Our old friend Michael Tortorello does not really consider himself a green thumb, and yet, this spring and summer, he's been writing an ongoing gardening column for the New York Times which highlights the progress of his first organic exploit - the fairly large and ambitious vegetable garden he's growing in the empty lot next to his place in urban Minneapolis.

He asked us to design him a rabbit fence and, of course, we had to give it a little more meaning.

We had the privilege of getting together with a bunch of his writer friends one Sunday this spring to help Michael build a rabbit fence for the garden. Putting a face to names we'd read in print bylines for so many years was a fun unexpected bonus and with all that man power, the job got done really fast, and it looks great! The fence was constructed entirely of materials that would have otherwise been thrown out; the posts were recycled pieces of old playground structures and the fencing was damaged stucco lathe, previously slated for the dumpster. The cheery blue and green of the posts is striking, and we think it looks rather inviting. Our hope is that the garden will become a conversation piece for passers-by, and we know that it will be a great place for Michael's kids (as well as their neighborhood friends) to get their hands dirty!


The 'rabbit fence' was a great project and it really got at all the ROLU values: fun, inspiring, honest, affordable, re-use / recycle and community building. We can’t wait to see how the garden matures this season, and through the coming years.