Guerilla gardening is largely thought to have its roots in England, where folks have long planted unexpected gardens in neglected public spaces as a sort of call to action that highlights the misuse of land and repurposes it into something beautiful. They often work in crews or teams and go on carefully-planned gardening missions. Recently a local team of guerilla gardeners transformed a section of land next to an off-ramp of the 101 Hollywood Freeway.......

The 31st annual Echo Park Lotus Festival is only two weeks away, but something--something central to the event--is missing: The Lotus. The past few years have seen a disturbing and rapid decline in the lotus blooms and leaves that typically spring up in the lake and bathe the water's surface in beautiful pinks and whites. But it's not just a temporary stall in flowering--some believe that the lotus will not be back, and the Lotus......

Photo by kpe II via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr. ART* Attend the closing reception for Two Roads Gallery's group show featuring works by Kelly Thompson, Walt Hall, Teri Berman, and Douglas Alvarez. Artists will be in attendance and will be painting together, live. 6 p.m. // Two Roads Gallery // 4348 Tujunga Ave, Studio City // Free FILM The Silent Movie Theatre offers three showings of The Kid, a Charlie Chaplin......

Forget June Gloom... for one major section of Descanso Gardens in La Canada it's all about June Bloom! The roses in the International Rosarium are the star players this month (the camellias, irises, and lilacs are done for the season, alas) and a visit to the horticultural oasis that was bought and developed in 1937 by E. Manchester Boddy, (then publisher of the Los Angeles Daily News) is a pleasant way to spend a late-spring......

Photo by Lush.i.ous via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr PARTY Pop shop Japan L.A. celebrates their 2 year anniversary at Rise at the Highlands. Come decked out in your best Lolita and Japanese street fashion and get your picture taken with Hello Kitty. 10 p.m. // Rise at The Highlands // 6801 Hollywood Blvd. Suite 433 Hollywood // (323) 461-9800 // Free ART For one night only, Billy Shire Fine Arts will......

Last weekend, the homeowners, docents, and designers who are taking part in today's Green Gardens Tour gathered in the beautiful Santa Monica library to talk with each other and to be honored by the tour organizers at a thank you breakfast. The event was highlighted by brief talks from actress Amy Brenneman and TreePeople's Andy Lipkis, both of whom spoke about the power of conservation, and in appreciation of a few individuals who are doing......

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I have the good fortune of having a relative who lives right at the end of the Rose Parade route. This allows my family to have good seats and a warm bed the night before. My wife used to camp out to get good seats, now that we have this good fortune I want to share it with you, the LAist readers in the form of this photo essay. The end of a 5.5......

As you drive down Sunset Blvd.eastbound toward Vermont you might see a yellow sandwich board sign at the corner of Edgemont advertising what seems to be a dozen roses for $4. Since the area has several hospitals (Kaiser, Children's, Hollywood Pres), such a deal would seem like the sort of hidden gem that you'd expect LAist to share with you. But the sign is hiding a dark secret. In fact it hopes that you......

It's certainly not the biggest farmer's market around--in fact it's pretty close to fledgling. Operational since last fall, the Toluca Lake Certified Farmer's Market takes over just one tiny block on Sancola, north of Riverside Drive. There are a few produce stands featuring excellent, although somewhat limited, selections of fresh local fruits and veggies, as well as at least one floral stand, craftsmakers with wares from soy candles to jewelry, tamales, baked goods, and......

Valentine's Day can be rough on guys. There's flowers ($80 for a dozen roses at a store on La Cienega), candy ("Are you trying to get me fat?"), jewelry (That little diamond thingie costs how much?), and dinner (you did make reservations in January, right?). You could have taken Tom Lykis' advice and dumped her last week, or planned an out of town business trip. Or you could go to the Flower District with......