Pesticide-free garden is a little slice of heaven

Pesticide-free garden is a little slice of heaven By Stephanie Bertholdo bertholdo@theacorn.com

VERY CLEAN LIVING-Karl and Angel Marie Lindenlaub enjoy their 2-month-old, 850-gallon waterfall and pond, a self-sustaining ecosystem perfectly in balance with nature. The pond and waterfall took five days for the Lindenlaubs to build and install.

Nestled on a quiet cul-de-sac in Thousand Oaks is a tidy home with a delightful secret. The house sits on nearly one acre and hides a private paradise, known by neighbors, birds and critters for its harvest. Owned by Karl Lindenlaub and Angel Marie, the garden is a feast for the eyes—and stomachs.

The food garden is an ecological wonder that thrives without pesticides, instead depending on the delicate balance of nature—and the gardening skills of Angel and Karl—to keep destructive insects at bay.

Two years ago, a year after Karl and Angel met, the metamorphosis began. The big yard was covered in crabgrass and had a few trees along the perimeter. As their relationship bloomed, so did the garden. Karl, 43, and Angel, 36, will celebrate their first wedding anniversary on Monday.

Angel said it started with a fountain and an angel statue. "We needed a little splash," she said. The water attracted tiny frogs and damselflies, dragonflies and hummingbirds. "We just thought it was so cool, we wanted to go bigger," she said.

The pristine pond is home to koi fish, which naturally filter the water along with the plants. A wood deck overlooks the pond and is a tranquil spot to enjoy tea and view the garden that includes a wonderful mix of vegetables, fruits, herbs, vines, flowers—even a Zen garden, overseen by a Buddha statue.

Their prized Lotus flower is difficult to grow, but its yearly bloom is spectacular and enjoyed for a brief three days.

The garden is interconnected and every element is necessary. Angel said that fish, plants and water are all required to keep the garden alive and thriving. "It re-creates just what Mother Nature does," she said. For example, the passiflora plant guarantees year-long visits from butterflies. Caterpillars eat the leaves, and finches and hummingbirds prepare their nests around the plants.

Angel explained that when chemicals are used on gardens, nature’s beneficial insects that naturally do the job are killed. Ladybugs eat the aphids, and certain wasps eat other bothersome bugs. They help the process by introducing a concentrated soup, which contains phosphates that break down and enrich the soil.

Karl, a contractor by trade, is in charge of building garden beds and harvesting the bounty. They grow everything from carrots, a variety of lettuce, asparagus, Japanese and Italian eggplant, cannelini beans, tomatoes, corn, cabbage, Mexican papaya and peppers of all shades.

The third-year crop of asparagus is the best, according to Karl. "They’re an investment in the future," he said. He added that two pounds of planted German butterball potatoes yield a 50-pound harvest. Karl and Angel share their garden with friends, family and neighbors.

Karl said that zucchini is prolific and could be the answer to world hunger. It ripens rapidly (within one to four days) and there are myriad ways to cook it—zucchini pasta, grilled zucchini and baked zucchini, to name a few.

Angel explained that they use non-genetically modified and heirloom seeds, which have a traceable line of descendents. "It’s like eating a little bit of history," she said. She noted that the risk of using genetically engineered plants is that their natural resistance diminishes and changes the balance of nature.

The herb garden is filled with bergamot, which is used in English tea, pineapple sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano, lemon grass, peppermint and wisteria that has been trained to grow as a tree. The willow tree is the couples’ favorite, since they both have fond memories of their grandparents’ willows.

The fruit orchard features black, green and red strawberries, Asian pears, Fuji apples, lemons, limes, peaches, plums, blood oranges, tangerines, Persian mulberries and guavas.

The Salvia Chiapensis is a favorite since its bright flowers feed a variety of birds and insects. Squirrels enjoy feasting on the fig trees, and the cherry tomatoes are unusually sweet and can be eaten right off the vine.

Besides squirrels, Towhee finches follow Angel while she waters the garden. There are red- and yellow-bellied finches, frogs, blue-bellied lizards, doves and of, course, the butterflies, which have special meaning to the couple. For their backyard wedding they had a butterfly release, which entailed perfect timing with their natural migration schedule. "It was just magical," Angel said.