Folks,

It pains us to let you know that it's time to close the garden.  From the beginning we knew this day would come, we were always building upon shifting sands, but it hurts nonetheless. More than anything though, we're feeling grateful for the opportunity and the experiences, and so thankful to all of you who've helped this little garden become an oasis amidst the concrete.  We had high hopes for this land, but our expectations were surpassed seeing the wild variety of plants and critters that'll show up if nature is just given the space to do its thing.

The loss of the northern lot was a heavy blow that created some major obstacles for us, mostly water supply and dealing with the construction that's supposed to start 'any day now', which, among other issues like pollution, would require us to establish new entry points to the southern lot. That said, we were trying to rally and find solutions but then the rodent situation kinda boiled-over. 

For the record, we are cat lovers. We care for a colony of Bport cats just a few blocks away, where we also have garden beds, a carbon pile (leaves and clippings) and a compost bin (the older, less secure version)...but we don't have rats.  It's our opinion that the key is to provide rationed portions to Patches, Smokey and friends during the day as opposed to using feeders that'll nurture all sorts of critters 24/7.  Unfortunately any remaining hopes of reaching a compromise were dashed once the city and the Martinez family were brought into the middle of the situation. The threat of a $5k fine and the appearance that the various neighbors/gardeners couldn't resolve their differences was the straw that broke the camel's back. 

It needs to be stressed that the Martinez family deserves nothing but gratitude for the opportunity they've given us over the last decade. They've been incredibly gracious and we regret the anxiety these recent issues have caused them.

We're inclined to give a shout-out to everyone else who've been such integral contributors to BVG, but then we quickly realize just how many of you there are!...and how many chapters of BVG we've seen! Not to mention there's a good number of folks that we've never met who've offered a hand one way or another. Much love to you all, and please pat yourselves on the back, you've helped manifest a good thing despite some very difficult, precarious circumstances.

For those of you with perennials and/or tools in the garden, please try and grab them in the next week, or let us know if you need more time.  Soon thereafter we'll be offering up our soil and other resources to the greater community.

Who knows, maybe in time we'll discover a new patch of land that'll be suitable for a reboot and we can channel all the experience BVG has gifted us towards starting anew.

Take care, Keep growing, and we hope to see you around,

Corey & Maren

3/24/23