Plants +
People

At ORCA, our work begins by understanding that it doesn’t end — a landscape is an ongoing dialogue, shaped by seasons and in response to our environments. Plants + People is an ongoing exploration of what it looks like to plant roots, to honor cycles, to inhabit space, and to accept impermanence through the perspectives of individuals we admire.

loria stern

009 loria stern
region: mount washington, los angeles 
plant community: asteraceae, moraceae
photography: justin chung

Loria Stern’s work is a study in opting into beauty. Best known for Eat Your Flowers, her multifaceted bakery devoted to the art of edible flowers, Loria’s creations synthesize her professional experience in the culinary world and studies of plant medicine, all while reflecting her curiosity-fueled experimentation with the botanicals and natural bounty growing freely in her Southern California backyard.  

A baker, chef, author, and entrepreneur, Loria’s through line is finding ways to inject daily life with reminders of nature’s eye-opening beauty, be it in a sugar cookie punctuated by vibrant pressed fig leaves; in a jar of citrus-and-marigold-infused cocktail cubes; or in an artful tiered cake adorned with burgundy daisies and filled with rose-infused jam.

In deep autumn, we visited Loria in her Los Angeles edible garden for a conversation on what’s growing in her garden; her cherry tomato-filled childhood; and her secret ingredient for nourishing fruit-bearing trees.

Describe how your garden: feels, smells, sounds, tastes. 

In my quiet Mt. Washington backyard, my garden changes throughout the year, but one thing that remains is the chirping of birds, the wet ground after watering, and the wafts of edible herbs and flowers when there’s a gentle breeze.  

What is your first or earliest memory of being in a garden?

Growing up in Ojai, CA, my family house had a large backyard. My mom had a green thumb: she grew beautiful red roses and we had a sprawling garden that I helped plant when I was a couple years old.  When I was old enough to actually help out in the garden, I was in charge of the cherry tomatoes, picking them to sell at the end of our driveway; for every one I picked I would eat one. That was the best part of the harvest.

“When I was old enough to help out in the garden, I was in charge of the cherry tomatoes. I remember picking them to sell at the end of our driveway; for each one I picked I would eat one.”

tagetes erecta

(african-marigold)

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Native to the Americas, African marigolds have long been planted as an easy-to-grow annual that requires little maintenance. This symbolic annual is used in the Day of the Dead observance as well as the birth flower to the month of October.   

Can you share more about your relationship to planning and preparing your garden throughout the year? What are some seasonal steps you consider or take? 

I am a self-taught gardener and experimenter. I am always trying new things but I have some traditions, like sprinkling wildflower seeds right around Thanksgiving. I also buy good soil and compost and change out my beds twice a year, and I have a small compost that I sprinkle into my garden. I am always picking edible flowers and herbs to bring to the bakery, so in a way that in itself is maintaining the plants. The more they are picked, the more they grow. 

What plants do you use for cooking or healing? 

Weekly I use thyme and rosemary for roasting vegetables. Mint, marigold, and chervil for salads. My bakery business, Eat Your Flowers, was started and motivated by a culinary application of my love and use of edible flowers and plants. 

rosemarinus officinalis

(rosemary)

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Rosemarinus officinalis (rosemary) is an aromatic, perennial evergreen shrub in the mint family (Labiatae) native to the hills along the Mediterranean, Portugal, and northwestern Spain.

Do you have any garden traditions that you’ve inherited or learned and plan to pass on? 

Putting coffee grinds into plants that need more minerals. A new trick is that when I make banana bread, I save the peels to make a “tea” that I pour on top of any fruit-bearing trees, which could all use that extra potassium. 

What are your plans for your garden in the next 5 years?

Since I live in the city and would like to maximize my growing space, I am looking to turn my carport into a greenhouse zone. I’m also hoping to add more potted fruit trees while continually utilizing and harvesting what is already growing.

"My bakery business, Eat Your Flowers, was started and motivated by a culinary application of my love and use of edible flowers and plants."

cosmos bipinnatus

(garden cosmos)

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Cosmos bipinnatus, commonly called the garden cosmos or Mexican aster, is a medium-sized flowering herbaceous plant in the daisy family Asteraceae, native to the Americas. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

pelargonium graveolens

(rose geranium)

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Pelargonium graveolens is a multi-branched shrub with rose-scented leaves that are deeply incised, velvety and soft to the touch. The flowers vary from pale pink to almost white and the plant flowers from August to January. 

ficus carica

(fig)

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The fig is the edible fruit of Ficus carica, a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae, native to the Mediterranean region. This small deciduous tree or large shrub can grow up to 23–33 feet tall. Its large leaves have three to five deep lobes.