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« May 2009 | Main | July 2009 »

June 2009

06/30/2009

Meadow Results!

It took longer than I thought it would, it's subtle, and it's not happening everywhere... but these are genuine wildflowers growing in vacant lots and tree pits!

An Actual Meadow of cornflowers seen from the Myrtle Avenue stop on the JMZ:

Cornflowercrazy

A tree pit on Van Buren and Lewis:

Cornflower4

White

A tree pit on Kozskiuzko and Stuyvesant that looks like it's on its way to being brilliant:

More cornflowers

Littlepurple

More whites

Yellow3

And more of these sweet yellow flowers on Stuyvesant, maybe around DeKalb?

Yellowones

I also saw a lone poppy and more of these cute white flowers in a vacant lot on Monroe around Nostrand or so last night, but it was too dark to take a good picture. And there's another field of coneflower madness on Nostrand around Gates.

It's happening, and I must say the sensation of coming across the flowers is delightful, like finding treasure! Congratulations and thanks again to the army of volunteers who spread seeds and gave money!

July is time for treasure hunts!

Posted at 11:22 AM | | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

06/22/2009

Beating Flowers Into Plowshares?

Big thanks to Lisa Bowden and Kore Press for asking me to write an essay about the transition from art to... whatever 21st Century Plowshare is becoming. You should go read it.

Seriously, things are getting interesting in Bed Stuy. While there are just about zero wildflowers, there is talk about starting a nonprofit whose goal is to ensure that there is no such thing as vacant land in Bed Stuy--that every single lot is either turned into a community garden or interim-farmed.

Right now this is mostly just talk, but I don't doubt the seriousness of the people I am working with and of course, I do believe in followthrough. We may fail, but something will happen. This blog is nowhere near dead. I'll be writing more about this Urban Farm Syndicate... whatever it becomes.

Posted at 08:36 PM | | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

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    Frank Rich puts the onus on Obama to make a new culture of meaningful actions... but of course 21st Century Plowshare believes that this culture of meaningful action begins with you and me!
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