Volunteers and Sponsors Needed for the Venice Learning Garden

The Learning Garden is at the corner of Venice Blvd and Walgrove, right on the Venice High campus.

It's called a learning garden because that's what people do -- learn. As such the focus is not on production or beauty, but the gain of knowledge, although you get plenty of tomatoes and beautiful roses in the process.

I would like to do more volunteer work on this beautiful space when I visit Venice. You see, I actually live in Ventura, so when I came to town last week, I spent two days working in  the Learning Garden and made some wonderful progress -- I got rid of all the fennel -- okay, I got rid of MOST of the fennel -- and piled it onto the compost heap. The next day I helped to weed and trim the orchestra pit and put all the stones back into place. I call it the orchestra pit because that's what it looks like.

Now, I pledge 25 hours of work sometime in June, five hours per day for five days. I am a professional gardener and I can get a boatload of work done in 25 hours. I will gladly donate my time and energy, and what I need is a sponsor -- someone who will house and feed me for those five days. So, if you have the room and the vittles, you can contribute to the Learning Garden by simply saying yes. My phone is 360-739-0214 and the email is froghospital911@gmail.com.

What else? Check out the Learning Garden website, because there is a lot going on, and you can come and do some of the volunteer work yourself. Or maybe come to the weekly potluck lunch held every Friday at 12:30 p.m. on the patio.

You can meet David King. He is the master gardener. Dave is on the highest level of horticulture, he no longer does anything in the garden, he simply is.

I am still laboring by the sweat of my brow, working for money, working for esteem and status, all these lesser goals -- but some day I will reach the high ground in the flower kingdom -- of complete being and non doing.

Until that day comes, I wish to labor in the Learning Garden, so if you help me do this I will be very grateful.

(I'm kidding about Dave  -- he's a great guy)