The Time-Life Gardening Yearbook spotlights the Integral Urban House as a prime example of gardening in the city. As implied by the name, the publication was a subset of Time Inc.’s book series marketed towards those interested in new developments in international gardening practices. The article on the Integral Urban House took those passions to a next level, linking the garden to the house itself as a place of production.
The attention of a mainstream publisher like Time-Life was a sign of how much attention the IUH was receiving in the late-1970s, as its scale model of urban homesteading attracted people from all over the country and the world. In fact, Farallones Institute member Bill Olkowski even mentioned they had film crews coming from Italy to interview those who tended the IUH! An EcoFarm 2017 interview with him recounts a bit of the impact he and the IUH had on the community.
The pictures highlight the article’s point; there is an intrinsic joy in gardening, which can be attained in one’s own backyard. Building a community of urban gardeners was also important to maintain and run everything.