Conejo Post

I remember that when I lived in the Pacific Northwest years ago, the rock band, Smashing Pumpkins was really big.  Cool for the name of a rock band, but lousy as action taken in a community garden!  According to an article in the 8-27 Thousand Oaks Acorn, vandals broke into the Las Flores Garden, on Avenida de Las Flores by the 23 Freeway, and smashed pumpkins and other hand-grown vegetables.

I visited the Las Flores Garden this fourth of July to see how it had grown in 10 years.  When I first moved to Westlake Village in 1997, I wanted a place to grow vegetables and did not have any yard.  So, I started working with Don Jacobs and Fayde Macune, both of Thousand Oaks, to start a community garden.  We had 4 or 5 public meetings, talked to then T.O. City Council Member Linda Parks, and worked with Conejo Recreation and Park District, looking for the right garden site.  We also networked with established gardens, like in Ventura.  Don Jacobs was our intrepid leader in the garden quest.

Due to other responsibilities, I did not continue with the garden group, but Don and Fayde perservered with a lot of other wonderful people, and the garden was eventually started on a barren looking piece of land on Las Flores, by the equestrian park.  The site was also home to more ground squirrels than I have ever seen in one place!

This July, I could not believe the transformation of the land, into a patchwork of bounteous and green garden plots, each one unique.  I arrived at the garden in early evening on the 4th.   It was a garden gathering, with home-made stew that had been simmeringthere all day, and conviviality and visiting among the gardeners.  It was good to see Fayde and Don again.  And, how wonderful to see actual fruits of their labor (and vegetables too), in that beautiful garden spot.

So, I was sad to hear of destruction in the garden, but hope that one day, whomever did it will be drawn to gardening themselves.   To read the T.O. Acorn article by Nancy Needham:  http://www.toacorn.com/news/2009-08-27/Front_Page/Gardeners_victimized_by_vandals.html  

Posted by Janna Orkney