Oakley Gardens

11/26/2021

As the days are shorter and the nights are longer, I find myself wanting to be cozy and dig into some folklore. 🧚

I have Irish ancestry, and I love the important role of the landscape in those old stories.

Text from the Wikipedia entry on Irish Mythology

11/20/2021

Today the moon is full and located in the sign of Ta**us. 🌕 ♉

There is also a lunar eclipse. How this affects humans and plants might be quite an individual matter. I am feeling called to get quiet and listen to my own intuition, and to the communications from the people, animals, and plants all around me. 🌕🤫👂🐈‍⬛

11/08/2021

11/03/2021

Tomorrow's new moon in Scorpio is a good time to go swimming in the 🌑♏

“Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people.” -Carl Jung

🕯️

10/20/2021

Happy full moon in Aries, ya'll 🌕♈

Now is the chance to soak up the illuminating energy of this full moon. It's going to be extra bright for a few days. It's a good time to w**d, harvest, and prune by moonlight.

💭 This full moon, I am thinking about how our subjective, inner experiences are connected with the outer, physical world in which we live. I am meditating on what indigenous scholar Vanessa Watts calls Place-Thought.

"Place-Thought is the non-distinctive space where place and thought were never separated because they never could or can be separated. Place-Thought is based upon the premise that land is alive and thinking and that humans and non-humans derive agency through the extensions of these thoughts."

🤔🌎✨

-From the essay Indigenous place-thought & agency
amongst humans and non-humans (First
Woman and Sky Woman to go on a
European world tour!) by Vanessa Watts

10/13/2021

Drought in Cali 🌵

**d

09/15/2021

What is Biodiversity? 🤔Swipe to find out!

For more info, check out:


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09/13/2021

Project Throwback 🗣🌿

Planted in 2018, this Long Beach back yard was transformed from a lawn to a colorful landscape that saves water 💧 and is a site for the super-gardener owner to enjoy herself.

The design challenge was how to incorporate the sharp corner angle of the back yard. So we opted for a water feature made with a oil jar, in orange, to draw the eye across the space and make that corner pop!

We planted nearly all California native plants, and included a 🥕 vegetable garden and 🍊 fruit trees. Some stand out plants are the tall and narrow Santa Cruz Island ironwood trees (Lyonothamnus floribundus ssp. aspleniifolius) and a vigorous Roger's Red grape that cover's the pergola and makes for a tasty beverage.

Thank you to for transforming an impermeable concrete patio into an urbanite oasis, where rainwater can percolate back into the ground. The old patio material was also used to build the 🥬 veggie beds!

09/08/2021

W**d Screed! 👩‍🏫🌿Thoughts from my experience working with 💭

Check out California Native Plant Society to learn more about California's biodiversity!

📸: Crown Daisy and wild radish photos taken at Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook BHSO

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09/06/2021

Let's talk moon cycles for a moment~ 🌙 ✨

I pay attention to the moon because it brings me a sense of peace. I don't quite fully understand why, but I think it has something to do with its gentle reminders that life is always changing, and that I am a creature of this earth, constantly in flux, too. The moon is also something to depend on: amidst all the change and chaos, it's always there, doing its thing.

Today is a new moon in earthy Virgo. It's a great moment to consider your personal intentions for the month ahead, to sow your fall/winter veggies (think beets and brassicas), or to just take a moment and look at the darker sky tonight and contemplate how you are a part of the environment. I find this to be good medicine in this fast-paced society of ours.

How do you garden with the new moon? 🌿 🌙

09/02/2021

Do you prefer the common or the botanic name for plants? 🤔🌿

Let us know in the comments!