Spark

Well, you know we all want to change the world. Here are a few people who are doing it and inspiring the rest of us to join up!

Fritz Haeg is approaching growing your own food as an art expression and in the process creating a revolution in how we approach our front yards. He wrote “Attack on the Front Lawn” and installed an ‘Edible Estate’ right here in Austin in 2008.

Artist Ju Doqui playing with his vegetables...

Resolution Garden installation in a school yard.

Austin has local enterpreneurs making it sooo easy for us to get growing – now is the time.

With so many resources available to help us, why not?

Austin Urban Garden installation.

Austin Urban Gardens has a simple approach to creating your own veggie garden, as does Resolution Gardens’ Randy Jewart. Randy has this list of reasons to grow your own on their website:

Save $ U.S. farmers normally receive about 22 cents of every dollar spent on food. The remaining 78 cents is devoted to packaging, labor, transportation, depreciation and marketing.

Safety If we grow it, we know what goes into making it.

Reduce Carbon Fruits and vegetables shipped from distant states and countries can spend as many as 14 days in transit before they arrive in the supermarket.

image by Pam Penick: http://www.penick.net/digging

Eat Healthy Those who choose to eat local foods produced seasonally are much more likely to consume a greater amount of fresh fruits and vegetables, and tend to eat less processed foods that are often high in calories and saturated fats.

Share Whether it’s the farmer who brings local apples to market or the baker who makes local bread, knowing part of the story about your food is such a powerful part of enjoying a meal.

Explore Many aspects of gardening seem miraculous when you are actually involved in them – you may know intellectually that seeds grow into plants, and waste decomposes into compost, but when you actually do it, it seems wondrous.

To see more of talented designer/blogger Pam Penick's story about this garden by Jenny of RockRose blog, click on the photo!

March is a perfect time to put in a garden - look at all the veggies that go in the ground this month!
First half of month: plant potatoes, asparagus crowns, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, mustard and collard greens, carrots, radishes, Swiss chard and lettuce.
Second half of month: plant tomatoes, peppers, snap beans, lima beans, corn, cantaloupe, cucumbers, eggplant and squash.

Close your eyes… picture your favorite outfit in your closet right now. What do you love about it? Color? Texture? The way it fits? It’s one way to understand your overall sense of style and head off into the promised landscape. Minimal. No muss, no fuss? Try a minimalistic approach – you may find layers [...]

What will influence colors in fashion and design for 2011? The social and economic climate has a fascinating and direct impact on color trends in clothing and home decor. When times are hard, or perceived to be so, colors tend to be more somber or gentle, as if to say “we aren’t pretending to be [...]

We here at Spark are always discussing fresh ideas for design, color ways, and opportunities to support our clients in making meaningful shifts in their surroundings. At our delicious lunch yesterday (thank you, Blue Star Cafeteria), we talked about the joyful impact of spring flowering bulbs. We love the way they look scattered in drifts [...]

Monday’s fabulous post by Curlin on Rick Joy’s brilliant barn got me thinking about ancient construction techniques used in new ways. An old civil engineering technique of building with gabions has surfaced all over the world, making it’s mark on the landscape with gusto. It can be an earth (and budget) friendly way to terrace [...]

Pottery Barn will be hosting a decorating class on Sunday, January 24th that is open to reservations. The focus of the class will be how to freshen up your home for the new year and how to incorporate a farmhouse look.  The modern farmhouse style is casual, comfortable and simple with cozy, rustic elements. It’s [...]