PlantCycle’ Fans Use Facebook To Share Gardening Information

BY LEE ROMNEY© 2012, Los Angeles Times

SAN FRANCISCO — The tinyapartments are touted as “afford-able by design.”

New York City has launched apilot project to test them out.Boston is doing it too. But herein San Francisco, where a grow-ing number of residents arebeing priced out of the housingmarket by a revived tech econ-omy, city leaders are consideringthe smallest micro-units of all.

At a minimum 150 square feetof living space — 220 when youadd the bathroom, kitchen andcloset — the proposed resi-dences are being hailed as a piv-otal option for singles.Opponents fear that a wave of“shoe box homes” would furthermarginalize families of modestmeans who are desperate forlarger accommodations.

On Tuesday, the Board of Su-pervisors tabled until at least No-vember tweaking the city’sbuilding code, which requiresnewly constructed units to be atleast 290 square feet.

The number of micro-unitsthat could be built under the pro-posal would not be capped, al-though critics are pushing forcontrols on the experiment. NewYork Mayor Michael R.Bloomberg, for instance, hassigned off on just 60 apartmentsthat would be 275 to 300 squarefeet small.

Patrick Kennedy — a Berke-ley, Calif.-based developer who in

November will unveil a buildingwith 300-square-foot units in SanFrancisco’s South of Marketneighborhood — has said hehopes to build several thousandeven smaller models.

The mini-apartments’schematics include window seatsthat convert to spare beds andbeds that transform into tables.Bay windows offer sweepingviews.

“You could obviously buildmore of them if you don’t have todo them as large,” said Kennedy,adding that pricing would be de-termined after he sees “what themarket does with our 300-foot-ers.”

Supervisor Scott Wiener, whodrafted the legislation, saidsmaller units will mean cheaperand more plentiful housing op-tions. With a tech boom under-way, thousands of new hireshave been snapping up San Fran-cisco’s rental stock.

The micro-units will probablygo for $1,200 to $1,500 a month,Wiener said. According to thereal estate service RealFacts, anaverage studio apartment in SanFrancisco now goes for $2,075.

So in a metropolis where 41percent of residents live solo,Wiener said, the units would fill aniche by allowing people to staywho might otherwise have totake on roommates or leavetown.

“Although in our fantasyworld everyone would live in asingle-family home or a huge spa-cious flat, the reality of life is that

not everyone can afford that,” hesaid, noting the micro-units withshared common space would beideal for students, artists andseniors.

But some critics worry thatthe swank model units gettingkudos from officials might not bethe norm. What’s to stop otherdevelopers, tenants’ rights advo-cates ask, from building grimmerversions, with low ceilings andpoor light?

“I say no shoe box legisla-tion,” Carmelita Perez, 67, told

demonstrators at a recent newsconference, where a small childsat inside a mock unit taped tothe sidewalk in front of City Hall.“We are humans, not spiders.”

Supervisor Jane Kim, whosedistrict includes South of Market,said she feared the push for ever-smaller apartments would donothing to benefit families thatalready are being driven out oftown.

The price per square foot ofKennedy’s proposal, she andother skeptics said, was less af-

fordable than current rentals.And buildings full of micro-unitscould cause a spike in populationdensity that might strain publictransit and already limited parksand public spaces.

In Singapore, where thou-sands of shoe box homes forfamilies — some as small as 500square feet — are either com-pleted or in the pipeline, redevel-opment authorities recentlyraised the minimum size to 755square feet because of conges-tion. The revised approach isfodder for doubters here.

“This has to be a pilot projectand allow for further study be-fore we end up like Singapore,”said Sara Shortt, executive direc-tor of the Housing Rights Com-mittee of San Francisco, atenants’ rights group that is partof a coalition negotiating withWiener.

Not all affordable-housing ad-vocates, however, are against theproposal.

Sherilyn Adams, executive di-rector of Larkin Street YouthServices, said she viewed theproposed micro-units as an op-portunity “for people who would

have been otherwise pushed outof the market” — although shewould like to see housing withsupport services for those withlow incomes.

Among those who alreadyspend their days and nights intiny spaces, there is disagree-ment on the merits.

Cubix Yerba Buena — a Southof Market condo complex of stu-dio units with around 300 squarefeet — went on the market dur-ing the recession.

One Yelp reviewer dissed thecondos as “no bigger than mosthotel rooms” and only threetimes larger than “the averageU.S. prison cell.”

But another buyer was effu-sive: “If it wasn’t for Cubix SF Iwould have never been able toafford to buy anything in thewhole Bay Area by myself,” awoman named Jazz wrote. “I’mmoving from a 450 square feetrental into 280 square feet of allmine & feel like I’m the luckiestso in so on the planet. . ... Thankyou Universe!”

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JOE FUDGE/NEWPORT NEWS DAILY PRESS/MCTSteve Wyrick is a familiar gardener on the Facebook page called Peninsula Plantcycle. There, he and other gardeners exchange seeds, unwantedtools and gardening decor; the banter goes back and forth daily. Steve has shared and received plants, and made trellises from repurposed goods,including curbside finds.

MCTThe scarlet rosemallow produces an abundance of scarlet star-shapedblooms that will delight both hummingbirds and butterflies.

PHOTO: SMARTSPACE VIA LOS ANGELES TIMES/MCTArtist rendering of 300 square foot apartment in San Francisco "micro-units" or shoebox apartments by developer SMARTSPACE.

BY KATHY VAN MULLEKOM© 2012, Daily Press (Newport News, Va.)

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Steve Wyrick’syard in southeastern Virginia is all about nur-turing nature and animals. He gardens forwildlife and repurposes and recycles every-thing possible.

Nothing is wasted.Decorative, colorful tiles from his father’s

former pool business embellish clay pots.Shells from a backyard pecan tree are used asgarden compost. Seeds and clippings are ger-minated and rooted into new plants. A newlypainted rabbit hutch was rescued when itwas discarded at the curb, and handles frombroken tools are perches in his chicken run.

A Facebook page called Peninsula PlantCy-cle helps him accomplish much of it. His fa-vorite finds on the site are strawberrybegonia, a part-shade ground cover that pro-duces spikes of white flowers, and BlackMagic elephant ear, a tropical plant thatthrives in the pond he crafted from leftoverpool materials.

“For me, PlantCycle is all about simplisticliving, nature, anti-consumerism and activeenvironmentalism,” says the Poquoson, Va.,gardener

“We exchange information, answer eachothers’ questions and talk about how to dealwith various pests. It’s both a community anda lifestyle.”

Beverly Tidwell, a gardener in NewportNews, Va., started the Facebook group whenthe Yahoo group PlantCycle.org shut downfor unknown reasons.

“I absolutely loved the concept,” she says.

“After a few months of seeing no posts, Ichatted with Steve and we agreed we neededto fill the gap. You post a picture or a descrip-tion of what you have or want and peoplecomment to let you know if they have it orwant it.

“Peninsula PlantCycle friends are like me— they have a passion for gardening. Thefree advice you get is great — advice like: isthis a good cocoon or a bad one? Is this agood or bad bug? I also like being able to giveaway plants so I’m sharing and also makingroom for other plants.”

Barbara Bahr is a PlantCycle fan, using theFacebook page to find free and unwantedstuff she can use in her 1.6-acre garden.

“For the past 12 years, I’ve worked hardon my yard,” she says.

“I’ve planted many flowers and islandsand dug many ponds in those years. I reuseand recycle materials. One item that standsout in my mind is a recycled hot tub that Isaved from going to the landfill. It was madeinto a koi pond. Beverly and I have ex-changed pond plants many times.

“PlantCycle is a fun way to make newfriends and at the same time you can shareideas for your yard and gardens. It’s like Pin-terest on a smaller scale. We all share thesame passion with planting and making ouryards a beautiful showcase for ourselves andour neighborhood.”

Now, Tidwell’s goal is to replace the YahooPlantCycle.org with a new, improved andfunctional website her husband, Andrew, de-signed and launched at http://peninsulaplant-cycle.webs.com. The Facebook version willcontinue to be its social media partner.

“The concept of sharing and trading hasbeen around since the beginning of time,”says Tidwell.

“We have simply lost touch and I hopePeninsula PlantCycle can change that. If we’resuccessful, we’ll expand.”

———ONLINE:Peninsula PlantCycle at Facebook.com.New website at http://peninsulaplantcy-

cle.webs.com.

BY NORMAN WINTER© 2012, McClatchy-Trib. News Service

No matter the type of gardenyou have, the scarlet rosemallowhas the ability to steal the atten-tion of your visitors. To be hon-est I hate that name from amarketing standpoint and I actu-ally learned of the plant as aTexas Star hibiscus. As luckwould have it some taxonomicboard has concluded it is not na-tive to Texas. I hear there is noweven an argument that it is notreally native to the Southeast.But for now we can sleep bliss-fully knowing indeed it is a treas-ured native from Louisiana toFlorida, northward to Virginia.

Don't let native status or anugly name like swamp mallow orscarlet mallow deter you fromgrowing one of the most pictur-esque perennial hibiscuses avail-able at the garden center. Toclarify my first sentence, thetightly formal need not try touse this plant. But those with agrandma's cottage feel, a pas-sion for the Caribbean or thebackyard wildlife enthusiast, thisis definitely a plant for you.

Here at the Columbus Botani-cal Garden our complex is de-signed around a late 1800'sfarmhouse with many of theoriginal outbuildings. The scar-let rosemallow fits this gardenperfectly as nearby we haveplanted rudbeckias, Joe Pyeweed, and other perennialsknown to be favorites of butter-flies and hummingbirds.

It is a cold-tolerant perennialhardy from zones 5 through 10and produces some of the tallestplants for the flower border. Ourshas been producing scores ofscarlet, star-shaped flowers inabundance and to the delight ofthe ruby-throated hummingbirds.The foliage is a striking glossy-green and has a maple-like shape.

If you are into the tropical

look, you can create your cornerof paradise by combining it withlarge banana trees like the cold-hardy Japanese fiber banana orwith elephant ears. Try using incombination with the yellowbush-form allamanda or yellowblooming canna lilies. Place thehibiscus to the back of the bor-der to hide their giraffe leg-likestalks.

Though considered a plantfor all soils, requirements for thescarlet rosemallow hibiscus aremuch like those of other peren-nials. Plant in well-drained, well-prepared beds and use a goodlayer of mulch to keep the soilevenly moist through the sea-son. This hibiscus is found grow-ing naturally in sandy, moist,acidic soils but I have seen manyfine plants in central Texas. Ex-pect them to easily reach 6 feetin height and width, so space on3-foot centers.

Choose a site with plenty ofsunlight. Morning sun and fil-tered afternoon light are justabout perfect in our state. Hibis-cus blooms on new growth, so itis important to keep it growingvigorously throughout the sea-son. Keep them well fed and wa-tered during periods of drought.

After your hibiscus hasfrozen in the fall, cut them backto ground level and add a littleextra mulch. I always go fornursery-grown plants, but manygardeners ask if these can begrown from seed, and indeedthey can. It does help to lightlyscrape with sandpaper for easiergermination.

You may be in love with thetropical Chinese hibiscus but Ipredict once you can look pastthe name you will fall in lovewith the scarlet rosemallow, or ifyou will, swamp mallow, too, andwelcome it to your perennialgarden.

San Francisco Experiments With 300-Square-Foot Micro-Apartments

On Gardening

Scarlet RosemallowIs A TreasuredNative Hibiscus

Diggin’ In:

‘PlantCycle’ Fans Use FacebookTo Share Gardening Information

PlantCycle PostsHere are examples of posts you may

find at Peninsula PlantCycle’s Facebookpage any given day:

“This cocoon is on my Japanese mapletree. We saw him stick his head out andget a leaf, eat some and take it back intothe cocoon. Any advice or info would begreat.”

“My neighbor has figs and grapes (notsure what kind) that my daughters and Iwill be picking for her. Is anyone inter-ested in any?”

“My angel trumpets have not floweredthis year. I have fed them coffee grindsand (store bought). Compost ... but can’tget a bloom? Does anyone have advice?

“Does anyone know where I can findthe passion vine?”

“Does anyone have any CreepingJenny (Golden Monewort) to share? I loveto use it as a cascading feature in my con-tainers.”