West Oakland Roots…

Wandering around my home stretch of West Oakland, I am always amazed how, after more than 10 years, I can still find things I’ve never seen before.  Just this past weekend I came across a new cafe, new art installation, new community garden plot, and more. All within a couple blocks of the BART station I’ve been to hundreds of times.  This is what I love about Oakland. And West Oakland in particular, with its vast assortment of abandoned manufacturing sites and empty lots, seems ripe for this kind of discovery.

I have to be honest and tell you I was on a bit of a mission when I came across these things, so it wasn’t completely by chance.

I went to the Oakland Indie Awards Nominee Mixer last week.  Do you guys know about the Indie Awards? An annual event hosted by the California One Foundation in partnership with the East Bay Express, to promote and highlight local artists and businesses doing amazing things in Oakland.  You have to be nominated by a community member, but after that, it’s strictly a juried process and finalists in a number of categories are chosen by a panel of judges after a series of interviews.  The awards party is on Friday, May 14th and should prove to be a huge event with local food & drink vendors, live music, DJs, and more. (tickets here)

But back to the mixer… last week was an opportunity to rub elbows with other nominees and even meet the judges and pitch your business or art a bit. I talked with a bunch of talented & creative peeps, one of whom was Keba Konte – artist, business owner, and self-proclaimed “waffle curator.” The owner of Guerilla Cafe in Berkeley as well as one of the founders of Kijiji Grows (featured in Oakland Youth Center post), he recently worked in conjunction with Mo’ Better Food and numerous other organizations in the establishment of Mo Better Food’s East Bay Farm/Garden one block from the West Oakland Bart Station. The garden workday took place on January 18th in honor of Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday, and Keba organized a community installed art piece entitled “The Beautification Art Project,” directing volunteers to tie thousands of colorful ribbons onto a chain-link fence to create a portrait of the great civil rights leader. Fantastic.

keba konte, Martin Luther King art installation, community art west oakland BART

martin luther king art installation, beautification art project by keba konte

Apparently Kijiji Grows set up an aquaculture garden on site, but I didn’t see that during my visit…

keba konte, west oakland bart community garden, mo' better food garden

East Bay Urban Gardeners (EBUG) assisted volunteers in constructing numerous raised planter beds. Here are a couple…

mo' better food, west oakland garden, kijiji grows

lady bug, west oakland community garden, garden west oakland BART

Folks from Urban Releaf (formerly Oakland Releaf) planted numerous trees on the site, and it looks like this formerly abandoned lot is well on its way to becoming a beautiful green zone for food production and recreation. Way to go Mo’ Better Food!

Earth Day Fun in Oaktown!

Hey everybody… it’s the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, though truth be told, she’s actually more like 4 billion, but you know how it is… after a certain age, we just stop counting!


Here’s a list of fun ways to get involved…

  • Arroyo Viejo Creek Keeper Work Day

    Sat., April 17, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
    510-632-9525
    Creek habitat restoration for Earth Day. Bring your gardening gloves and meet at the Oakland Zoo’s entrance to the Arroyo Viejo Creek at 10:00am. Creek Clean Up participants will receive a complimentary ticket to the Earth Day festivities.
    Oakland Zoo 9777 Golf Links Rd., Oakland (map)

  • Earth Day Celebration at Oakland Zoo

    Sat., April 17, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
    510-632-9525
    With more than fifty earth stations, displays, and demonstrations. Includes a giant Earth Ball and recycling info. Free w/ regular admission to Zoo.
    Oakland Zoo 9777 Golf Links Rd., Oakland (map)

  • Oakland Earth Day 2010

    • Sat., April 17, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
    510-535-5635
    With community planting, organic cooking demos, tiny tot basketball, Youth in Motion dance workshops, adult softball, an open computer lab, and a summer camp kickoff. free
    Allendale Recreation Center 3711 Suter St., Oakland (map)

  • Habitat for Humanity East Bay Earth Day Build-A-Thon

    • April 17-20, 7am – 5pm daily
    The Earth Day Build-A-Thon is Habitat for Humanity East Bay’s annual celebration of green building. Participants will frame 10 homes in 4 days at the Tassafaronga development in Oakland. free, but you must register and you must fund-raise. Details here. Gene from Our Oakland is participating.  Here’s his donation page, and a link to a nice write-up about the recent Oakland Earth Expo.
    Tassafaronga Recreation Center 1025 81st Ave., Oakland (map)

  • Hands On Bay Area Workday, Lakeside Park Gardens

    • April 17, 10am – 1pm
    Volunteers from HOBA will be coming to the Gardens to celebrate Earth Day. We’ll be working from 10am to 1pm in the Sensory Garden and the Torii Gate Garden.  free. To register, please click here.
    666 Bellevue, Oakland (map)

  • Earth Day at Morcom Rose Garden

    • Sat April 17, 9am – 1pm
    Come join us for a garden clean up, and preparing the garden for the first flush of the season! free
    700 Jean Street, Oakland (map)

  • Click EarthDay2010 in Oakland for detailed document listing over 75 volunteer opportunities throughout Oakland…

    • to clean, paint, plant and more at local schools, parks, and community centers. Participants are encouraged to bring their own tools, gloves, hat, and sunscreen.
    FEATURED LOCATIONS:

A rose is a rose is a rose.

That famous quote by Gertrude Stein may make sense to many, but to true rose lovers and connoisseurs, I’m sure it couldn’t be further from the truth. You’ll find many of these folks, and many more roses, at the Morcom Rose Garden on Jean Street just off of Grand Avenue. Have you been there? It’s a real Oaktown gem, established over 80 years ago and still going strong!

oakland rose garden, morcom rose garden, dedicated deadheaders

I stopped by the garden yesterday and have to tell you that, while still beautiful and serene, it is not the prime time to visit this garden. Some early bloomers are already strutting their stuff (mostly climbing roses, pictured below), but the real show won’t happen for another month or so (see buds in following picture). The place should be exploding in May & June.

pink roses, roses in bloom, climbing roses

rose buds

The garden, formerly known as the Morcom Amphitheater of Roses, “was constructed in 1932 as a project of the Works Progress Administration. It was named in honor of former Oakland mayor Fred N. Morcom. As well as thousands of roses, the garden features winding walkways, a reflecting pool, and a cascading fountain. The garden is available for weddings and can hold up to 200 people.” (Wikipedia)

cascading fountain, rose garden cascading fountain, morcom rose garden

climbing rose in bloom, fuscia rose blooms

My pictures do not do this garden justice due to the cloudy day on which I visited, and the lack of blooms. Here are some more exciting photos to pique your interest…

dedicated deadheaders, morcom rose garden volunteers, morcom rose garden

Pictured above are some of the garden’s volunteer force. They call themselves Dedicated Deadheaders (anyone familiar with gardening will know the term “deadheading” which is a pruning technique to remove spent flowers and spur the growth of new ones). Anyone can volunteer on the 2nd Saturday and 1st Wednesday of every month (9am to 1pm), but you’ll have to clock a certain number of hours before you get one of their groovy Grateful Dead inspired tie-dyed vests.

There’s a special volunteer workday this Saturday, April 17th in honor of Earth Day…. same hours 9am to 1pm.

Though the garden is small, it’s chock full of an incredible variety of roses laid out in a very traditional architectural arrangement for rose gardens of its period. One of the volunteers told me the technical term for one of the large clusters of plantings in a circular arrangement of geometrically shaped beds, but I’m blanking on the word right now. When I said “huh?” he said “the head of the lollipop.” Oh. I see.

Throughout the garden are lovely shaded walkways, plenty of benches for resting, and gorgeous stone steps that will take you to incredible views from above. The park is also surrounded by a small native plant buffer that provides habitat for a wide variety of birds (the songs were wonderful) and other critters. Check out this wild turkey who decided to dip his toes (claws?) in the reflecting pool!

wild turkey, reflecting pool, morcom rose garden

The garden is currently competing to be dubbed “America’s Best Rose Garden.” Here’s a brief message about the contest and a link to vote. There’s money and prestige for Oaktown at stake! Please visit the garden and cast your vote…

Dear Bay Area Friends,

As you know, one of my special loves is the Morcom Rose Garden. Over the last couple of years the talent, experience and vision of a committed City gardener, Tora Rocha, has stimulated a resurgence of volunteers, programs and regular maintenance so that the garden, now certified as an AARS garden (All-American Rose Selection) is earning recognition.
We’re competing to be America’s Best Rose Garden for 2010, so that’s where you come in. The contest has several steps but the first one is to get a lot of votes. The ten gardens that get the largest number of individual votes will be finalists. Then a panel of experts will come to review and judge the gardens. The ultimate winner will receive $2500 and become part of the AARS publicity campaign.

And Please vote for us in  The AARS’s Contest  ” Americas Best Rose Garden” We are in the running and could win some very needed money and publicity.

Thank you,
Mary Ellen Navas

All-American Rose Selections’ (AARS) “America’s Best Rose Garden” competition is a national competition to find the best public rose gardens in America. The voting officially starts on April 1st, 2010 and closes July 1st, 2010. Communities across America can vote for their favorite local garden.

Vote now and vote for Oakland, California’s Morcom Rose Garden
http://www.rose.org/voteform/

dedication plaque, morcom rose garden

It’s tulip time…

spring flowers, tulips blooming, mountain view cemetery, spring in oakland

I took a quick spin through one of my favorite places to walk in Oakland, Mountain View Cemetery, and realized it’s that time again… We’re still getting our share of rain (Sunday was a doozy) but plenty of warm sunshine too, and already the plum blossoms and daffodils have yielded to later blooming beauties, like the magnolias, wisteria, and these majestic reds. It’s a brief window… you gotta catch it when you can!

This got me to thinking that maybe I should focus on some of the gorgeous gardens in Oaktown, no doubt sprucing up under these longer warmer days for your viewing pleasure. Also, I’m working on a gardening series for Oakland Local, and Earth Day is coming up (lots of celebrations this weekend), so it seems right to focus on some greenery for a bit.

I’ve already written about some of my favorite gardens in Oakland:
Mountain View Cemetery
The Gardens at Lake Merritt (What is Art? and The Gardens Continued…)

More to come.  Please stay tuned…