Ms. Benjamin, 42, started blogging about her favorite things for cats in 2007, and over time a business began to emerge. Readers posted fan mail. Boutique manufacturers started advertising on her site and sending samples for her to review. And the number of cats in her 1,100-square-foot condominium grew. (At last count, she had 11.)

As her advertising revenue climbed, Ms. Benjamin quit her day job as the marketing director of Boon, a company that sells modern baby products, and opened a design studio where she and her employees could create cat toys and accessories to sell on her website. And last year, she re-branded her Moderncat blog as Hauspanther, an “online magazine for design-conscious cat people.”

Next on the horizon is a consulting business built around the concept of “catification”: tailoring your living space to the needs of your cat without sacrificing aesthetics.

“The idea is to influence the mass cat-product industry to step up their game,” said Ms. Benjamin, who has teamed up with Jackson Galaxy, the cat behaviorist from the television show “My Cat From Hell,” for this effort. “We just want to be the go-to source for anyone who wants to live stylishly with cats.”

As the tattoo on her arm announces, Ms. Benjamin is positioning herself as a cat lady for a new generation. A vegan with Bettie Page bangs, she has upended the old stereotype of the frumpy, middle-aged woman surrounded by cats. And her two-bedroom townhouse here is a showcase of the latest in feline interior design.

The living room is filled with all manner of cat beds, scratchers, hiding spots and perches, including a miniature sun bed attached to sliding glass doors that open to a catio (a patio enclosed for the protection of her cats). The centerpiece on the dining table is not a flower arrangement or a fruit bowl, but a white porcelain cat bed designed to look like a sink. On the coffee table is a thronelike cat lounge that doubles as a scratcher. And a huge basket of cat toys is stationed next to the sofa.

“It is a little bit over the top,” said Ms. Benjamin, who admits to showering in the second bathroom because the master bath has been given over to litter boxes. But that’s all right, she said, because it means the cats “all have lots of options. Rarely is there a fight over places to sit.”

The crush of cat products is an inevitable consequence of having a blog that serves up a different item every day, along with a dose of attitude you won’t find in the plain-vanilla pages of a magazine like Cat Fancy.

Readers leave comments, some gushing, others critical, as well as suggestions. (The new site gets about 150,000 page views a month, she said, but it is still building traffic; the old site, which she shuttered to avoid a lawsuit with a Canadian magazine that had adopted the Modern Cat name, got around 350,000.) The product manufacturers, which tend to be mom-and-pop shops, use the feedback to refine their wares and develop new items — which, of course, they send to Ms. Benjamin to review.

Some of these companies advertise on her site or have affiliate arrangements with Ms. Benjamin, who gets a flat fee or a percentage of sales when a customer clicks through from her blog and buys something (although she won’t say exactly how much that amounts to over the course of a year). But others pay nothing to be on her site.

“I keep my editorial honest and straightforward, regardless of whether or not I’m receiving any compensation,” she said. “One of my favorite things to do is to help promote a new or small company just because they make great products that my readers need to know about.”

As far as she is concerned, she said, what it comes down to is good design.

“I would like to see every cat in a happy, loving, forever home, and I want to keep them there through design,” said Ms. Benjamin, who studied environmental design and analysis, with an emphasis on interior design, at Cornell and branched out into industrial design and visual communications at Arizona State University. “Because if somebody doesn’t want to buy a scratcher because the scratchers are so ugly, and then the cat scratches on the sofa, the cat’s booted onto the street or taken to the shelter. If a product design can help change that, that’s where I want to see this go.”

The people whose products appear on Hauspanther credit Ms. Benjamin with helping to build the market for designer cat furniture, a small but growing category. Once her blog became a go-to place for furnishings that appealed equally to cats and their owners, these vendors say, more specialty retailers cropped up, widening the product mix, and big chain stores like Walmart and Target began carrying nicer-looking cat products.

HERSHEY — Hershey Gardens and Ames True Temper created the Garden Design Scholarship Competition for students in grades 10 to 12.

The competition is for students who are homeschooled or enrolled in a public, private or vocational-technical school in Cumberland, Perry, Dauphin, York, Adams, Berks, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Northumberland and Schuylkill counties.

The competition is offered for students who are interested in gardening, horticulture, landscape architecture, the arts and the development of public gardens as a community resource.

The design team awarded first place will receive $1,200 and work with Hershey Gardens staff to install their winning design at Hershey Gardens. Each member of the winning design team will also receive a one-year membership to Hershey Gardens.

Designs may be submitted by one student or teams of up to four students.

Second- and third-place awards will also be given.

The deadline for registering is Friday, Jan. 17, and design entries must be submitted by Friday, March 14. Additional details, submission requirements and a downloadable registration form can be found at hersheygardens.org. Individuals or schools may also call 717-508-5968.

EDINBURGH City Council is following the advice of a planting designer to make its city bloom, finds Rosemary Free

If landscape and garden designer John Frater was to write a letter to Santa this Christmas, high on his list of wishes would be permission to improve municipal planting schemes on roundabouts in Edinburgh.

A large number of the bedding plants and shrubs would be replaced by a combination of perennial plants to provide a good display of colour throughout the summer and some larger areas would be planted from seed to give the look and feel of a meadow.

“I wouldn’t suggest every roundabout be turned into floral meadows or perennial schemes,” he says. “A good variety is what I would think is best. But I do think that bedding plants just don’t make sense in this particular context at all. As well as being very energy intensive, they just don’t look that interesting.

“Often these sites are very exposed and bedding looks best when it is sheltered from the worst of the elements. But it is also a matter of scale – they are too small to be properly appreciated. Their only merit is colour, which is important, but the other elements of texture and form are completely lacking.”

Through his design and consultancy business, Plantforms, Frater focuses on planting design which matches plants to a site to create plant communities rather than just pretty pictures. He has already transformed several Edinburgh City Council-owned traffic islands, junctions and roundabouts with his innovative planting schemes.

But he is itching to get his hands on other projects, including the planting scheme around the pond in St Andrew Square, a border at the west end of Princes Street Gardens and some raised beds in Stockbridge.

His first council project came about when he was inspired to approach the city’s parks and gardens manager after taking part in a plant design course in Germany.

“We spent one day with a guy who does what I do,” he says. “He persuaded the council to give him one of the spaces on Kurfürstendamm, the main street in Berlin, and he planted it all up. He gave me the idea and when I got back I spoke to Alan Bell at the council. He’s been quite keen to promote perennials in and around the city. He was really supportive and after a bit of discussion I ended up with the traffic island near the roundabout at the bottom of Broughton Street.”

Some five years later, the island at Mansfield Place is home to plants such as irises, narcissus, crocuses and perennial foxgloves mixed in with wild grasses.

The council was so impressed it planted the roundabout at the bottom of Broughton Street with a similar mix of plants.

While a perennial planting scheme is not at its best in winter, Frater still feels it’s preferable to the alternative – winter bedding plants. “A perennial planting scheme looks better even though it dies down in winter,” he says. “You just leave the plants over winter. It’s a scruffy look but I think people will get used to that. It’s what is meant for that time of year.”

And come mid-February, when the plants start to flower, it brings what Frater describes as “a natural and relaxed feel to this corner of the inner city”. Overall, his planting design on the island has been welcomed by locals. “People would stop me when I was weeding to comment on it and compliment it,” he says. “Apparently they (the council) did get one or two grumbles from local people. It was a bit too wild for them, too many grasses.

“I think they are a bit cautious about that. It’s a big change from gaudy bedding plants but even in a city, even in a busy area, at that roundabout with all the traffic about, when I went up there in summer it was buzzing with bees and butterflies.”

Another new development in horticulture that Frater has been experimenting with is sowing naturalistic planting schemes in situ to create what he calls prairie meadows.

Working with the South Queensferry-based company Water Gems, Frater has planted up a trial meadow in Rosefield Park in Portobello and a roundabout at Lochend. “Planting with seed is the way forward in the long run because of lack of maintenance,” he says.

“That’s why the council is keen on it. It’s less maintenance than cutting grass and you get a meadow-like feel using prairie plants from America. There are a lot of familiar plants from the garden and a lot of colour in summer and autumn. Although they are American, native wildlife such as butterflies and bees love them. It dies out in winter. You leave it standing and cut it down in March and it comes away again.”

He says the Germans have taken to this type of planting “like ducks to water”.

“Most cities there have banned the use of herbicides so in Berlin, or anywhere in Germany, there are weeds popping up in cracks. People haven’t complained because there’s quite a strong lobby. That’s another reason for growing things from seed. You get such a dense cover beyond the second year there is no need for input in terms of chemicals.

“I would like to see that here. It would be great. I would like to see Edinburgh up there as one of the green cities in terms of both planting it up and environmentally. We’re lagging behind a lot of Europe.”

Most of Frater’s ideas have come from Germany where he travels every year with his German partner.

“They pioneer a lot of innovative planting techniques such as the random planting technique. Research over there has come up with a mixture of plants broken into different categories to end up with a reliable combination of plants that live happily together but give a good display throughout the summer.

“They know how many square metres they need, know the ratios, and can just drop the plants in in a certain order. There’s no plan in terms of a conventional planting scheme.”

He used this technique in springtime when he did a new planting scheme at the Rodney Street junction for the council and is planning to do the same for a second project at Wester Drylaw.

Frater is hopeful the council will wake up to the advantages of perennial planting schemes, but acknowledges it will take time. “It would be great to see more of it in Edinburgh but I think it will be a slow process. They have always used bedding plants, that’s what they are comfortable with. It’s going to take a while to change direction.”

• For more information about Plantforms visit: www.plantforms.co.uk

I made a trip across the state last week specifically to see the Naples Botanical Garden. It was definitely worth the drive.

What I encountered is just a portion of the garden, which opened in 2008 and will eventually encompass 178 acres. So far, there are Asian, Brazilian, Caribbean, Children’s, Water and Florida gardens, all connected by 2 1/2 miles of walking trails.

My favorites were the Asian Gardens designed by Made Wijaya of Bali and the Brazilian Garden designed by Raymond Jungles of Miami.

The Asian Garden is divided into various botanical zones featuring commercial crops such as rice paddies, along with ornamentals, bamboos, water plants and outdoor “rooms” reflecting cultural diversity. They include: a Northern Thailand riverside scene, an ancient Javanese terraced sanctuary, a Balinese temple water garden, an East Indonesia megalithic court and a New Asian sculpture garden. The design theme of ancient Asia predates the emergence of cultural influences from India and China.

The bold Brazilian Garden pays homage to Raymond Jungles’ inspiration and mentor, Roberto Burle Marx. In his tropical landscapes Marx showcased Brazil’s incredibly diverse ecosystems; all are represented in the lush landscape surrounding the centerpiece — an original Marx ceramic mural. It’s the only one of its kind in the United States.

I also wasimpressed by the Children’s Garden, from the inviting treehouse and water-play fountains to the diminutive kids cottage with its own vegetable patch. I particularly appreciate the fact that the butterfly house contains only native Florida specimens. While some of the South American and Asian butterflies might be more showy, showcasing the plants and species you can install and attract in your own yard makes a lot more sense to me.

A huge welcome center is under construction that will include a large orchid house, store and café when it opens next fall. Having more amenities is a good thing because this is a garden I could easily spend the whole day visiting.

The garden is at 4820 Bayshore Drive. For details about visiting, call (239) 643-7275 or visit NaplesGarden.org.

*

Lifelong gardener Kaki Holt has written extensively about horticulture for a variety of local and state publications. Additionally, she has spearheaded the founding of school garden clubs throughout Palm Beach County. A certified Master Gardener, she is a member of Garden Writers of America. Email her at kakiholt@mail.com.

Ms. Benjamin, 42, started blogging about her favorite things for cats in 2007, and over time a business began to emerge. Readers posted fan mail. Boutique manufacturers started advertising on her site and sending samples for her to review. And the number of cats in her 1,100-square-foot condominium grew. (At last count, she had 11.)

As her advertising revenue climbed, Ms. Benjamin quit her day job as the marketing director of Boon, a company that sells modern baby products, and opened a design studio where she and her employees could create cat toys and accessories to sell on her website. And last year, she re-branded her Moderncat blog as Hauspanther, an “online magazine for design-conscious cat people.”

Next on the horizon is a consulting business built around the concept of “catification”: tailoring your living space to the needs of your cat without sacrificing aesthetics.

“The idea is to influence the mass cat-product industry to step up their game,” said Ms. Benjamin, who has teamed up with Jackson Galaxy, the cat behaviorist from the television show “My Cat From Hell,” for this effort. “We just want to be the go-to source for anyone who wants to live stylishly with cats.”

As the tattoo on her arm announces, Ms. Benjamin is positioning herself as a cat lady for a new generation. A vegan with Bettie Page bangs, she has upended the old stereotype of the frumpy, middle-aged woman surrounded by cats. And her two-bedroom townhouse here is a showcase of the latest in feline interior design.

The living room is filled with all manner of cat beds, scratchers, hiding spots and perches, including a miniature sun bed attached to sliding glass doors that open to a catio (a patio enclosed for the protection of her cats). The centerpiece on the dining table is not a flower arrangement or a fruit bowl, but a white porcelain cat bed designed to look like a sink. On the coffee table is a thronelike cat lounge that doubles as a scratcher. And a huge basket of cat toys is stationed next to the sofa.

“It is a little bit over the top,” said Ms. Benjamin, who admits to showering in the second bathroom because the master bath has been given over to litter boxes. But that’s all right, she said, because it means the cats “all have lots of options. Rarely is there a fight over places to sit.”

The crush of cat products is an inevitable consequence of having a blog that serves up a different item every day, along with a dose of attitude you won’t find in the plain-vanilla pages of a magazine like Cat Fancy.

Readers leave comments, some gushing, others critical, as well as suggestions. (The new site gets about 150,000 page views a month, she said, but it is still building traffic; the old site, which she shuttered to avoid a lawsuit with a Canadian magazine that had adopted the Modern Cat name, got around 350,000.) The product manufacturers, which tend to be mom-and-pop shops, use the feedback to refine their wares and develop new items — which, of course, they send to Ms. Benjamin to review.

Some of these companies advertise on her site or have affiliate arrangements with Ms. Benjamin, who gets a flat fee or a percentage of sales when a customer clicks through from her blog and buys something (although she won’t say exactly how much that amounts to over the course of a year). But others pay nothing to be on her site.

“I keep my editorial honest and straightforward, regardless of whether or not I’m receiving any compensation,” she said. “One of my favorite things to do is to help promote a new or small company just because they make great products that my readers need to know about.”

As far as she is concerned, she said, what it comes down to is good design.

“I would like to see every cat in a happy, loving, forever home, and I want to keep them there through design,” said Ms. Benjamin, who studied environmental design and analysis, with an emphasis on interior design, at Cornell and branched out into industrial design and visual communications at Arizona State University. “Because if somebody doesn’t want to buy a scratcher because the scratchers are so ugly, and then the cat scratches on the sofa, the cat’s booted onto the street or taken to the shelter. If a product design can help change that, that’s where I want to see this go.”

The people whose products appear on Hauspanther credit Ms. Benjamin with helping to build the market for designer cat furniture, a small but growing category. Once her blog became a go-to place for furnishings that appealed equally to cats and their owners, these vendors say, more specialty retailers cropped up, widening the product mix, and big chain stores like Walmart and Target began carrying nicer-looking cat products.

• 

Brent Freitas, owner of Eye of the Day Garden Center in Carpinteria in SoCal, was a featured expert on NewHomeSource.com.

Carpinteria, California (PRWEB) December 11, 2013

Brent Freitas, owner of Eye of the Day Garden Center in Carpinteria in SoCal, was a featured expert on NewHomeSource.com, a widely trafficked site that informs new homebuyers and industry specialists about available new homes. As an expert, he issued tips of the trade about the types of materials outdoor enthusiasts should use for fire pits and other heat-containing vessels.

The article on NewHomeSource.com, “Turn Up the Heat in Your Patio or Yard,” by Sarah Kinbar, discussed how to improve an outdoor backyard space to make it more enjoyable for the winter. Ideas included adding amenities like a whirlpool bath with a fire element for a spa-like space, two-sided gas fireplace, and rollable electric heating unit.

Near the end of the article, Freitas weighs in with important safety advice: consider the materials a fire pit is made of before actually using it. In particular, he explains that heat can wear on the material of any vessel that contains heat, and it’s therefore important to choose a pit or container that’s made of high-quality clay or concrete. Should less durable materials or merely decorative pots be used, potential fire hazards and fires could occur as pits begin to break down, crack, and even explode. To help prevent this, Freitas suggests checking labels of materials to make sure they’re suitable for fire, as well as using heat resistant paints.

As the owner of one of the leading Italian and Greek terracotta pottery distributors, Freitas is an expert in all things pertaining to the garden – whether they contain fire or not –especially with regards to high-end garden pottery, planters, and other decor. In particular, Eye of the Day features a variety of designer lines for garden amenities that include French Anduze pottery, pedestals, columns, birdbaths, benches, foundations, and more.

Eye of the Day boasts high-profile clientele, which includes Tommy Bahama and Ralph Lauren, and has also been featured on the DIY Network. Eye of the Day further works with international companies, private consumers, landscape architects, and trade specialists to create custom products for one-of-a-kind gardens and landscape designs.

For more information, visit http://www.eyeofthedaygdc.com; or, visit the headquarters off Carpinteria Avenue, open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. PST.

About Eye of the Day Garden Design Center

Eye of the Day Garden Design Center is a retail showroom that features more than an acre of high quality garden landscape products, including Italian terracotta pottery and fountains, Greek terracotta pottery, French Anduze pottery, and garden product manufacturers from America’s premier concrete garden pottery and decoration manufacturers. Eye of the Day is a leading importer and distributor of fine European garden pottery, and caters to private consumers, and landscape design and architecture firms around the world.

To see what Eye of the Day Garden Design Center can do for your business, visit http://www.eyeofthedaygdc.com.

PDF


Print

Leading Italian and Greek Terracotta Distributor, Eye of the Day Garden Design Center, Announces Its Deeply Discounted fermob Furniture and Eligibility for a Three-Piece

PRWEB.COM Newswire

Carpinteria, CA (PRWEB) December 17, 2013

To all outdoor holiday shopping enthusiasts, it’s time to mark your calendars for Eye of the Day Garden Design Center’s latest discounted extravaganza: 20% off of fermob furniture, a French outdoor garden furniture manufacturer that’s known for its luxe, high-end line that boasts both aesthetics and functionality.

The discount is valid for all fermob outdoor lounge furniture in-store, and it ends on December 24. Additionally, for those who spend $150 or more in-store, they are qualified to enter into a drawing for a three-piece bistro set that features a yellow table and two matching chairs, an approximate $650 value. The drawing for this set will take place on December 23, and one lucky winner will walk away with the perfect holiday gift for gardening – and lounging – hobbyists.

Example quote: “We’re always supported by our loyal customers, and SoCal is our home,” said owner Brent Freitas. “Without the support of our community, we wouldn’t be able to thrive and expand to Napa like we have planned for the start of 2014. So, I want to give a big thank-you to our customers and give someone a holiday gift that they can keep for themselves or gift to a loved one. What’s better than sitting outside, taking in the sights and sounds of nature? Get away from the TV and get back to old times, when good old fresh air was the way to wind down after a long day.”

Eye of the Day has been featured on major gardening sites, like DIY.com, and Freitas was recently showcased as a gardening accessory expert on NewHomeSource.com, in the article “Turn Up the Heat in Your Patio or Yard,” by Sarah Kinbar. The gardening guru has also worked with Tommy Bahama and Ralph Lauren to outfit the fashionable clothing lines with luxe gardening accessories, and Eye of the Day knows how to please any client – ranging from the private consumer to the landscape architect to the international clothing store brand.

Interested customers can visit Eye of the Day’s in-store site, located at 4620 Carpinteria Avenue, and store hours are from Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Driving directions can be found on http://www.eyeofthedaygdc.com, or customers can call 1 (800) 566-6500.

About Eye of the Day Garden Design Center

Eye of the Day Garden Design Center is a retail showroom that features more than an acre of high quality garden landscape products, including Italian terracotta pottery and fountains, Greek terracotta pottery, French Anduze pottery, and garden product manufacturers from America’s premier concrete garden pottery and decoration manufacturers. Eye of the Day is a leading importer and distributor of fine European garden pottery, and caters to private consumers, as well as landscape design and architecture firms from around the world.

To see what Eye of the Day Garden Design Center can do for your business, visit http://www.eyeofthedaygdc.com.

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/12/prweb11419640.htm

Top ^

View: Mobile site | Full Site

Hershey Gardens and Ames True Temper have created the Garden Design Scholarship Competition for students in grades 10-12 who are homeschooled or enrolled in a public, private or vocational-technical schools in Adams, Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Northumberland, Perry, Schuylkill, Snyder or York counties.

The Garden Design Scholarship Competition is being offered in an effort to provide an educational and career development competitive exercise for students who are interested in gardening, horticulture, landscape architecture, the arts and the development of public gardens as a community resource.

The first place team will receive $1,200 and will work with Hershey Gardens staff to install their design at Hershey Gardens.

Each member of the winning design team also will receive a one-year membership to Hershey Gardens.

Designs can be submitted by one student or teams of up to four students. Second- and third-place awards also will be given.

The deadline to register is Jan. 17.

Designs must be received by March 14.

For more information, go to hersheygardens.org or call 717-508-5968.

• 

Photo courtesy Stepane-Rambaud

Carpinteria, CA (PRWEB) December 17, 2013

To all outdoor holiday shopping enthusiasts, it’s time to mark your calendars for Eye of the Day Garden Design Center’s latest discounted extravaganza: 20% off of fermob furniture, a French outdoor garden furniture manufacturer that’s known for its luxe, high-end line that boasts both aesthetics and functionality.

The discount is valid for all fermob outdoor lounge furniture in-store, and it ends on December 24. Additionally, for those who spend $150 or more in-store, they are qualified to enter into a drawing for a three-piece bistro set that features a yellow table and two matching chairs, an approximate $650 value. The drawing for this set will take place on December 23, and one lucky winner will walk away with the perfect holiday gift for gardening – and lounging – hobbyists.

Example quote: “We’re always supported by our loyal customers, and SoCal is our home,” said owner Brent Freitas. “Without the support of our community, we wouldn’t be able to thrive and expand to Napa like we have planned for the start of 2014. So, I want to give a big thank-you to our customers and give someone a holiday gift that they can keep for themselves or gift to a loved one. What’s better than sitting outside, taking in the sights and sounds of nature? Get away from the TV and get back to old times, when good old fresh air was the way to wind down after a long day.”

Eye of the Day has been featured on major gardening sites, like DIY.com, and Freitas was recently showcased as a gardening accessory expert on NewHomeSource.com, in the article “Turn Up the Heat in Your Patio or Yard,” by Sarah Kinbar. The gardening guru has also worked with Tommy Bahama and Ralph Lauren to outfit the fashionable clothing lines with luxe gardening accessories, and Eye of the Day knows how to please any client – ranging from the private consumer to the landscape architect to the international clothing store brand.

Interested customers can visit Eye of the Day’s in-store site, located at 4620 Carpinteria Avenue, and store hours are from Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Driving directions can be found on http://www.eyeofthedaygdc.com, or customers can call 1 (800) 566-6500.

About Eye of the Day Garden Design Center

Eye of the Day Garden Design Center is a retail showroom that features more than an acre of high quality garden landscape products, including Italian terracotta pottery and fountains, Greek terracotta pottery, French Anduze pottery, and garden product manufacturers from America’s premier concrete garden pottery and decoration manufacturers. Eye of the Day is a leading importer and distributor of fine European garden pottery, and caters to private consumers, as well as landscape design and architecture firms from around the world.

To see what Eye of the Day Garden Design Center can do for your business, visit http://www.eyeofthedaygdc.com.

PDF


Print

When she first moved to San Francisco, architect Stephanie Goodson missed having a garden. After several failed attempts at growing food in her dimly-lit apartment, she started thinking about the many temporarily vacant lots she saw when running through her neighborhood. Four years later, Nomad Gardens–her design for a mobile community garden that can move from lot to lot–is about to break ground.

Goodson’s neighborhood of Mission Bay was once industrial, but like other parts of the city, it’s quickly becoming home to new high-rise apartments. While developers go through the process of finalizing plans and funding for new buildings, many lots sit empty. Mission Bay Development Group, which holds a lease to turn 300 acres in the neighborhood into a new mixed-use development, loved the idea of the gardens–especially because they could easily move when construction does finally start.

“There was a community garden across the street, but there was a 30-year waiting list,” Goodson said. “The developer also told me that it’s hard because people get attached to their spaces, and put sweat equity into growing and fostering these plants, so whenever the lot’s ready for development, it’s hard for the community. I said, ‘Well, what if it’s transportable?’ He loved it.”

The new garden will include over 200 individual plots, making it San Francisco’s largest community garden. Each part will be built on a platform so it can easily be moved to a new location with a forklift and flatbed truck. Goodson’s team first experimented with reusing old pallets, but later decided to work with an industrial designer to create a design that would be a consistent size, easy to build, and more durable during transport.

Eventually, they plan to make a product line of branded mobile garden units that someone could buy at a store like Ikea. “We want to create a sustainable business model,” Goodson says. “We’re currently partnered with the SF Parks Alliance, so we’re technically classified as a nonprofit, but we’d like to be a completely self-sustaining business. One of the ways of doing that can be a kind of one-for-one model where we have a product line that allows us to take the proceeds and put it back into gardens.”

The Mission Bay garden will also include room for outdoor movies and other community events. “We see it as a really good opportunity to meet your neighbors,” Goodson says. “I’m a big believer in cities and the cross-pollination of ideas. Giving a space like this provides for serendipity, innovation, and idea generation, and just cultivating a strong community.”

After an Indiegogo campaign and years of working through all of the necessary details with the city and the developer, Nomad Gardens signed a lease on the lot last week, and the first plots will be built in early January. They’ve already been approached by other cities who want to build a similar gardens.

“Our goal is to do this all over,” Goodson says. “We’d like the first garden to inspire good design and community building in other parts of San Francisco and beyond.”