An amazing little community garden, sponsored by PG&E, that has to be a first for Bakersfield (as…read morefar as I know). Started by Community Garden Manager, Amber Beeson, the garden is a means for community members (who pay an annual fee and volunteer a minimum of two hours per month in the garden) to get together and do something positive for a community. Volunteers will also get access to fresh fruit and produce - win! Once an empty lot that was littered with trash and home to vagrants, this garden is absolutely gorgeous and includes loads of art and beautiful designs all from local volunteers. If you choose not to volunteer you can always donate money per box of fresh fruit and veggies, but priority will always go to volunteers. Family passes (last I checked) were $120 per year for an "All Access Pass" for families. This allows all family members to participate in events and classes for free. Some of these include gardening, nutrition, physical-fitness, art, movie nights, children's classes and more. This is a great little oasis in the heart of Bakersfied's Oleander area.

Since Spring has arrived, gardeners are busy planting and toiling in the soil at SLO's community…read moregardens to grow produce & flowers, and other ornamental plants. In June 2010, three Rotary Clubs of SLO unveiled the Rotary Community Garden at Meadow Park. This community garden contains 40 plots. It is located at the west end of Meadow Park with the nearest access on South Street.  There are now five community gardens sites with over 100 plots available to city residents for a nominal annual fee. Residents can lease garden plots on a first-come, first-served basis. If one is interested in more information, contact the City of SLO Community Gardens Coordinator. Enjoy a stroll through the Rotary Community Garden. Please do not pick anything as plots are maintained by individual gardeners.

I not quite sure how one goes about to get a plot for gardening here, but it seems like a really…read morenice space for a green thumb enthusiast. I overheard someone talking bout this place and constantly pass it getting in the freeway. It a community garden where people have plots for gardening and such. There's an also a little park area, rose garden and cactus garden. Parking is available inside a lot, closed at a certain time. As well as street parking. There's two sections across the street from each other. We popped in to have a wander and see what it was all about. It's a cute little park area where it's pretty and quaint. Nice place for a stroll. People have spots for gardens so respect and not trespass. Your able to walk along the path and check each plot out but he respectful and not pick anything. It's a little oasis out of the city even though you're right in it. It's just along the 101 freeway but you don't notice it with all the trees covering it. The rose garden is simple yet a good variety of plants. As well as the cactus garden towards the back. It's a cute place to have a wander and even a plot.

It's been over 2 years since I started going to the Sepulveda Garden Center. I had just relocated…read moreto Ventura County from the OC. My new place didn't have space for all my potted plants, so I was desperately trying to find a place that I could store them at. I noticed this community garden while driving past the 405 freeway near the Hayvenhurst exit. Its right near the Tapias Brothers Farm. I took a look around the place. The garden center is divided into two sections by Magnolia. The one on the north end beside the freeway is the original and much larger of the two. I thought my odds of saving my plants had increased. I met Pat, the Manager of the place. Really nice lady and a fountain of information on plants that are grown in the area. Unfortunately, there was a long waiting list. I was like number 100 or so on the waiting list. I still put in my name out of desperation. It wasn't until a year later that Pat called me telling me my name had come up on the list. By then, I was forced to give away most of plants - it was heartbreaking. At that time, I was relocating to North Hollywood, so the Garden Center was going to be a lot closer to where I lived. I really missed my plants and wanted to start gardening again, so I said why not. The cost was $25 per plot per year. The cost to rototil was $5, which was an option I chose to save me time preparing the soil. Pat will start you at one plot 1st. But if you show you are a responsible steward, she will offer you up to 2 more plots. I got lucky and all my 3 plots are adjoining. It's really a great bargain, because you can use as much water as you want and they offer free use of garden tools and mulch. To be considered a responsible gardener and neighbor, you must weed regularly and take care of your plants. Warning: this is a lot harder than it sounds, especially in the hot summer months when the weeds grow like crazy. You must be in decent shape to keep of with the rigors of up keeping a garden. If you leave your garden plot untended, you'll eventually receive a warning letter from Pat. I actually wish she were more draconian with the rules, because some neighbors just ignore there plots, resulting in beds full of weeds that spread seeds (and baby weeds) to neighboring plots. You can grow a wide variety of vegetables, dwarf fruit trees and flowering plants. Tomatoes, artichokes, cantaloupes, eggplant, peppers, pumpkin, beans, cucumbers, strawberries, etc. do very well. I plant some vegetables, but my main focus is flowering plants. While it's not a true park, families will have get togethers here. They will tend to their plots first, and then have a picnic at the shaded tables and seats at the center of the garden. Besides the large waiting list, the downside to having a plot is that once in awhile, there are thieves who will steal your fruits or veggies or even little statues and such that you use to decorate your plot with. So don't put any item you value too much in your plot, and regularly check up on it. The thieves are less likely to disturb the plots that are well maintained. Some gardeners put up tall fences, but it ends up making the place look like a prison. And many of these gardeners end up putting more effort into their fences and gates, than they do their actual garden. Nothing is sadder than looking at a plot that is fenced in and filled with weeds. The other downside is the garden center closes by 3 PM. They open at 7 AM, so best time is to come early. If you like to party on weekend nights, the garden center's operating hours might not be a good fit for you. I've recently moved to West LA, but still make the trek up to Encino most Saturday mornings to tend to my plots. Even though the 405 freeway is right beside the garden center, I often feel like I have been transported to someplace more rural. It's a nice reminder that Los Angeles was once an agricultural city. This is my antidote to the hustle and bustle of city life.

Great group of gardeners who take pride in organic growing. One of the most well kept and managed…read morecommunity gardens around. Giving garden to help the community, children's garden, butterfly habitat and a community of people that care about making Thousand Oaks a better place to grow! Proud to call this my happy place!

Las Flores Community garden is a hidden gem! It is my respite, my sanctuary, everyday. We share…read moregarden tips, and information. Gardeners are happy people, and I am proud to be part of this community garden.

You'd be surprised the things you will find moving at 8mph on a bicycle that you would probably…read moremiss at 30 mph driving in a car. Today I rode my bike to El Camino College and tried a few back streets that I had never been on. Along the way, in Lawndale I came across this community garden. It was an unexpected and pleasant surprise. Rows of corn, squash and other vegetables in a tiny little neighborhood lot that all the neighbors share. I wish I had one of these where I live. After riding home I hopped on the internet and found out that the Dan McKenzie Community Garden is run by The Los Angeles Community Garden Council. This organization apparently helps communities that are interested to have a community garden in their neighborhood. Here's a few words from their website: "Approximately 70 community gardens are growing in Los Angles County, serving 3,900 families. Community gardens are vibrant, cooperative organizations that build neighborhood self-reliance, and reduce poverty, mitigate global warming and benefit the LA River and Ballona Creek watersheds. Los Angeles devotes little taxpayer money to community gardens yet they return abundant neighborhood benefit. Community Gardens and Real Estate Community gardens are a special type of park: they are open to all who apply, but they are self-maintained and self-policed by the membership. Unlike most parks, community gardens occupy three categories of land: private land with short-term leases, public land with short-term leases, and garden-owned land. Several vacant, developable lots in public or private ownership are currently leased for community gardens. Experience has shown that the maintenance costs of vacant lots borne by both public land owners, like the Department of Pubic Works, and private land owners, is high, and to lease their land for a community garden until it is needed for development has benefits for everyone." Needless to say, I think this is awesome. Los Angles needs more community gardens. Check it out for yourself... http://lagardencouncil.org/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

I had a heck of a time trying to figure out what this Memorial Rose Garden was and who it belonged…read moreto. Since there is a plaque in the garden honoring the memory of a Santa Barbara local who died tragically in a lawnmower accident, I assumed the city owned & maintained the area. But when I called and asked Park & Rec the name of the Rose Garden, the employee told me it was in front of the Fess Parker Resort and they owned it. It is a very nice garden and what a miracle that the roses and greenery planted in front of the Fess Parker survive as well as they do, being that the salty and blustery Pacific Ocean--full of damp fog & mildew-inducing moisture--is right across the street! Michael Petrini is the name of the employee who was killed and who once tended the roses here. He perished in an accident near the Santa Barbara Mission in 2004 and was working there as a groundskeeper when his power mower overturned, crushing him beneath it. The developmentally disabled man was much beloved in the community and this Memorial pays tribute to him here. While riding my bike along the Cabrillo Bike Path, I stopped to admire the beautiful roses in such a serene setting. I got to thinking why Fess Parker's Resort would use this valuable frontage area near their Doubletree Hotel to plant a bunch of flowers and place benches for reflection. Upon looking at their website, I got a good answer. This Resort does BIG BUSINESS with weddings! And when those brides and grooms get together with their professional wedding photographers looking for scenic vantage points to record their love, this Memorial Rose Garden is perfect. Because right across the street (and in the background) will be East Beach, with sun, sea and surf plus rows of stately California palm tree languidly lining the walkways. That fact does not take away from the Rose Garden's great ambiance. There are signs that note that "reclaimed water" is used to water the plants. That is a big deal since drought restrictions mean precious water cannot be wasted on landscaping. Because some of the roses looked like they were in need of some TLC and appeared almost scraggly, I did deduct 1 YELP STAR. But the Memorial Garden has better luck with successfully growing roses in a stressful beach environment then I ever did.

This is a beautiful resort on the beach. One of my best friends got married there and we used to do…read morebrunches there with my Grandparents. It's really fancy and beautiful.

Being in Thousand Oaks with a mom and a little kid this week, we seek out public parks to spend…read moresome time in the afternoon to walk around, get some fresh air, people watch other kids and ground to the Earth. The Conejo Creek Park area contains an equestrian park, a dog park, a community garden and also Waverly Park. Now I am not certain how a local with more knowledge of the streets would find the proper parking lot for this park, but we drove to the dog park (because it was the paved entrance we found off of E. Avenida De Las Flores and walked West through the dirt lot of the community garden and through the fence to Waverly Park. In hindsight, you could park in community garden lot and walk through the fence there and same yourself a few minutes of walking. This park is small and partially on a hill overlooking a baseball field, but is charming, quaint and so welcoming. At 5:15pm when we arrived, there was nobody there and that was surprising to me because it is a lovely park and the weather was nice. This park is either relatively new or recently renovated, because it has exercise equipment that looks barely used, swings that look barely used and many sturdy park benches throughout. There is a paved path that would take you around the entire little park if grass is not your thing to walk on or are pushing a stroller. It has a public restroom, play equipment, dog relief station and trash cans. We sat on the hill and watched the baseball game occurring in the distance. The mountains and hills in the distance are a beautiful backdrop to see. It was a lovely time in the charming park.

This is a popular gardening park in Santa Monica CA. It's so popular that there is a 5yr waiting…read morelist to get a plot there. The arrangements and choices and types of plants in each plot makes this park so beautiful .... Flowers, succulents, bush foliage, fruit trees, vegetables and more. Some plots are set up with bistro tables surrounded by beautiful flowers growing around. Others are filled with organically grown vegetables and some plots mixed with both. I loved visiting this garden park.

I took a class with the GrowLA Gardens program that's offered through UCANR. The instructors are…read moreMaster Gardeners, and there are quite a few of them who have plots here. They're extremely well versed in organic gardening here, and I highly recommend taking the course here if possible! A special shout out to Les, Susan, and all the Master Gardeners for sharing their knowledge with a semi-noob! It's a very interesting place, located close to the Santa Monica Airport and the Bundy Campus of Santa Monica College. I drove around this neighborhod for years (work, school, etc.) and never knew it existed! I enjoyed the class and how Ocean View Farms functioned as an open air, living classroom for the topics at hand. The plots are very diverse in character, reflecting their owners' view of organic gardening techniques. I understand it takes a while to get a plot and I already have a garden, but I'd definitely recommend getting on their waitlist if exploring community gardening interests you!

What another beautiful and HUUUUUGE park in the SCV! Something for everyone here. Lots of great…read morehiking trails in the adjacent hills, many soccer fields, baseball/softball diamonds, basketball courts, Disc Golf, Community Gardens, TWO dog parks(small and large pups welcome to their own space) and for avid stairclimbers, who enjoy (???) walking actual stairs, a DEDICATED exercise staircase. The staircase was the first feature I noticed the first time I passed by at night. I could see something in the distance that resembled the Mulholland aqueduct cascading down the Newhall Pass near my home. So on this beautiful Wednesday evening, we headed to Central Park to "investigate" the lights at the back of the park. How cool! We arrived just as the late afternoon sun was descending o're the horizon and the clouds were moving from white to pink, to grey, to pink, to peach, to orange. Gorgeous! Perfect timing to see the beginning of the "River of Lights" that caught my eye. A beautiful array of 214 programmable lights that seem to "flow" in ever changing colors from the flag pole at the top of the exercise staircase down, down, down the 172 steps and into a main plaza, lined with benches and trees, to encircle a lovely 2025 art installation entitled "When Cloud Met A Cloud" by Sujin Lim. The overall effect is rain falling, cascading down and evaporating into the clouds to cycle again. It's so pretty! Along the plaza are educational displays from the SCV water Agency, highlighting the importance water has in our lives. It does INDEED resemble what we in the SFV see on the "other side" of these hills, as the aqueduct flows into our valley. I may not attempt this staircase walk anytime soon, but we did enjoy walking the forged trail around the park and seeing all the people - and lots of free parking! - utilizing this space. Signs are posted to remind you to watch for rattlesnakes, so hike with care. Cheers! "CC"

We finally got around to checking out Jingle Fest! It's a one day event that's been held at…read moreCentral Park for the past 4 years. Lots of vendors selling specialty foods, handcrafted items, clothing and decor. There's a live band, bar (Newhall Refinery) and food trucks. Kids can visit with Santa for $8, with pics taken with your own phone. Overall a really nice park event. Free admission, pets allowed and lots of parking.

This festival takes me back to my childhood. It brings me happiness to know that this festival…read morecontinues to strive and continue to grow every year. It's nice to see the Filipino youth & locals participate in this festivity, so they can learn and understand the Filipino culture/heritage. The cultural dances continue to stay the same and passed down from generations. I remember participating in the cultural dances and performing on stage. It definitely feels like yesterday. I'm happy to know that a little bit of my culture is being celebrated. This event happens every year on the last weekend of July. The festivities takes off with the adobo cook off on Friday evening while everyone else is setting up their booths. I'm guilty to have NEVER attended this part of the event. I hope one day I'll be able to check it out. The following day the festivities kick off with the parade downtown Delano usually at 10am and back to Cecil Park for the festivities. They usually have tents with Filipino food and halo-halo as well as other booths. I usually grab food from the Thai food tent. I know it's a Filipino festival then why buy Thai food haha. I eat Filipino food almost everyday and that Thai food stand has been part of Filipino weekend for as long as I can remember. They also have bounce houses for the kids, a train ride and even rock climbing. There's also a designated area for 21yr olds and over to grab a drink. End of July is always super hot and usually the weather is over 100°, so if you're not used to that temperature then I wish you the best of luck. Shade usually helps; however, if you're not from here then you should know that we have dry heat. Wind doesn't usually blow a whole lot, so you're literally sitting in the heat under the shade. Bring lots of water and possible a tent or umbrella to stay cool. Or be like me and come extra early or when it's almost over haha, but then you'll miss all the cool entertainment. I don't think you should miss it because the kids practiced all summer to get their dance down. The park is open to the public with no admission fee. They have a basketball tournament going down across the street at Delano HS and they have the Bingo going too. Those are two ways to stay cool. I recently found out they have a tennis tournament going also, so look out for that. Prior to the festival they usually post the pageants on their website for Tiny Tots, Miss Philippine Weekend, Mrs. & Mr. Philippine Weekend. You should check it out to support our local event.