Garden Tour of Edible Delights

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From left, Elise Higley, Gloria Brooming, Jeff Higley, and Sean McCracken, Transition Laguna’d food group enthusiasts, show off their harvest to the public this Saturday. Photo by Ted Reckas

Where once water-hungry lawns grew, 11 families within a six-block radius of Laguna Beach’s Oak Street tilled and turned the earth into a cornucopia of homegrown produce and an edible garden village.

From patchwork quilts to elegant designs of wild fennel, trellised beans, trailing blackberries and potted potatoes, the public is invited to take a bicycle or walking tour of Oak Village’s vegetable and fruit gardens between 9 a.m. and noon Saturday, May 28.  A $10 donation is requested.

The tour starts at La Vida Laguna, 987 Glenneyre St., where a map with 11 garden descriptions and 50 bicycles will be available for tour guests.  The tour is hosted by Transition Laguna Beach, the local chapter of a global organization committed to promoting sustainable food, water and energy practices.  Tour guests will also be able to view rain-harvesting, gray-water irrigation and composting systems.

The first stop on the tour is Neighborhood Congregational Church, which replaced planters overtaken by ficus trees on the sun-filled patio with now abundantly growing vegetables that are regularly served at dinners for people in need.

Every Saturday, produce is exchanged among Laguna Beach gardeners at an Oak Village home and Transition Laguna’s Food Group puts on potluck parties regularly.

“Edible gardens bring neighbors together because they have something in common,” said Sean McCracken, TLB’s food group spokesman.  “Our goal with the food group is to encourage residents to grow their own organic food so we can reduce our dependence on peak oil and eat pesticide-free food.”  At the potlucks, McCracken says gardeners then share the fruits of their labor.  Information about Transition Laguna Beach and its various groups working on different modes of sustainability will also be available.

For more information, visit http://transitionlaguna.org.

 

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