Trees for the Median

After much deliberation, we have settled on a tree for the median.  The street tree had to fit the following criteria:

• Small tree that could be maintained under 25 ft tall for privacy screening
• Dense foliage
• Evergreen
• Dry fruit (if any)
• Drought Tolerant
• Full Sun

We settled on a Pink Melaleuca (Melaleuca Nesophila), after considering many options.  Other contenders include the Bronze Loquat, Strawberry Tree, Chinese Fringe Tree, Indian Hawthorn, Crape Myrtle, Fruitless Olive, and the Pineapple Guava.  

Pink Melaleuca can be observed in our neighborhood near the corner of Green and Westlawn.  Similarly, there are a number of Pink Melaleuca in front of the Playa housing development on Lincoln, south of Culver Blvd.

Solar Clothes Rack

As per requested, we have recently purchased an outdoor clothes rack that is available for tenants to use.  The clothes rack provides an energy efficient alternative to clothes drying.  Some basic things to note when using.

1. The clothes rack is prone to tipping in the wind if laundry is not properly placed on the rack.  Make sure that laundry is hung from the CENTER outwards so that the center is firmly weighted down.  
2. When the clothes rack is not in use, please fold the prongs down so the clothes rack does not blow over.  Please move the rack out of the way as a courtesy to other tenants.

Enjoy!

The Curious Palate

Yesterday we took our bikes to The Curious Palate, located on Venice between Grandview and Inglewood.

The food is rustic, and although most of their menu consists of soups and sandwiches, there is a lot of locally sourced food.  Many of the cured meats were sourced from Northern California, and a lot of the cheese were from Eastern US.  We had the Lengua sandwich, which was slow roasted and very tender.  The picked radishes were a great complement.  The Curious Palate also features a small gourmet store, where they sell Intelligensia Coffee, gourmet chocolates, and of course, all of the meats and cheeses that they serve in their sandwiches.

Lastly, we scoped out some interesting design elements that they had incorporated into their outdoor dining area.  They had used frosted plexiglass to hide a very well trafficked garage next door.  Very nice.  They also had a wooden panel with modern looking frosted plexiglass inserts as a privacy screen.

Getting There
We biked on the Culver bike trail, across Lindblade, down Louise, and on Grandview until we hit Venice.