Gardening Inspiration

Last Wednesday, my husband Bruce and I visited a very special school garden at Venice High School in western Los Angeles, California. We were invited as the guests of Kathy Kellogg. Her family's company, Kellogg Garden Products, has had a long-standing commitment to introduce and encourage youngsters to garden. This past year, the Environmental Media Association (begun by concerned Hollywood celebrities), Yes to Carrots company and Kellogg Garden Products began an ongoing partnership to support organic gardens and greenery in urban schools. The garden at Venice High School is amazing and it was so much fun talking to many of the students about their experiences as well as watching the mentoring by supportive stars such as Rosario Dawson, Ali Larter, Emmanuelle Chriqui (star of the HBO series Entourage), Carter Oosterhouse, Amy Smart , Frances Fisher and Daryl Hannah. This special garden is all organic, complete with their own compost piles and filled with edible and ornamental plants including sunflowers, artichokes, cabbages, lettuces, rhubarb and chard. A scrumptious lunch made from the bounty of this garden was served and at the luncheon, it was announced that Highland Elementary School in Minnesota received a $5000 Yes to Carrots Garden Challenge grant, a years' supply of Kellogg Garden Products and Emmanuelle Chriqui as their garden mentor for the year. The passion for gardening is alive and well thanks to the work of EMA, Kelloggs, Yes to Carrots and other organizations throughout the United States. May the school programs continue to thrive so that we have a new generation of gardeners!