Water Smart Garden

allied gardens cactus and succulentssmart water garden, a mult-media project by anders tomlinson and denver clay, film by anders tomlinson, garden by denver clay, mucis by sonicatomics, sonic succulents, allied gardens, sand diego, ca. photos by anders tomlinson. 2015

allied gardens, san diego, ca. house. 05-13-14. photo by anders tomlinson. story of building a smart water yard. multi-media project: film by anders tomlinson. garden and music by SonicAtomics.

The First Year From Ground Zero to Substance and Shape –
It all started on March 13, 2014 when Denver Clay, SonicAtomics’ music director, asked Anders Tomlinson, SonicAtomics’ creative director, if Denver’s yard could become water smart. Anders brought over cuttings from his urban “drought” tolerant garden. A year later, after 36 hours of labor between the two and $75 in materials, Allied Gardens posed for a formal portrait. This is more than a story about the creation of a Southern California compatible garden starting with a lawn that was no longer watered: this is also a film and soundtrack project. Welcome to Allied Gardens.

allied gardens, san diego, ca. house. 03-13-15. photo by anders tomlinson. story of building a smart water yard. multi-media project: film by anders tomlinson. garden and music by SonicAtomics

March 13, 2015, A Year To The Day –
Dirt, rock, terrace edging material, cactus and succulents work together in the face of “climate change.” Another plot element in this contemporary drama is the southwest’s returning, or return, to a “drought” normalcy: between 1900 and 2000 was an unusually wet period according to regional tree-ring records. Allied Gardens is growing, in step, with the times. Among the garden’s many mottos are “plant what grows, grow what can be replanted” and “adapting can be fun!”

allied gardens smart water garden, a mult-media project by anders tomlinson and denver clay, film by anders tomlinson, garden by denver clay, music by sonicatomics, sonic succulents, allied gardens, san diego, ca. photos by anders tomlinson. 2015

01 – Welcome to Allied Gardens

02 – Smart Water Garden Goals

03 – Limiting Water Runoff

04 – Future Water Use

05 – After Water Headlines

06 – Sonic Succulents Music & Videos

allied gardens cactus and succulents smart water garden, a mult-media project by anders tomlinson and denver clay, film by anders tomlinson, garden by denver clay, music by sonicatomics, sonic succulents, allied gardens, sand diego, ca. photos by anders tomlinson. 2015

allied gardens cactus and succulentssmart water garden, a mult-media project by anders tomlinson and denver clay, film by anders tomlinson, garden by denver clay, mucis by sonicatomics, sonic succulents, allied gardens, sand diego, ca. photos by anders tomlinson. 2015

One Small Garden For Allied Gardens. One Giant Step Into The Future –
The United Nations recently announced that within 15 years the demand for water will exceed replenishment by at least a 40 percent shortfall due to climate change and accelerated use of the precious commodity to feed a surging global population.
The report stated “The fact is, there is enough water to meet the world’s needs, but not without dramatically changing the way water is used, managed and shared.”

Other headlines from Earth Watch, March 30, 2015, included the Gulf Stream, which makes Northern Europe milder, is the weakest it has been in the last 1,000 years… Record low amounts of Arctic ice due to an unusual jet stream position and ice maximums peaked 15 days earlier than normal… Fish living between 2,000 feet and one mile in the Bay of Biscay are showing evidence of human-caused pollution spreading across European and North American waters… Huge firestorms rage across parts of southern Chile and are wiping out rare plant species and threatening wildlife… Locally, March 2015 was the 17th month in a row that has had above normal temperatures. A weather service forecaster was quoted, “winter totally skipped us this year.” March 2015 had an average of 66.6 degrees, 7.2 degrees above normal and eclipsing the record high average set in 1978 of 64.3 degrees. Great challenges for mankind are here and more are over the horizon.
Allied Gardens is a drop in the bucket but it is a drop.

April 1, 2015… California Gov. Jerry Brown ordered officials Wednesday to impose statewide mandatory water restrictions for the first time in history as surveyors found the lowest snow level in the Sierra Nevada snowpack in 65 years of record-keeping. Headlines, now in bold type above the front page fold, shout about this being a historic drought. What if this is merely a return to normal? The California snow pack has been below 50% for the past four years with 2014 being 25% of average and a thirst-inducing 5% so far in 2015. The mandatory water restrictions focus on metropolitan water districts. California agriculture has already been impacted in recent times with hundreds of thousands of farmland acres left fallow. This is the same land that produces much of the fruits, vegetables and nuts found in stores across the country. We need to eat. The time has arrived for the cities to sacrifice and tighten their water belts. Change, when embraced with body and mind, can be exciting.
SonicAtomics invites you to spend a moment with Allied Gardens.

©2015 Anders Tomlinson, Denver Clay and SonicAtomics, all rights reserved.