Where They Made The Best Of It

How to garden when you can only rent?  Pots or a very understanding landlord are the most common solutions.  What about in a city, where there is only concrete?  In that case, there's usually only a window sill.  But in San Francisco, several remarkable residents of two twenty-unit apartment buildings banded together to build an outdoor living room from a crumbling concrete slab and a single large tree.  
Not the usual garden gate:
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Not the usual garden path:
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A living room:  a room that's alive, and a room for living--for parties, for a few moments in the fresh air, for friends, for plants, birds, water.  The one original Pittosporum undulatum has been joined by many new trees...Podocarpus, Citrus, Arctostaphylos, Sequoia...
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All surrounded by  adjoining buildings, windows, walls...
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Cheerfully decorated with cast-offs and donations...
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With playful, quirky style.
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Many fun parties have taken place there...
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...books read...
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 ...sorrows comforted...
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...joys celebrated...
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...alive and lively...
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...loved.
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Comments

  1. Replies
    1. I almost wanted to rent an apartment there. Really adds to quality of life in a city.

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  2. Wow, Hoov! This post captured so much I missed, while I was in my own world. Amazing how they are all renters, yet created such a great space here...giving me ideas..... Beautiful photography and contemplative commentary with each pic. And so nice to meet the one and only Hoover B.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, David! Likewise happy to have met you. Wasn't the Fling fun?

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  3. Oh, what a great post! You got some fabulous photos there. It was a lovely garden, wasn't it?

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Alison. It was a true oasis.

      (I am sorry I am so behind on comments.)

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  4. An inspiring symbol of neighbourly cooperation!

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    Replies
    1. It was inspiring. They made something wonderful out of nothing. It was all done with love.

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  5. Great shot of the butterfly! Such a cool, creative garden, San Francisco seems to abound in small hidden gardens, that ameliorate the crowded city atmosphere.

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  6. Oh, Hoov, you captured the spirit and unique beauty of this garden so perfectly. It was such a lovely example of the cooperative creativity that can occur when gardeners are motivated. Just a lovely post.

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  7. Wow, you really got some excellent pictures. And I didn't even notice the butterfly. Thanks for making my memory of this place much more complete. Great post!

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