Sustainable Gardens

Can we just get rid of the grass in the parkway please?  Ten years ago, Mike agreed to my proposal and has been threatening to put grass back in ever since.  My idea was to have a parkway full of native plants that would take care of themselves…what emerged was native plants being strangled by weeds every few months.  Recently we had a neighbor complain, “Why don’t you just plant grass like everyone else?”  She’s a regular walker who has to navigate her grandson’s stroller around our overgrown flax.  But ten years later, while I am still bucking the threats of impending sod, I absolutely love the parkway in all its imperfections…it’s my California version of an English garden.  For those interested in experiencing sustainable gardens, there is an upcoming tour from Glendale to Pasadena on Saturday, April 7th put on by the LA Chapter of the US Green Building Council.  In case you’re wondering, the flowers above are yarrow and below is a closed California poppy, both taken last week in the early morning from our parkway.

Affordability at Historic High

We attended a conference last week and wanted to share this image with you because while prices and interest rates are down, it has made for historic affordability of a home.  This simply means that people are using less of their income to purchase a home…great news!

Abundant Backyard Fruit?

To follow up on our last post, we want to suggest other options for using up your backyard harvest if you want a highly fulfilling way to give back to our immediate community.  In South Pasadena, I recently spoke with June Choi at Union Bakery who said she’d gladly take any lemons from my lemon tree, which is laden with fruit at the moment.  Another great option is a backyard-to-table cafe called Homegirl Cafe in the Chinatown neighborhood of downtown L.A.  Also, South Pasadena’s Holy Family Bookstore is a backyard fruit depository for Homegirl Cafe if you have abundant fruit or if you’re trimming herbs and need a place that can use them.

When the lemons start falling on the ground, I know it’s time to put out the box on the sidewalk, pay June a visit or go down to the bookstore to drop off my harvest!

Free Persimmons

In the past couple years, fruit from friends and family has been abundant and we eat as much as we can, but we’ve taken to putting it out on the sidewalk with a free sign on our easel with paper sacks so our neighbors can enjoy. It is always gone within a few hours!

Revitalizing Highland Park

One of the first homes Mike sold was to a couple in their mid-20s in 1996 in Highland Park, a neighborhood in northeast Los Angeles that we absolutely love. Two kids, one cat and four dogs later, this family has poured their heart and soul into their Craftsman bungalow, which sits atop an agave studded hillside with 180 degree view of the city.  Not only have they planted deep roots in this community but they’ve enriched the school community of Aldama Elementary with beautification grants and bringing the dual language program to its students.  They’ve been waiting years for the chain link fences to come down so that the amazing turn-of-the-century architecture can be seen in all its glory.  I hope it was music to their ears yesterday when they saw the front page of the L.A. Times that offered a story about Highland Park’s revitalization.  Because we love Highland Park, we want to share this vibrant community with you.

The Maloney Group’s Mission

How do people find neighborhoods they absolutely adore, to which they feel connected and find a sense of belonging?  When Mike and I partnered as The Maloney Group last year, we realized how fortunate we had been to live in the sprawling L.A. – Pasadena area and feel a true sense of community.  We have made it our mission to help people find homes they love in vibrant neighborhoods that bring meaning to their lives.  Our mission is simple:  We tie people, homes and communities together.