth Hall

…newly installed on top of Queen Elizabeth Hall, in partnership with the Eden Project in Cornwall, is what I am admiring out the window on this alternately warm sunny/cool rainy typical London day from a neighboring conference room where we are planning an upcoming 2012 project at the Hayward Gallery.

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By Fritz Haeg on June 10, 2011 | gardens
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On June 9th, 2011, EDIBLE ESTATE #4: LONDON…

Denise Withers, the force behind Edible Estate #4: London

…is what I am always most keen to visit whenever I find myself back in town, and this morning on my way to meetings at the Hayward Gallery I make my garden pilgrimage to the corner of Webber and Lancaster in Southwark to check on it’s current status, where I immediately find Denise Withers – the Brookwood Estate resident who has been the great nurturing, cultivating, and protecting force behind the continuing life of the project since it was first planted and commissioned by Tate Modern in Spring 2007 – who was out of work and suffering from depression at the time (having never previously gardened she is now proudly employed by the project partner Bankside Open Spaces Trust), is now a passionate gardener at the Edible Estate just below her balcony – currently featuring a mini-hothouse for starting seeds, an extensive composting system, a green roof over an existing shed that collects rainwater, and a collection of little fruit trees really starting to produce. (garden webpage)

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By Fritz Haeg on June 9, 2011 | gardens
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On June 3rd, A ROOFTOP SUNSET DINNER PARTY…

places set for a sunset rooftop garden dinner party

…last night, just after an errant storm passed over delivering a bit of cooling rain,  was enjoyed on long rooftop garden-side peony-centered table set in the colorful vintage linens laid out by Academy friend Siena – who acquired them Porta Portese (defying my assumption that everything there was junkie) – and to eat we made the most of what is to be had in the garden right now, like squash blossoms, basil, mint, and the last of the fava beans (which I am ashamed to admit I am getting a little tired of).

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By Fritz Haeg on June 3, 2011 | gardens
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On May 28th, 2011, ROMAN ROOFTOP GARDEN NEWS…

view of Roman Rooftop this morning

…includes reports on recently planted loquat seeds; sad bean plants that are still refusing to climb up the bamboo wigwam structure that was made for them months ago; some eggplants, zucchini, and tomatoes that are starting to flower and set fruit; lots of pretty lettuce plants that are being left to bolt up like mad and make pretty purple flowers; favas that are still producing; and a bin full of ever multiplying worms that keep eating and eating.

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By Fritz Haeg on May 28, 2011 | gardens
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On May 22nd, 2011, THE STRAWBERRY REPORT…

spring strawberry arrival

…brings good news of the most regular and welcome daily fruiting arrivals in my Roman rooftop garden these days – with always a few to be found hiding in a planter – but never enough to do more than the occasional nibbling and grazing.

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By Fritz Haeg on May 22, 2011 | food
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On May 19th, 2011, HIDDEN VILLA MEDICI GARDEN…

hidden statuary garden

…of statuary is something I happened upon for the first time this afternoon as the sun was low while visiting a French friend in residence at the famous villa and gardens – that I still remember studying in architecture school – later acquired by Napoleon in 1803 as the new home for the French Academy.

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By Fritz Haeg on May 19, 2011 | gardens
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On May 18th, ‘ROMA MANGIA ROMA’ INTERVIEW #10…

visit to Roman farm off Via Cassia with photographer Gilda Aloisi and Nero editor Lorenzo Gigotti

…this afternoon was with the amazing urban farmer Matteo Amati who presides over an enormous tract of city land where unemployed youth are put to work on the cultivation of the fruit tree orchard, the groves of olive trees, and the rotating fields of strawberries, fava beans, potatoes, tomatoes, etc….and this is giving me some sense of what much of the land just outside the Aurelian Walls must have looked like not so long ago. (Roma Mangia Roma)

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By Fritz Haeg on May 18, 2011 | agriculture
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On May 13th, 2011, THE PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY GARDEN…

pizza in the garden

…hosted an Open Engagement conference lunch event today as the father of one of the students wheeled his mobile wood burning pizza oven into the center of the garden, where he took orders, rolled out the dough, make pies to order, and fired them up in minutes, as we enjoyed the show.

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By Fritz Haeg on May 13, 2011 | food, gardens
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On May 6th, 2011, THE CONSERVATORY AT THE MINNEAPOLIS SCULPTURE GARDEN…

do you see the monkey?

…is one of my happiest coziest familiar feel-at-home-kind-of places in the city, which provides a warm green escape in the depths of Minnesota winter and an early glimpse of spring on a not-quite-spring May day like today. (website)

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By Fritz Haeg on May 6, 2011 | gardens
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On May 5th, 2011, BUNNIES!…

blur of bunnies running around a Minneapolis front yard

…are chasing each other around Minneapolis front yards reminding me of similar scenes from my childhood here – as I watch them publicly frolicking this afternoon, daring the earnest midwestern gardeners whose precious early spring plantings they are surely soon to decimate.

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By Fritz Haeg on May 5, 2011 | animals
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On May 3rd, 2011, BACK AT SUNDOWN…

pomegranate blossoms framing the Sundown dome

…my home in LA for the first time in ten months, is bringing on welcome homey feelings – but the big shock is all of the growth I am seeing in the trees, plants, weeds, vines, and gardens after the endless winter rains that I missed here – and now a very green spring for Southern California before the inevitable dry brown sets in….and then fire season!

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By Fritz Haeg on May 3, 2011 | home, Los Angeles
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On April 29th, 2011, SPRING PLANTINGS IN THE ROMAN ROOFTOP GARDEN…

spring view north over the Roman rooftop

…including little tomato starts, bean seeds, eggplants, basil, squash, corn, and other future pleasures of the summer finally went in the rooftop dirt this week after much delay – and now we will wake up with an extra bit of curiosity each morning to see what they are doing.

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By Fritz Haeg on April 29, 2011 | gardens
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On April 24th, 2011, GARDENS OF NINFA…

the guided tour of Ninfa

…is what now occupies the small Roman village which was sacked and abandoned to malaria in the Middle Ages just off Via Appia Antica south of Rome – and here we are today for an Easter picnic surrounded by many extended Italian families with the same idea, shaded by the rustic rambling rickety timber picnic shelter where 1 Euro a head will buy you a seat at the provisional picnic table and a paper tablecloth from the hostess – and then finally descending into the gardens themselves, after waiting out the two hour midday Italian siesta/pausa/lunch closure, an elaborate series of colorful faerie pixie-dust English picturesque garden scenes piled on top of the stoic remains of a once robust and wealthy Roman village – and even though the lawns, the bananas, the maples, the roses, and much else in the precious manicured water-hungry landscape looks like it was plopped down from another planet we are told that a rare spring-fed micro-climate created between the coastal plain and abrupt adjacent hills allows those otherwise oddities in the Italian landscape to be quite happy here, plus inspiring other crazy horticulture events to occur, such as things growing to three times their normal size, which seemed true enough – and in the end everything does feel magically charged here, thanks to a series of willful 20th century Caetani family ladies having their Anglo way with place – now always to be preserved as Lelia Caetani, the last one left it. (link to 2009 book about Ninfa)

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By Fritz Haeg on April 24, 2011 | gardens
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On April 11th, 2011, PEA, FAVA & WORM POOP HARVEST…

the big beautiful fava pods posing by the worm estate, being harvested of it's rich fertile black worm stuff

…is the breaking news from the Roman rooftop garden this morning – having never grown the favas, I’ve waited until they are as big as those I’ve been seeing at the farmer’s market (which is BIG) before picking – and as far as that worm compost is concerned, I’ve been waiting all year to pull out the fertile goods – putting off the dirty work (which is now urgent since it is full of compost – great for the plants, but toxic for little squirmy guys – crawling around in their own waste and all) of somehow extracting the castings and not the worms to start a fresh new bin – of which there are a few methods, mine being the slow process of leaving the top of the bin exposed direct sunlight forcing the them to retreat down into the darker depths, and then scraping off a top layer until I find them again, and those that are too slow just end up in a planter with some other good things to eat, which isn’t so bad for them either.

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By Fritz Haeg on April 11, 2011 | gardens
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On April 8th, 2011, SALT BEYOGLU OPENS WITH ISTANBUL ROOFTOP HOTHOUSE…

just before the crowds arrive for the inaugural opening of SALT Beyoğlu

…ready to welcome those who make it to the top floor for a respite of light and space with the aroma of wood shavings and fresh compost, a narrow view between buildings to distant hills, a fresh breeze through open windows, some green life starting to get settled in it’s new home, a casual seating area of raw wood covered in burlap, bright collective wall paintings, relaxed casual vibes… and my favorite responses were alternately, “wow, it’s such an L.A. garden!” and “wow, it’s such a Turkish garden!” (more photos coming soon to the project webpage)

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By Fritz Haeg on April 8, 2011 | gardens
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On April 7th, 2011, ISTANBUL HOTHOUSE PLANTING…

friends of the SALT Beyoğlu staff help out with planting

…was a gradual process today as heavy bags of fresh Turkish forest soil, compost, worm castings, and wood shavings (to loosen and lighten the soil) slowly made their way up to our sixth floor roost in the rooftop hothouse at to fill the large planters constructed with the reclaimed 4×4 lumber previously used for the building construction scaffolding – in the mean time we busied ourselves with a collection of seedlings and starts in their temporary housing of water bottles and gorgeous golden sunflower oil cans (collected by the sweet people at our daily lunch hang out) to be dramatically displayed on scavenged wood crate pedestals for now – and until they go into their permanent homes in the perimeter planting beds and local Istanbul gardening/farming/food folks want to take over the central space for some other experiment or activities.

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By Fritz Haeg on April 7, 2011 | gardens
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On April 6th, 2011, SPECIAL TURKISH FARMER SEEDS…

a farmers saved seeds ready for planting

…including lots of beans, corn, lettuce, squash, some rare precious tomatoes, and a variety of fruiting trees and vegetables starts have arrived from a friendly farmer couple who have pulled together most of the materials for the Istanbul rooftop hothouse we are working to finish in time for the SALT Beyoğlu building opening on Friday.

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By Fritz Haeg on April 6, 2011 | gardens
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On March 31st, 2011, ISTANBUL ROOFTOP HOTHOUSE…

the 'before' view of the greenhouse at SALT future home of the Istanbul Rooftop Hothouse

…is the next edition in the series of Edible Estates gardens which I have come here to begin work on (housed in a spacious airy new greenhouse on the top floor of the beautifully renovated six floor home for the new center for contemporary art SALT Beyoğlu opening on Apri 8th on Istanbul’s central pedestrian street of İstiklal Caddesi), which should be a casual laboratory for cultivating a diversity of edibles and modest year-round urban gardening activity; a handmade environment gradually evolving over time created with locally scavenged materials for SALT staff and visitors to inhabit as a green living room and gardening retreat; an occasional headquarters and seed-starting facility for local urban farming groups – including the fantastic Sinek Sekiz, who I just met with this afternoon. (more on Edible Estate #11: Istanbul, Turkey, opening mid-September)

 

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By Fritz Haeg on March 31, 2011 | gardens
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On March 26th, 2011, ROMAN ROOFTOP HOMESTEAD GARDEN UPDATE…

rooftop garden view with my studio windows beyond

…today includes happy news about the reals stars of the show at the moment, the bursting crop of fava beans (which I saw all over Praiano this week) starting to produce their gigantic pods, plus more lettuce than I can eat, pea-pods getting plumper by the day, little peach trees displaying their pink blossoms, baby potatoes asking for another harvest, strawberries that do not seem to understand it is spring, and some very slow beets which I am really starting to wonder about, but container root vegetables are sometimes tricky.

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By Fritz Haeg on March 26, 2011 | food, gardens
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On March 23rd, 2011, ‘BELLE VERDURE’…

farmer 'belle verdure' with his mushrooms and meticulous garden in Praiano

…or ‘beautiful vegetables’ is the apt nick-name of the local Praiano personaggio, or character, who grows his own food in perfectly composed and tended gardens, enclosed by beautifully laid retaining walls which he built with rocks from his modest piece of land, where he also bakes bread and pizza in his own wood burning oven, makes his own wine from his own grapes, makes his own olive oil from his own trees, grows his own mushrooms, raises his own chickens, catches his own fish, cans his own fruit, and all with the great stylish panache of a real artist with a very particular aesthetic that confidently mixes the casual and trashy (styrofoam fish coolers re-purposed as garden planters and walls) with the fastidious and precious (you should see his woodpile following the sinewy curve of the land, where logs are carefully stacked and organized by size, shape, and color)  – so today we climbed a few hundred steps up the hill of Praiano to go pay a visit to this man, an exceptionally creative do-it-all character in a town full of such types (where people have always done it all, existing within the confines of difficult terrain where nothing comes in or out without great difficulty), who friends had heard of and whose handiwork they had always admired, but never met, and the time that we spent touring his place, hearing about his work, asking about his life, and learning about his ways makes me realize why I live in Italy right now.

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By Fritz Haeg on March 23, 2011 | agriculture, food
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On March 22nd, 2011, SEASIDE TERRACED FARMING IN PRAIANO…

farming on the sea in Praiano at the Lewitt's white-washed villas

…where I am staying for a few days (at a friend’s stunning collection of big farmed ocean view terraces accommodating a variety of little white houses dating from the 1600′s that have been in the family for generations, where she is now hosting a casual residency program for young cooks, farmers, and artists) on the coast south of Napoli between Amalfi and Portofino – is a highly common, visible and gorgeous aspect of life here in this small picturesque village, where biodynamic farming with lunar cycles (dictating the planting of below and above ground vegetables during different phases which I am still not so clear on) is part of the tradition and common among all of the local gardeners and farmers who I talked to.

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By Fritz Haeg on March 22, 2011 | agriculture
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On March 13th, 2011, MINI ROOF GROTTO…

the mini roof grotto spilling into a modest mossy garden

…in a big barrel was my solution to the daily rearranging of my moss gardens by the big birds who rule the skies up here on the Gianicolo – so into the huge sideways olive cask went all of the mossy rocks that would fit, then filled with water, spilling into a lush mini landscape on a circular dish….and finally the personal grotto I have always wanted.

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By Fritz Haeg on March 13, 2011 | gardens
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On March 6th, 2011, FRUIT TREE BLOSSOMS…

early spring blossoms

…in shades from white to pink are popping and promising spring in the back garden.

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By Fritz Haeg on March 6, 2011 | gardens
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On March 3rd, 2011, MINI MOSSY ZEN ROOF GARDEN…

Roman rooftop mini mossy Zen garden

…is something I started messing around with a few months ago (featuring a miniature landscape of tufa rocks and scavenged blocks covered with pieces of moss varieties gathered on daily walks) on the part of the roof where water stands after rains or plant-watering and in today’s morning light it is looking picturesque out my studio window.

 

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By Fritz Haeg on March 3, 2011 | gardens
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On February 23rd, 2011, THE ANNUAL PRUNING OF THE OLIVE TREES…

Andrea surveys progress of the olive tree pruning

…took place this morning in grand style with freshly cut dusty green leaved olive branches covering much of the ground after the garden crew had come through to trim each tree back into a classic hollow bowl-shape which allows more light into the center of the tree. (more on pruning and more on Wikipedia)

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By Fritz Haeg on February 23, 2011 | gardens
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On February 21st, 2011, THE PEA REPORT…

the first peapods on the roof

…from the Roman Rooftop Homestead is very good indeed, with the happy plants beginning to climb up the pea-stake branches that were just installed for them, and today I notice the first peapods hiding in the bright green foliage, and then, as often happens when first discovering something, you begin to realize it is everywhere.

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By Fritz Haeg on February 21, 2011 | Uncategorized
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On February 20th, 2011, PIAZZA DI SIENA…

a lone Sunday morning runner on Piazza di Siena

…where the equestrian events of the 1960 Roman Olympiad were held and where occasional equestrian events are still staged today within the public park and gardens of Villa Borghese – where I find myself this morning on my way to see a conversation / presentation /poetry reading on 86 year old Italian artist Carla Accardi at Museo Carlo Bilotti (upon the suggestion of Academy friend and neighbor Paola Pivi – Italian artist living in Anchorage who is spending her time in Rome connecting with previous generations of Italian artists) – and there is something about this space that has always felt charged to me, maybe it is the huge white ovoid vacancy inside the dense green park, perhaps it is the composition of over-the-top exaggerated Dr. Seuss-like cliché Roman stone pines that surround it, maybe it is the suggestion and sensation of those big animals moving in circles, maybe it is the vestige of mysterious mossy amphitheater seating that partially surrounds it – but I recall it making an impression on me during visits years ago, and now it feels like a warm homey familiar scene to me, where I am drawn to hang out when in the area.

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By Fritz Haeg on February 20, 2011 | Rome
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On February 19th, 2011, ‘URBAN HOMESTEAD’…

The Urban Homestead, 2008

…is a term that has been around since at least the 1970′s, so it was with some surprise when we heard the press swirling with stories about a kooky homesteading clan who actually went through the trouble to trademark it (I was equally surprised to discover that they had purchased the domain name edibleestates.com a few years after I started my little art project), and over the past week they have been sending nutty letters (sorta cease & desist) to those groups using the term, including the fine folks, Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen, who wrote the popular 2008 book of the same name (Electronic Frontier Foundation is now representing the authors and publisher in this dispute) – so let’s all buy their book! (and check out a new protest page – don’t mess with homesteaders)

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By Fritz Haeg on February 19, 2011 | books, environment
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On February 16th, 2011, COMING OUT OF THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FLU (PART II)…

a post-flu healthy cozy rainy day in the studio with tea

…there’s nothing quite like it to make you appreciate the little things again (you know, like being able to walk across the room at more than a shuffle, and feeling like you might be around next week, and morning coffee, and actually eating food, and going outside, and sleeping, and stuff like that) – and so sorry it kept me from talks I had scheduled in Rome on Saturday and Milan yesterday (first time that has happened) but upon contacting the person who invited me for both I found her to be down with the same flu…and also sorry to miss Sunday’s local drama as thousands of rightfully fed-up Italian women took to the streets to protest against Silvio Berlusconi.

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By Fritz Haeg on February 16, 2011 | health
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On February 14th, 2011, ROOFTOP PLANTING CRATES…

lettuce, potatoes, fava beans, onions, rosemary, and some quiet strawberries in the rooftop garden planting crates lined with burlap

…and their happy healthy plant residents enjoying this afternoon’s sun, are visible out the window as I shuffle around in my dim influenza delerium, at least encouraged to know that they are out and enjoying the weather.

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By Fritz Haeg on February 14, 2011 | gardens
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On February 12th, ALMOND TREE BLOSSOMS…

winter pinky white almond blossoms

…are popping up in back – a late-mid-winter color boost – but I’m hearing from the gardeners that the mice usually get to the almonds well before they are ready for the humans.

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By Fritz Haeg on February 12, 2011 | Uncategorized
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On February 9th, 2011, CAVALO NERO…

back-lit leafy greens (with cavalo nero in back) at sunrise in the American Academy in Rome gardens

…or ‘black cabbage’ (a loose-leaf Italian cabbage, or kale) has been on our plates almost every day this winter, and today will be no exception, as I harvest the lastest tangy dark leafy green bounty from the back garden where I help out Wednesday mornings when I can – and ‘cavalo’ is an extra expressive word, also being the Italian expletive of choice – like ‘shoot’ or ‘darn’ – when they really want to say ‘cazzo.’

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By Fritz Haeg on February 9, 2011 | food, gardens
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On February 2nd, 2011, THE LETTUCE REPORT…

winter insalata in make-shift planters on the roof

…from the Roman rooftop garden is good – and though some are still looking small and scrappy after months in the ground, growing very slowly with the cool temperatures and little light available to them in the winter – others are looking more robust and ready to eat, and I am realizing that my extreme rooftop micro-climate does have some pluses in the winter which became apparent last month when a few nights of frost descended on the gardens out back, but not on the roof garden, probably the result of a high elevation garden avoiding the sinking cold air? plus the bit of warmth absorbed by the stone pavers during the day and released at night? neato.

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By Fritz Haeg on February 2, 2011 | gardens
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On February 1st, 2011, GROTTO…

a scene from Grotta del Buontalenti

…or grotta in Italian, following up on yesterday’s thoughts on rustication, is another example of the thrilling primitive architectural underbelly of the Florentine Renaissance – today seen at Grotta del Buontalenti, one of the most famous examples, but sadly without all of the dripping water and cool spongy green-stuff to be found in the really great grottos that get me all worked up (especially the cool moist feeling they offer when descending into them on a hot summer day) and I am thinking that every home should have even a little grotto somewhere as a reminder of, or portal to, some animal/primitive place to visit daily. (wikipedia on grotto)

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By Fritz Haeg on February 1, 2011 | architecture
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On January 26th, 2011, ORTICHE…

ortiche showing up in the pot of a small bare peach tree which is a bit Charlie Brown Christmas, so every bit of green is welcome these days

…or nettles, are to be found all over the streets of Rome, coming up from any unattended space between stones, they sting (a fact I am sure every Roman child learns early on with a warning from a parent – since it is the first thing that all of my Italian friends say about them: ‘pizzica!’), are known as a sort of peasant food, can be brewed as tea, or cooked with pasta, making a cameo appearance in Pasolini’s ‘Teorema” when the maid refuses to eat anything else – and I am letting them have their way in my garden as they pop up here and there – a pretty green in a winter garden – since they are such a quintessentially Roman street food.

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By Fritz Haeg on January 26, 2011 | gardens
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On January 24th, 2011, WINDOW SILL MOSS GARDENS…

the view from my desk to the new mossy zen garden out my north facing window

…were the impromptu focus of the day as I discovered the great abundance of gorgeous moss  (the most exotic sort of vegetation to the eyes of an eleven year Angeleno), in all shades of green, growing all over everything during my daily exploratory walk to see what’s up in the back garden and upon returning to the studio with buckets full of the velvety green stuff (you just want to curl up in it), the north facing stone window sills were the first to get covered, but now I am eyeing everything to consider it’s moss-garden-worthiness – next up the north side of the terrace?

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By Fritz Haeg on January 24, 2011 | gardens
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On January 21st, 2011, THE FLOWERING FAVA BEANS…

the promising winter flowers of my happy fava bean plants

…or Vicia faba, are keeping my rooftop garden spring-like in the middle of a Roman winter – and since I have never grown them before, it is all new to me – like the fact that they are often used as a cover crop, excel at fixing nitrogen in the soil, grow to become 2-6 feet tall, do great in cold weather, have those pretty wing-petaled white with black-spot-centered flowers, and here in Italy are typically planted on 2 November, All Souls Day, and harvested in time to be eaten with Pecorino for a traditional May Day picnic.

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By Fritz Haeg on January 21, 2011 | food, gardens
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On January 6th, 2011, ACACIA DEALBATA…

the Acacia Dealbata, or yellow Mimosa, in bloom next to the Aurelian Wall

…the fragrant yellow Mimosa tree native to Australia whose clouds of clustered of bright yellow pom-pom flowers are the first sign of spring in the Italian landscape, is already in full bloom out in the back garden – probably since it is protected in a warm little micro-climate by the massive Aurelian Wall that surrounds the American Academy – well in advance of the March 8th Festa della Donna (the holiday of women for which they receive Mimosa flowers from the men).

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By Fritz Haeg on January 6, 2011 | landscape
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On December 30th, 2010, ROOFTOP POTATO HARVEST…

a modest bounty of rooftop baby potatoes

…is the surprising legacy of the potato plants that were cut down by the one night of frost up on the roof last week – and as I am back in the happy business of gardening in the sun, moving dirt, emptying the pots of ill-fated wild transplants, moving salad starts into bigger flats, transplanting eager artichokes into more spacious accommodations, and optimistically planting even more fava bean stalks knowing full well they may come to naught – I come across the hidden golden treasures ready for a minestrone of verdure, farro e lenticchie. (more about the Roman rooftop homestead)

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By Fritz Haeg on December 30, 2010 | gardens
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On December 28th, 2010, VILLA SCIARRA…

baroque fountain putti in the Villa Sciarra gardens

…is the hidden public park just around the corner which I have escaped to this morning – with sun shining and flu waning – named for the villa at it’s center, originally established in 1653 by Cardinal Antonio Barberini as a farm estate – which was then ultimately given to Benito Musolini with the proviso that it be made public, and what a pleasure to have so many opulent private estates now public in this very green city – plus I am such a sucker for the baroque, and here there are some cute putti statuary hanging around the fountains and peeking out from the shubbery. (wikipedia)

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By Fritz Haeg on December 28, 2010 | landscape, Rome
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On December 8th, 2010, PLANTS GROWING ON ALL THE ROMAN ROOFTOPS…

a little impromptu wild garden on the roof of a market stall in Testaccio

…after six weeks of rain is worth looking up for – where you can see the story of Roman ruins begin before your very eyes, leaves falling, accumulating, decomposing, with dust settling, becoming fertile soil for any floating or bird-deposited seed to take root.

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By Fritz Haeg on December 8, 2010 | gardens
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On December 7th, 2010, PLASTIC BOTTLE SEED-STARTER COLD-HOUSE WATER-CATCHMENT…

bottle gardening, before (left), 'cold-cover' arrangement with cover to keep the plants warm on cool nights (middle), and 'water-catchment' arrangement with bottom on top to collect water in hot dry weather (right)

…is a simple little system I have going on the Roman rooftop garden (also known as Edible Estate #9: Rome, Italy) which involves collecting unwanted empty containers (from American Academy residents, who also happen to write their names on their bottles when they leave them in the communal kitchens, which adds a really cute personal kindergarten-like detail to the garden) – and then (a) they are cut in half (b) the cap is placed inside the bottom of the neck to keep the soil in place (c) the ‘top’ half is then filled with soil and planted with seeds (d) the ‘bottom’ is then either used as a cold-cover or base to catch water depending on the weather.

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By Fritz Haeg on December 7, 2010 | gardens
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On December 4th, 2010, THE MAYOR OF LONDON AND CAPITAL GROWTH…

Somerford and Shacklewell Estate (Hackney), winner of the Best Estate Garden

…announced a winning London housing estate community garden last month for the competiton inspired by Edible Estate Regional Prototype Garden #4: London, England, commissioned by Tate Modern in 2007; and with the 2012 Olympics coming up I also hope that my 2007 manifesto originally presented at the Turbine Hall on June 23rd, 2007, ‘Olympic Farming 2012,’ will pick up some steam too. (more info on the mayor’s Edible Estates competiton)

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By Fritz Haeg on December 4, 2010 | gardens
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On December 2nd, 2010, VISIT TO ORTO BOTANICO DI ROMA…

Orsini greenhouse full of cacti and succulents at Orto Botanico di Roma

…in Trastevere made me especially LA homesick when I entered their hothouse of succulents and cacti this morning. (wiki page)

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By Fritz Haeg on December 2, 2010 | gardens
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On November 30th, 2010, AN INTERVIEW IN THE DIRT…

The Dirt by ASLA

…the American Institute of Landscape Architects (ASLA) website, was posted a couple of months ago – but I finally had a chance to read it, and thought I would share it with you here…(link to ASLA interview)

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By Fritz Haeg on November 30, 2010 | landscape design, publications
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On November 28th, 2010, A VISIT TO PARCO DEI MOSTRI WITH DANISH…

Danes getting swallowed by Parco dei Mostri monster

…friends who are fellows at the Accademia Danimarca di Roma (housed in Danish design splendor in a 1967 structure designed by Kay Fisker near Villa Borghese) made me feel like I was also taking a little trip to Denmark today as eight of us packed into a VW van, donated by the former Queen of Denmark, traveling to Bomarzo to see the 16th century park of follies commissioned by arts patron Pier Francesco Orsini (1528–1588) for his deceased wife, and then to the Etruscan hill town of Tuscania (which I was told was a village of hippies, but I didn’t see any) where I heard some scholarly tours in Danish, later translated into a little English, followed by a delicious meal at a trattoria whose local crowds of diners looked up with silence as we entered, and where I was served beans with a mysterious additon after having explained that I was vegan – but no worries she said, it’s pigskin – and ‘we washed and cleaned it first!’

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By Fritz Haeg on November 28, 2010 | gardens
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On November 20th, 2010, PERSIMMON LEAVES…

persimmon (cachi) leaves

…are on fire and providing bolts of brilliant color in the gardens behind the Academy, especially on the ground as the big leaves pile up in a spectrum from bright yellows to deep magentas.

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By Fritz Haeg on November 20, 2010 | landscape design
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On November 19th, 2010, A RAINBOW OVER THE ROMAN ROOFTOP GARDEN…

Roman rooftop garden rainbow

…this morning is a welcome punctuation to endless days of November Roman rain.

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By Fritz Haeg on November 19, 2010 | Rome
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On November 5th, 2010, LETTUCE IN CARTONS…

lettuce in silver-lined milk and juice cartons

…is beginning to pop up – obviously enjoying the alternating sunny and rainy weather we have been having – and creating brilliant contrasts between the raw wood crates containing the colorful graphic wrapped cartons with their shiny silver interiors holding the bright spring green shoots.

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By Fritz Haeg on November 5, 2010 | gardens
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On November 4th, 2010, POTATOES GROWING IN BURLAP COFFEE BEAN BAGS IN WOOD FRUIT CRATES…

potato sack potatos

…is the cute, rustic, and homespun exception to my otherwise ‘trashy’ (in the best sense) garden of exclusively found, salvaged, and recycled goods with all of the plants growing in the random empty containers I have gathered around the Academy – but those potatoes are really looking classy.

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By Fritz Haeg on November 4, 2010 | gardens
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On November 3rd, 2010, WORM COMPOSTING…

my bin of Roman red worms making compost

…also known as ‘vermicoltura’ around here, is going well up on the Roman rooftop and the little red worms are reproducing quickly, eating their daily kitchen scraps, turning it into fertile worm castings, and all the while smelling just great – ‘che bel profumo!’ we say as we stick our noses in – and their luxury accommodations and deliciously local fresh organic meals have inspired some to identify the bin as the Worm Academy in Rome with hand-picked squirmy fellows in residence for the year.

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By Fritz Haeg on November 3, 2010 | animals, gardens
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On October 26th, 2010, DINNER WITH ALICE WATERS…

cold season row covers at the American Academy in Rome kitchen gardens

…at the American Academy in Rome tonight (over the delightful food prepared in the kitchen she revolutionized, and presided over by the indomitable indefatigable Mona Talbott) was a highlight of autumnal Rome for me , as we sat for 3 hours absorbed in conversation about food, art, gardens, and culture occasionally interrupted by animated stories of people we both love and admire like the brilliant Peter Sellars – who she had to drop everything for in the middle of the meal to have a picture of the two of us taken by her assistant Verun with her iPhone to immediately send to Peter and let him know we were both thinking of him – and at some point in the future I might get my hands on that photo of us smiling in the Academy dining room and post it here, but in the mean time I share with you the image of the plastic row covers installed over the new seedlings in the kitchen garden this morning as the night time temperatures drop towards 45 degrees – but I like the way they look – as if you mean business, like mini radical 1970′s counter-cultural architecture.

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By Fritz Haeg on October 26, 2010 | gardens
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On October 23rd, 2010, EMPTY SWIMMING POOL AQUAPONICS

an empty swimming pool is given new life with this aquaponic system from gardenpool.org

…is something that I recently came across (at gardenpool.org) where a whole subterranean productive animal/vegetable realm is created within empty backyard swimming cavities in which kitchen garden plants, chicken, fish, and moving water is brought together under a translucent canopy to let in the sun and retain the heat and I’m wondering if there anything more awesome, exciting, beautiful, and promising?

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By Fritz Haeg on October 23, 2010 | gardens
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On October 22nd, 2010, A SUNSET OVER ROOFTOP GARDEN PROGRESS…

my Roman rooftop as the sun sets over the current garden plan

…this evening as I continue to figure out what form this rooftop homestead should take, though I suspect it will continue to change, evolve, and mutate through the year.

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By Fritz Haeg on October 22, 2010 | gardens, Rome
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On October 17th, 2010, A ROMAN ROOFTOP HOMESTEAD…

the beginning of my Roman rooftop garden

…is what I’ll be gradually making for myself this year, including a kitchen garden, bat and bee estates, worm compost bins, laundry lines, a garden of plants for textile dyes, etc. – but only with materials, containers, seeds, plants, dirt that are found or scavenged – and here is a little preview…

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By Fritz Haeg on October 17, 2010 | gardens, Rome
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On October 14th, 2010, VILLA DORIA PAMPHILI…

sunset behind the fabulous Stone Pines (or Umbrella Pine, Pinus pinea) of Villa Doria Pamphili

…the nearby park and the largest in Rome is one of my favorite places in town -  just outside the Aurelian wall at Porta San Pancrazio – where today I had a sunset walk through a grid of Roman Stone Pines – also cultivated for their pine nuts which the Genovese like to use in their pesto. (Villa Doria Pamphili)

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By Fritz Haeg on October 14, 2010 | landscape
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On October 1st, 2010, CHAIRS AT JARDINS DES TUILERIES…

people soaking up the midday autumn sun in their Jardin des Tuileries chairs

…are Parisian delights – the way everyone is welcome to create their own solitary or social seating arrangement in the parks – and especially coming across them first thing in the morning, as I did today in Jardin du Luxembourg, where you see the evidence of yesterday evenings occupation – and even though I’m all about making modest, small, cheap, simple, even scrappy and wild gardens that anyone can do with limited means where they live, how can I argue with amazing public gardens like this? (more on Jardins des Tuileries)

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By Fritz Haeg on October 1, 2010 | landscape design
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On September 29th, 2010, TOKYO GREEN SPACE…

Tokyo Green Space presentation at garden conference in Metz, France

….was the topic of one of today’s more interesting garden conference talks here in Metz, France, by Jared Braiterman – and check out his website here.

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By Fritz Haeg on September 29, 2010 | gardens
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On September 16th, 2010, THE FRENCH ACADEMY’S VILLA MEDICI…

early evening view from Villa Medici gardens towards Saint Peter's

…is one of my favorite places in the Rome – where I’m lucky to have some French friends of friends in residence who I can go visit – and today I was treated to a tour of the gardens by one of the French fellows, a landscape historian who took us to the 20m high artificial mound known as Mt. Parnassus, and them deep underground into the chambers beneath it – an academic interpretation of which was provided in great detail – in French – so I left with only a general sense of his insights, which was fine & a bit more mysterious. (links: Academie Francais, photo archive, and Wiki page)

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By Fritz Haeg on September 16, 2010 | gardens
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On September 12th, 2010, THE WHITE HOUSE VEGETABLE GARDEN…

The White House on the right, the beehive in the center, and the vegetable garden on the left

…is my first stop after a talk at the American Society of Landscape Architects annual conference today – the first time I have seen it, and perhaps most exciting is the beautiful beehive, which has been elevated to protect it from the First Dog. (and check out my March 25th, 2009 essay in the Guardian about the White House garden)

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By Fritz Haeg on September 12, 2010 | gardens
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On September 9th, 2010, THE AMERICAN ACADEMY IN ROME VEGETABLE BEDS…

the new vegetable beds in the Mercedes and Sid R. Bass Garden

…were established as part of the new Rome Sustainable Food Project spearheaded by Alice Waters (in beds originally created for cut flowers in the Bass Garden behind the Academy) have been on my mind since I first found out that I would be coming here a few months ago – and I am finally here and looking forward to helping out the gardeners on Wednesday mornings to learn what I can about growing food in this climate – but we will be starting by pulling out the summer crops, spreading some compost, and planting seeds for the Fall and Summer. (more on the Bass Garden)

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By Fritz Haeg on September 9, 2010 | gardens, Rome
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On August 27th, 2010, MACDOWELL COLONY VEGETABLE GARDEN…

the MacDowell Colony vegetable garden

…is looking great towards the end of the season, producing butternut squash, tomatoes, and lots of leafy greens.

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By Fritz Haeg on August 27, 2010 | gardens
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On August 11th, 2010, LEAFY GREENS…

MacDowell leafy greens and reds

…and a few reds, are popping up in Emily’s vegetable garden at MacDowell Colony – we get some in our lunch if the hedgehogs don’t get to it first.

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By Fritz Haeg on August 11, 2010 | food, gardens
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On August 7th, 2010, THE STAFF GARDENS AT THE ALDRICH MUSEUM…

Aldrich Museum staff gardens, "Something for Everyone," 2010

…which were planted in the early spring as a part of the “Something for Everyone” show at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, Connecticut – are now at their end of Summer peak – and I just had the chance to see them this afternoon during a quick day trip…

EDIBLE ESTATE #9: ALDRICH STAFF GARDENS & COMPOST – Watch, smell, feel, and even taste, as the Aldrich Museum staff grows their own food in their new Edible Estate garden, nourished by the compost being made at the museums front door from their very own kitchen scraps, coffee grounds, and yard clippings. Here is a regional planting calendar of edibles, and special thanks to Garden of Ideas for their contributions to the project.

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By Fritz Haeg on August 7, 2010 | art, gardens
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On July 26th, 2010, A MOSS GARDEN…

the moss garden in front of Colony Hall at MacDowell Colony

…is the most exotic fantastic gorgeous thing to eyes that have been mostly around a very dry Southern California landscape lately – and this particular mossy space that has been cultivated by Emily, the MacDowell gardener, is especially lovely – like a little minimalist sculpture.

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By Fritz Haeg on July 26, 2010 | gardens
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On July 15th, 2010, THE PHILBROOK MUSEUM OF ART…

formal gardens at The Philbrook Museum of Art

…in Tulsa, Oklahoma is where I will be giving a talk this evening and they have some amazing gardens! (website)

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By Fritz Haeg on July 15, 2010 | gardens
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On July 12, 2010, THE GRAPES…

grapes on the vine at the Sundown Residence

…on the arbor in the garden behind the dome are ripe and ready to eat just as I am leaving town for a while….shucks.

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By Fritz Haeg on July 12, 2010 | food, gardens
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On June 21st, 2010, THE SUNDOWN RESIDENCE…

Sundown Residence and Gardens

…is not for rent! Some nice friends will be moving in this summer, and staying for the year, while I am on a Rome Prize Fellowship….

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By Fritz Haeg on June 21, 2010 | home
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On June 8th, 2010, ROOFTOP VEGGIE SURPRISE…

the beginnings of the wild rooftop kitchen garden with a squash plant of mysterious origins (butternut?) in the foreground

…is what I am calling this season’s kitchen garden which began with mixing up in a container all of the seeds for edibles that I have been collecting for the last few years but not able to plant, and spreading them around generously on the extremely fertile soil, newly covered with a thick layer of fresh compost, on my rooftop planting area – which is enclosed by thick trellised passionflower vines – and I have no idea where most of the seeds came from, what might pop up, and it’s been fun to try to figure out what is going on in this wild garden, and then eat whatever happens.

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By Fritz Haeg on June 8, 2010 | gardens
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On June 3rd, 2010, “ABOVE THE PAVEMENT—THE FARM! : ARCHITECTURE & AGRICULTURE AT PF1″…

the cover of "Above the Pavement—the Farm! : Architecture & Agriculture at PF1" from Princeton Architectural Press

…is the book just out from Princeton Architectural Press (for which I contributed the forward “Above the People: The Meadow, the Vegetable Garden, the Apple Tree, and the Cow!“) by Dan Wood and Amale Andraos of Work AC about their Public Farm installed in the PS1 sculpture courtyard in 2008 – and there will be an event/discussion at The Horticulture Society in New York entitled “The Visionary Reloaded – New Scales of Operation in the Age of Information” on June 23rd at 6:30pm to mark it’s release (and that of the new expanded Edible Estates book) which will include a group that I am very much looking to spending some time with:

Dan Wood and Amale Andraos, WORK Architecture Company

James Wines, SITE

Majora Carter, Sustainable South Bronx;

Adam Michaels, Project Projects

Fritz Haeg, Artist

Moderator: Jeff Gordinier, Details Magazine, “Gen X Saves the World”

(more info at Princeton Architectural Press)

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By Fritz Haeg on June 3, 2010 | books, gardens
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On May 19th, 2010, THE ALDRICH MUSEUM STAFF EDIBLE ESTATE GARDENS & COMPOST…

the Aldrich Museum staff Edible Estate garden planting

…were established yesterday with the help of the crew from Garden of Ideas – removing some of the lawn and creating planting beds for the staff to grow their own food and compost in front of the museum for the upcoming “Something for Everyone” show.

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By Fritz Haeg on May 19, 2010 | art, gardens
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On May 9th, 2010, NATIVE SEEDS / SEARCH (SOUTHWESTERN ENDANGERED ARIDLANDS RESOURCE CLEARING HOUSE)…

One of the Native Seeds/SEARCH founders was leading a solar cooking workshop at the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix which I happened upon during my visit yesterday

…is an organization that I became aware of yesterday on my visit to Phoenix, they are doing great work to keep alive the heritage of the native seeds of the desert Southwest – more information from their website…

Native Seeds/SEARCH (Southwestern Endangered Aridlands Resource Clearing House) conserves, distributes, and documents the adapted and diverse varieties of agricultural seeds, their wild relatives and the role these seeds play in cultures of the American Southwest and Northwest Mexico.

We envision the Greater Southwest as a place where farms and gardens, kitchens and tables, stores and restaurants are brimming with the full diversity of aridlands-adapted heirloom crops; people are keeping the unique seeds and agricultural heritage alive; and the crops, in turn, are nourishing humankind.

The retail store is located at 3061 N. Campbell Ave., Tucson, AZ 85719 – (520) 622-5561 – open Mondays thru Saturdays from 10am to 5pm, Sunday noon – 4pm.

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By Fritz Haeg on May 9, 2010 | agriculture
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On May 8th, 2010, THE DESERT BOTANICAL GARDENS IN PHOENIX…

the amazing Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix, Arizona

…is where I am today – giving a talk, and taking a tour of the amazing landscapes of colorful, geometric, and monumental, succulent and cactus gardens (which is bringing back fond memories of annual Spring Break visits here during my high school years to spend time with my grandmother who wintered in Scottsdale).

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By Fritz Haeg on May 8, 2010 | gardens
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On May 5th, 2010, THE EDIBLE ESTATES BOOK ABROAD AND ONLINE…

Edible Estates: Attack on the Front Lawn - expanded 2nd edition, Metropolis Books, 2010

…(new expanded 2nd edition just out from Metropolis Books) is distributed in Europe through Idea Books in Amsterdam, copies in Australia and New Zealand are available through people at Oooby.com (email them here), and check it out on the new Facebook page set up by the U.S.A. distributor DAP (Distributed Art Publishers). (book webpage)

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By Fritz Haeg on May 5, 2010 | books
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On April 16th, 2010, KEYS TO GRAMERCY PARK IN NEW YORK CITY…

New York's Gramercy Park on a blustery Spring morning

…gave us entry into this secret garden in the middle of New York – at the invitation of a friend who lives on Gramercy Park South (those who live on the park get keys) – what a rarefied piece of tranquil private green space.

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By Fritz Haeg on April 16, 2010 | landscape
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On March 30th, 2010, THE KITCHEN GARDEN AT MACDOWELL COLONY…

the kitchen garden at MacDowell Colony, and check out the awesome sheep in the background

…which my friend Emily planted and tends, is one of the things (along with the roaming sheep) I am most looking forward to on my next residency from late July until early September at that nirvana in New Hampshire. (website)

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By Fritz Haeg on March 30, 2010 | gardens
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On March 25th, 2010, NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN…

the grounds of The New York Botanical Garden

…is where I am this morning – giving an Edible Estates talk to about 240 avid gardeners – which begins with a screening of the Lenape Edible Estate video, as told by Eric Sanderson (Mannahatta Project) – filmed in part on the grounds of the New York Botanical Garden – and afterward it is one of the first times I am seeing the new edition of the book finally out in the world – very exciting! (website)

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By Fritz Haeg on March 25, 2010 | lectures
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On February 12th, 2010, GARDEN RESTRICTIONS IN WAYZATA, MN…

Headline from today's Star Tribune about new garden restrictions in Wayzata, MN

…a suburb of my hometown of Minneapolis, is considering an ordinance to limit vegetable, fruit, and herbs in the front yard to 10 square feet – as reported by master gardener Rhonda Fleming Hayes in the Minneapolis St. Paul Star Tribune – I’d love to post a list of other communities with similar restrictions – do you know of any?

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By Fritz Haeg on February 12, 2010 | gardens
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On February 9th, 2010, THE EXPANDED SECOND EDITION OF “EDIBLE ESTATES: ATTACK ON THE FRONT LAWN”…

The cover of the new expanded 2nd edition of "Edible Estates: Attack on the Front Lawn" featuring before and after photos by Leslie Furlong of gardener Clarence Ridgley in his Regional Prototype Garden #6 in Baltimore, Maryland

…arrived in the mail last night – the first advance copy of the new book from Metropolis Books and DAP which will be out in stores by early April – and I am so excited about all of the new content including essays by Will Allen of Growing Power and Eric Sanderson of The Mannahatta Project, chapters on all eight gardens, and new stories from the gardeners in London, Austin, Baltimore, Los Angeles, and New York City. (book webpage)

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By Fritz Haeg on February 9, 2010 | books
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On February 8th, 2010, THE GERMINATRIX (IVETTE SOLER)…

Ivette Soler, aka The Germinatrix, defending her Los Angeles front yard garden.

…came over for tea and conversation about growing food, starting yoga, and an exciting new gardening book she’s working on which will be out next year, in the mean time you can follow her Germinatrix blog.

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By Fritz Haeg on February 8, 2010 | gardens
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On February 3rd, 2010, THE BROOKLYN EDIBLE SCHOOLYARD

Work AC illustration of P.S. 216 Edible Schoolyard in Brooklyn during fall harvest

…planned for P.S. 216 by Work AC is featured in a story today in Metropolis Magazine’s website including an interview with architects Amale Andaos and Dan Wood.

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By Fritz Haeg on February 3, 2010 | architecture
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On January 18th, 2010, MICHELLE OBAMA…

Michelle Obama on Sesame Street, and bringing a basket of fresh garden produce back to the White House.

…is on my mind, can’t get enough of her, just the sight of her warms my heart, caught the appearance on Iron Chef the other night, but missed her on Sesame Street.

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By Fritz Haeg on January 18, 2010 | food
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