[Vicky] Poole and [Jack] Hamilton said the project is meant to be a bold statement about sustainability as well as a novel way to attract more people -- and their money -- to the mall.
"I know of no other urban garden in the country like this," said Hamilton about Gardens Under Glass. He hopes the project will grow every day.
Poole and Hamilton put in the first green stuff this week -- a 12-foot cart of lettuce and other greens near the Galleria's first-floor escalators. Their aim is to start an education center and store in a former candy shop, invite sustainable-product makers to display and sell their items, and sell produce to restaurants and individuals.
They dream of hosting school groups and teams of volunteer urban gardeners eager to work beds of herbs and greens and vine systems raised hydroponically, aquaponically and in organic soils. [...]
Within two weeks, two portable 6-by-12-foot beds will be installed on the first floor of the Galleria, where passers-by will watch greens grow.
"We'll be propagating seeds for that this week," said Poole. By summer, she expects lush banister mountings of greens and tomatoes. "It will be beautiful."
