An Ecofriendly garden of the rich and Famous
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Ok I think it’s official. An eco friendly garden is now cool amongst the rich and famous! It seems that gardening is becoming the hot new pastime of ecofriendly living and in New York no less where real estate is at a premium. Now I doubt it will surpass shopping in Soho, clubbing or escaping to the Hamptons for a weekend but it is refreshing to see that it’s gaining popularity.
Kelly Ripa of the daytime talk show, Live with Regis and Kelly, shared that she and hubby Mark Consuelos have a terrace vegetable garden. Apparently hidden amongst Mr. Consuelos’ talents is quite the green thumb as he is the primary caregiver of the eco friendly garden in their household. You might be wondering why should we care if the Consuelos’ have embraced gardening or ecofriendly living? Well, it is two-fold. First, they have kids and now their kids will experience and appreciate the process of harvesting their own produce. I think that when kids are involved in cooking or growing their own food, they are going to be more willing to try different things plus more apt to carry on the tradition. Secondly, Kelly has a daily forum with which she is now using to talk about her garden and relay it’s progress throughout the summer. It just may spark a few of her viewers/fans to pick up a spade of their own because ecofriendly living can be cool.
The Consuelo garden grows herbs, peppers and tomatoes among other vegetables and it’s comprised entirely of planters. Ripa has talked about the garden on a few occasions during host chat and says that she loves eating the fresh vegetables. This goes to show that space is never an excuse for not having a garden as even on a New York City terrace, one can enjoy the fruits of their labor. Kelly even shared some of her harvest with co-host Regis Philbin bringing him sage, mint, parsley, basil and hot peppers. Ripa is not the only gardener on the Live set as executive producer Michael Gelman has had an eco friendly garden for many years. Gelman has brought in enormous Zucchini (prompting laughs from the audience) and fabulous beefsteak tomatoes. As a gardener myself, I was impressed. It is refreshing to see that even the rich and famous can be proud of something so mundane. Although I should add that Gelman embraced ecofriendly living long before it became a hot button topic.
So it really doesn’t matter if your backyard is the size of a football field or a postage stamp you can always find room for a plant or two. Whether your ecofriendly garden is on your country estate or your city terrace everyone can partake in its pleasure. There is almost something Zen about it. Roll up your sleeves, fill a Planet Forward bottle with water to stay hydrated and head out. I’ll have to excuse myself now. My plants need me.
