Seattle: Danny Woo International District Community Garden

How's the weather where you are? Here in Seattle it's been pretty grey and chilly the last few weeks, as the stereotype of the city likes to suggest. To be fair, this late fall season of 2019 has actually been pretty mild compared to recent decades, with low-snowfall occurring in the mountainous areas up north and a light drizzle rather than a downpour. Mild, of course, is not to suggest that it's been particularly sunny or warm- simply that it's not as chilly as it should be. Could that be global warming at work? You betcha! I'm not going to lecture you about the climate situation right here and now, but it's certainly a topic we should all be mindful of, if not deeply invested in. #Reduce, #Reuse, #Recycle . I'll step off of my tiny soap box now...

If you so happen to find yourself in the city of Seattle and able to partake of this especially "mild" late-fall season, you could pop over to the Danny Woo International District Community Garden for a quick stroll between bites, since it's mere steps away from one of the main drags of the International district, with access to a wide array of delicious restaurants within either short walking or driving distance. There are many public gardens dotting the cityscape of Seattle and they're all as unique as the areas they thrive in, so I think it's worth taking some time to visit them when you spot them. On the day we visited this garden there was a consistent drizzle plopping down upon us, so the garden grounds were well-saturated and a bit soggy, to say the least. It's probably better to visit when it's less likely to be so over-hydrated, but this is Seattle we're talking about, so your mileage may vary. While the ground may have squelched a bit below our feet, and we may have slipped a smidgeon once or twice, we quite enjoyed our visit and were happy to have found this little green gem tucked in among the sloped streets of the International district. Besides, it's good for your health to take a walk in nature, so not only are you upping your step count but getting to take in some hidden nature!

Seattle: Japanese Garden

It probably goes without saying, but just in case you need to be reminded, I'm absolutely and utterly enamored with the country of Japan, from the beautiful scenery of the natural landscapes to the dense urban sprawl of Tokyo to the kind-hearted and incredibly generous people I met along the way, there's something just so magical about the place. Given this state of affairs, it should come as no surprise that when I learned of Seattle's Japanese garden, conveniently located within the gorgeous and expansive Washing University Arboteum, there was no doubt that we had to go. The 3 and a half acre park was constructed under the guidance of Juki Iida, a renowned designer of Japanese gardens, during the 1960s and has remained a fixture of the Seattle gardens scene ever since. The Emerald City itself is home to roughly 6,000 acres of parks, so even if you're not much of a Japanophile the city will have something green and gorgeous to appeal to you. This is a city that takes it public greenery seriously, and for that, among other reasons, I'm all the more in love with it. 

There's a reasonable fee for admission, but as I said, it's reasonable. You can park for free at the Arboretum nearby, which is a rare gift to find in Seattle. The grounds are meticulously maintained, and while it was a rainy day during our visit there were still plenty of people walking about taking in the beauty of the place. It was still the midst of fall during our stroll, so shades of red, orange and yellow burst through the green to add a spark of vivacity to the surroundings. It was an absolutely lovely stroll, even in the drizzling rain, and I look forward to seeing the garden again under the light of another season! It definitely gave me some hard nostalgic pangs for my time living in Japan, and for that, I have to applaud the designer. They knew exactly what they were doing since they were a professional designer of these gardens in Japan! 

There are plenty more photos to come, but if you ever get the chance to visit the gardens in person I seriously encourage you to do so! There's only so much I can capture in a photo, after all...

Seattle: Washington Park Arboretum

If you're a consumer of cannabis, which is now legal for recreational in 10 US states, you've likely heard of terpenes before at your local dispensary. If you're not a cannabis user, and the word terpene sounds like some crazy drug terminology, chill out, man, it's good stuff. Terpenes are aromatic oils released by plants that help them to communicate, and there are different kinds that can help you out in different ways- from easing the pain of migraines and muscular aches, to fighting infection or even depression. Think of them like essential oils, like how you can use lavender to help reduce stress! Given the history of marijuana prohibition through the US, it wasn't until more recent years that the study of terpenes in that particular crop and how it affects us has been done, but scientists throughout Japan and Korea have been finding that the terpenes and other compounds released by trees (forests) are extremely beneficial for human health and well-being.  Just walking among the trees for a brief, casual stroll can boost your immune system measurably, and the more time you spend among the foliage the better for your well-being. Pretty cool. We all know we should try to spend more time outdoors, with our modern, sedentary lifestyles leading us to wrap up and nestle into our climate controlled dwellings, but we're beings of the earth and need to get out there and actually experience it from time to time. It's good for your health!

If you're in or near the Seattle area, you're in luck. Not only is the Emerald city absolutely studded with trees at nearly every opportunity, there are roughly 6,000 acres of public parks incorporated into the city! There are so many options to get out and immerse yourself in nature, or to even just walk alongside a tree-laned path downtown to help break up the concrete and asphalt of the urban jungle. One of the parks you could visit, should you choose to do so, is the Washington Park Arboretum. This park alone comprises 230 acres, with distinct areas dedicated to different trees, so that you can better understand and appreciate the diversity of this common constituent of the local environment. It's free to park, and free to enter, and there's so much ground to cover that you can spend hours casually strolling and soaking in all those delicious terpenes. The longer you wander, the better for your health, after all! Not to mention the step count going up on your pedometer, if you're into that sort of thing.  I've been keeping track for years now, and I find it a valuable measure of how active I'm being, but to each their own. 

As I mentioned above, the Arboretum is free to park and free to enter! They do have a small gift shop near one of the parking areas, and we took the opportunity to grab a mycology book that Antho had heard good things about. They also offer coffee and tea, which is great for warming up on those chilly days!

More photos below~

Vegas: Early summer garden

One of the things I was most excited about when we moved into our micro-apartment near downtown Las Vegas was the garden growing out back! While the intense heat doesn't exactly make the area an ideal climate for growing, especially when combined with the often sandy or exceptionally rocky soil, it is possible to grow things.  There's rarely a shortage of sunlight due to the sparse cloud cover and even rarer rainfall, so you'll need to supplement with lots of water and make use of a raised bed (such as this one), a climate controlled green house, or some other method of sheltering the plants from some of the intense sunlight. Believe it or not, plants can sunburn, too! As "too much of a good thing" is true-ism for humans, it's also true for many plants. That first summer upon moving in, the raised beds were doing quite well. There were squash, who's happy blossom is shown above, along with eggplants, green beans and peppers! We planted some green onions and pumpkins, but the pumpkins got dug up by our roommates to prevent them from taking over the garden...after that, we stopped trying to do anything with the garden and left it be. They had their system, and we figured it's best we stay out of their way!

Overall, the garden was pretty productive throughout the summer and a portion of the fall, though it grew a bit wild and the fruits were growing more sparse or over-ripe. There was enough bounty that we were all able to enjoy some of it, though I barely touched it since it was their garden. It was fascinating watching as it flourished and then began to recoil for the cooler months, productivity and vitality waning. There was a patch of wildflowers who's lifecycles similarly evolved as the months passed.  It's important to have these natural cues around us, to be exposed to a world beyond screens. Not only is it good for your health to eat your fruits and vegetables, but you get health benefits simply by being around them, too! So go on, get out there and check out your nearest public garden if you don't have your own! You might be surprised at what can grow in your area.

Japan: Urayasu life and gardens

Unfortunate, though familiar as it may sound to many of us, when I lived in Japan I found the majority of my time was utterly consumed with work.  Due to the fact that my living in the country was utterly predicated upon keeping my employment with the Arribas Brothers as an artist/performer in Tokyo Disney Sea, it should be understandable why this would be such a prominent priority, but it inevitably leads to a routine that could grow a bit monotonous if I didn't consciously strive to break free of it from time to time.  Most days involved a brief attempt to get coffee or some form of sustenance into my gullet before darting off for the bus, changing into my uniform at the employee lockers and then spending the rest of the visible sunlight hours in my subterranean drawing-den, cranking out caricatures until we were finally granted permission to shutter up for the day and go home. Arriving home late, sore and dreading the countdown until it was time to hit reset and start the routine over again, I would cook up or scavenge some food, decimate some beverages and go to sleep. Lather, rinse, repeat. 

Day in day out spent primarily indoors. Naturally, my days off were a blessing! Aren't they always? Since I was given the opportunity to live and work overseas, I'd try to take advantage of that fact and explore the neighborhood or city of Tokyo proper whenever I had the energy or motivation. I have to admit, some days it was much more difficult than others to drag myself out of the house and into the city, but it was always worth the endeavor in the end. On this particular outing, I stopped to compliment my neighbor for her beautiful garden, pictured above- this led to us becoming friends and going on some adventures together later on! You never know what kind of things can come together like that unless you get out there and try, you know? She invited me out to have lunch with her after our discussion about her garden, fennel, and my obviously being from out of town. She showed me a lovely little restaurant not far from our home that I never would have thought to try if not for her suggestion, so again, get out there and do the things! Talk to the people! Be brave!

As always,

💘

XOXO,

NAU

Vegas: Springs Preserve Botanical Gardens May 2018

No visit to the Springs Preserve would be complete without taking some time to explore their gardens! Now, I know what you may be thinking; but isn't it all pretty much gardens? Well...yes...technically speaking, that would be correct, however there's a separate botanical gardens area near the butterfly exhibit full of edible plants and cultivated raised beds where they offer lessons and classes! You can even send the kiddies off to a gardening summer camp to learn about the fun of growing your own. While I've never caught any of the lessons, Antho and I have explored the area and tried to make note of the various new fruits and veggies coming in with the changing seasons. On one visit we might find an abundance of chili peppers scattered among the many bushes near the Sustainability gallery (there's a lot of garden, after all) or mint and basil flourishing. Sometimes there's a bunch of little green tomatoes like on this visit, other times the bell peppers or squash steal the show. It's always quite exciting to me how many different plants and animals can thrive in this seemingly inhospitable climate. Our land is often more compacted sand and pebbles than deep brown loam, but the evidence is right here in the Preserve that in spite of our scorching summers, gardening is absolutely possible. It may pose more of a challenge than other regions, but with enough tenacity and know-how it's possible! Luckily for us, the volunteers at the Preserve, along with the various farmer's markets we have here in Vegas, make it easy to speak to knowledgeable people with experience on how to find your gardening groove with this land. If you're not keen on trying the DIY approach, you can simply stroll the gardens here and admire all the beautiful results of their work over the seasons, or check out the butterfly exhibit, the OriGen Museum, the Nevada State Museum, the Zoo or Waterworks and Boomtown, or come out for one of their holiday events!There's a lot to see here! It's no secret that the Springs Preserve makes the short-list of my favorite things to do in Vegas. 

As I've mentioned before, the gardens are always changing as a result of the seasonal shift in temperatures. This never ceases to entertain and fascinate me, as I think being born and raised primarily in the city lends a lot of us to dissociate from the seasonal nature of things. I really appreciated the awareness of it I found in Japan, and the use of seasonal produce is obsessively followed and planned for in the cuisine. There's a prime season for each and every fruit and vegetable, and being in tune with that makes it easier to get the best flavors and results in your cooking. It's a secret a lot of chefs know and utilise, which is why it should surprise no one that a lot of the culinary geniuses occupying this city can be found at the farmers markets or any of the specialty markets scouring out the best of the best of that season's offerings. Going into summer, I'm excited for all the tomatoes that will be available! A good tomato sandwich is a gloriously simple and delicious thing. Antho is especially fond of fried green tomatoes, which prelude the big beefy red ripe ones of later days. 

 

More photos below!

Japan: Relaxing day off in Urayasu~ 2012-09-27

Sunset on my street.