Teasses Estate

As I mentioned in my last post, I was in Scotland a couple of weeks ago and my lady friends and I spent a day touring gardens. Our second stop was the stunning Teasses Gardens, a 60-acre property which has been owned by Sir Fraser and Lady Morrison for the past 16 years. The residence […]

Wormistoune House

Last week I was in St. Andrews, Scotland with my husband and friends and had the opportunity to visit some local gardens in between rounds of golf. One of the gardens we visited was Wormiston House (renamed by the current owners to “Wormistoune House”) in Crail, roughly 15 minutes from St. Andrews. The original property […]

Fall Canning

I am writing this post with a very heavy heart with fires burning out of control in the Napa Valley. Over 220,000 acres have burned so far in the multiple fires in the North Bay! As of now, my property is still OK, but the fire is surrounding us. Many communities have been devastated. Just […]

Honey Harvest

My gardener harvested my honey this year as I was traveling when we had an appointment to have the frames spun. The honey this year was harvested about a month later than last year. We harvested about 30 pints. As you can see from the photo below the 2017 harvest was much darker than the […]

Harvesting and Clean Up

I have been harvesting so much fruit and vegetables that I should open a store or buy a selling table at the farmer’s market. After taking stock of my Spring and Summer planting, this is what I know for sure! Once again I planted way too many tomatoes. I have given away to friends and […]

Cucumber Salad

I planted 2 Persian cucumber (Cucumis sativus) starts April 1st. Each plant usually yields about 5 pounds of produce, but I either have had perfect weather or perfect soil for these plants as everyday I am picking the fruit. Yes, cucumbers are a fruit but are usually treated and eaten as a vegetable. My mother was […]

Hudson Ranch & Winery

I had the opportunity to visit Hudson Ranch & Winery on Monday, located in the scenic Carneros region of the Napa Valley. What I discovered there was so exciting! Christina and Lee Hudson (owners) are the embodiment of living off the land – they make everything, which I find personally inspiring. While I waited for the others […]

Watermelon Salad

I planted watermelon this year for the first time.  So far I have harvested two huge melons.  A vermin has eaten about a quarter of another melon, but I have left it in the garden in hopes that it will continue to eat that one and not the rest of them.  I have used watermelon […]

Dogwood Fruit

For some reason, I never before realized that dogwood produces fruit in the fall! And depending upon the kind of dogwood you have, the fruit will vary. The fruit comes in red, white and blue colors. We have the red ones (above and below). Are they edible? Native Americans used to eat them, but some believe the […]

Butternut Squash anyone?

I love butternut squash and have planted it in my garden the past three years. But I hadn’t found the right spot for the large spreading plant until this year. My gardener suggested planting our 8 plants in a sunny area adjacent to our driveway which I have always considered a gardening challenge area (a unattractive, large dirt […]

Summer Anemone

A couple of years ago, I picked up some perennial anemone at the nursery for its late summer flowers and height (about 3-4′). I hadn’t had experience with this plant before, so I only bought a few to try. Anemone immediately became my favorite late summer plant, so I purchased more when I found it in […]

It’s Fig Season

Years ago I planted a Celeste fig tree for our Napa property and over the years it has matured into a beautiful medium-height rounded tree yielding the most delectable, sweet figs you have ever tasted (in my opinion). I’ve since learned that these figs are called Ficus Carica or “Sugar Fig” as they are popularly […]

Plants during an eclipse

My husband and I travelled to Sun Valley, Idaho this past week to see the total eclipse of the sun. This was a special moment to view the total eclipse because the “path of totality” (the 70 mile north-south zone within which you can experience a total eclipse) went from South Carolina to Oregon on […]

Blistered Padrons with Pimenton

It’s padron pepper season again and there’s nothing better than blistered padrons early in the growing season. This simple appetizer can be made in 15 minutes – my kind of appetizer! Simply put a generous tablespoon of ghee in a skillet and melt. (For more information about the  health benefits of ghee, see my separate post). Once […]

Roasted Plums

I have been picking delicious ripe plums from two trees all week. Putting sliced stoned fruit in a salad has always been a go to lunch for me, but I wanted to try something else and make a dessert. Martha Stewart had a recipe on her website for Roasted Plums with Creme Fraiche which I […]