A Morning at the Huntington Ranch

The Huntington Library, San Marino, CA

Nothing makes a sunny Saturday morning in southern California more perfect than a stroll through The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, CA. Oh wait, I retract that first sentence; one thing is more perfect, and that is sharing the experience with a great friend.

My friend Laila and I at the Ranch.

I met my friend Laila while interning at the Garden School Foundation. She was one of my garden managers and from her I learned how charmingly decadent chocolate avocado mousse could be, or exist for that matter; how to savor lunch time in our school garden chomping on cheese and crackers while lounging on the grass under a precious piece of shade as if we were on a French farm in the French countryside; how to weed and wheel-barrel loads of green waste like a champion; how it is ok, no FANTASTIC, to sometimes be like what many of our peers and family would consider an "old-lady" and have "old-lady" tendencies like going to bed early, gardening and visiting the Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens on a Saturday morning.

For my friends who do not know. The Huntington was founded by Henry E. Huntington in 1919 and serves as a private nonprofit collections-based research and educational institution. Over his lifetime, Mr. Huntington garnered a world renown research library, significant art collection, and the diverse creation of botanical gardens covering 120 acres of the 207-acre estate, representing plants and regions from across the globe. On this morning, Laila and I ventured off to The Huntington Ranch, a fairly new project of grounds.

The tool shed greets visitors at the main entrance of the Ranch.  

Opening in November 2010, The Huntington Ranch serves as an outdoor classroom, research lab, and demonstration garden, focusing on sustainable urban agriculture. The Ranch is open on 15 acres of land with an array of vegetable gardens; fruit trees rescued from L.A.'s former South Central Farm; orange groves from the beginning days of when The Huntington was a ranch; and a heritage grove of California avocados.

These orange trees will act as a hedge, growing up to between 6-8 feet. 

These leafy greens are part of research. 

Veggie varieties sprawl among the grounds.  

Dried chilies hang from the tool shed. 

An array of vegetables under close research. 

Pomelos line the entrance.

There is a wonderful road lined with trees to wander down.

Scott Kleinrock educates visitors about various green topics.

Scott Kleinrock is project manager for the Ranch and a master's student in landscape architecture at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. He hopes the Ranch will serve as a resource in strengthening L.A.'s food system into a more sustainable and equitable one. The Ranch will hold gardening workshops for both adults and students, teacher trainings, and be a forum for professionals of sustainable urban agriculture. The Ranch is not always open for visitors, so make sure to check the calendar of events on  your visit, and don't forget to bring a great friend.



*photos by Tiffanie Ma 

Garden School Foundation Internship

From January 2012 to May 2012, I was an intern with the Garden School Foundation, a non-profit L.A. based organization which creates gardens and teaches garden-based curriculum on campuses soon throughout L.A. Unified School District. GSF seeks to integrate LAUSD curriculum with gardening and cooking skills. The organization currently operates a 3/4th acre garden on the schoolyard of 24th Street Elementary School in the West Adams District of Los Angeles.

My acceptance of the internship entailed working in the garden under a garden manager, assisting in teaching gardening and cooking classes, writing for the garden blog, in addition to my personal project of designing a gardening and cooking journal. For five months I worked alongside other interns, students, parents, teachers, and volunteers in the community. 

The majority demographic of students are Hispanic and African American. Most are home to low-income families. The garden is a place of solace to them, a place of peace and play, in an otherwise noisy concrete jungle. It would take a blog in and of itself to fully describe my time there, so instead, I will briefly highlight my experiences with a few quotes from my gardening journal and photos. 

Wednesday, February 1st, 2012

"They [garden managers] work really hard and well to be organized and make big dreams come true. I'm happy to be a part of the team, especially at a time when it is growing so rapidly, becoming a leader in the L.A. community, and expanding. It's an exciting time indeed, even evermore for me that I am touching upon and discovering more of something I love to do, to be a part of and care about. 

I am going to work really hard to make this journal project that I am tackling the best for these kids, who are the sweetest, and for this organization, that has truly warmed my heart in the short time that I have been here. It's been a privilege and honor to be a part of."

Garden Art from Margaretta's after school class.

Like a maestro, my fellow intern and friend plants seedlings. 

Builders of the greenhouse over at Widney High.
Photo By: Julia Cotts

Thursday, January 26th, 2012

"Today is going to be a great day. I can smell it in the air. Today is also going to be a busy day. I'm at 24th St. Elementary School awaiting my yoga session with one of the other interns Kathryn, to begin. She's a cool new friend I'm glad I made. It's 7:00 a.m. and I awoke at 5:30 a.m. this morning to get ready, make coffee etc. was on the road by 6:00 a.m. and made it to 24th St. Elementary by 7:00 a.m.

I will write and read until I do some yoga in the garden with Kathryn, and before our work day in the garden begins at 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. then I have to hussle from 4:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. at Shabu Shabu (restaurant in Santa Monica), and have a double tomorrow. I'm so fortunate to be in the midst of all these great opportunities."

My good friend Kat and I in Glacier National Park.
Photo By: Raul Orrostieta

Lunch!

I helped make paper for 5th graders. 

Wednesday, February 1st, 2012

"The garden is a place of magical energy that takes a lot of big dreams, big hearts, hard work, and lots of love to keep special."

A bouquet of sweet peas, lavender and yarrow.

Sunflowers were in bloom during summer. 

Here is an onion flower. 

Wednesday, February 14th, 2012

"Happy Valentine's Day World! Today is a beautiful and sunny day, the birds are chirping and my body is surged with high-spirits and pure joy. 

I am so happy right here and right now, in this very moment, at 23, a woman, a gardener, a surfer, a lover, a fighter, a yogi, a seeker of all things true both beautiful and ugly. 

For once in my life I really feel like I'm living in the moment CARPE DIEM! Living fully and intently, adventuring in the garden at 24th Street and in the deep jungle and warm waters of Costa Rica, and even in the uncharted places of my heart.

I am really happy and have never been more proud of myself for what I have accomplished, will accomplish and what I am accomplishing."

Here is one view of a few garden beds and part of school. 

This student conducts a camouflage study. 

Students write wish flags during annual Fiesta De La Huerta.

It is believed that as threads unravel, wishes come true.

*Photos By Tiffanie Ma, unless otherwise noted.

"Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair."

KAHLIL GIBRAN

Sometimes, in a world with so many gadgets, iPods, iPads, iPhones; with so many ways to connect, Facebook, Twitter, Tumbler, email; we forget to go outside and smell the roses. Especially in a stimulating city like Los Angeles, with new must see movies, galleries, concerts and parties popping up every weekend, it becomes more challenging to take in the outdoors, a little blue sky, some sun, the color green. 

Access to places of outdoor glory may be difficult for some Angelenos to even access. With notorious traffic jams of an over-populated city, stillness and simplicity have become anomalies. Children are exposed more to the stimulation of technology, than to the reality of their surroundings. At a time when their senses are developing rapidly, stimulation from a garden space or simply being outdoors, exposes a child to new tactile, olfactory, and visionary stimulation crucial to development.

Farragut Elementary Gardeners Fall '11
Photo By: Tiffanie Ma

A garden space allows for questions, curiosity, collaboration, and creativity to flourish. There is this palpable grounding experience of serenity. Although perhaps not always consciously, students, as well as grown-ups, can sense this.

I have directly experienced this during my time at Farragut Elementary school and my internship at the Garden School Foundation. As I reflect on my past gardening for this year, I will use my gardening journal  to remember those moments both of awe..and ewww...and share them in this blog. While it would be impossible to include every detail of discovery, in every garden space, I will do my best to capture the essence of these experiences with specific excerpts and photos. First, let me continue with teaching at Farragut Elementary School.