Peak of the Roses
Every spring, there is a moment when our roses are at their absolute peak and this year the moment was May 3-4. The weekend before when friends were with us in Oakville was almost the peak. The following weekend when other friends were with us was just after the peak. It’s amazing that a few days can make such a difference. […]
The Trellis Experiment
I noticed a couple of years ago that my border garden was a little uni-dimensional and needed some variation in height. So I experimented with adding some trellises throughout the border and planting a variety of climbing roses last year. I’m happy to report that the results of that experiment are in – this addition has turned out beautifully! […]
Attracting Bees
I’m sure you’ve been reading about our declining bee population and have been as worried about our bees as I have been. Our honey bees, which pollinate nearly 95 kinds of fruits and nuts in the US, are declining at an alarming rate. One of the main reasons this is happening is pesticide exposure. The EPA allows […]
Tending to your lilacs
Lilacs are a relatively new plant in my garden, as I wasn’t sure they would prosper in northern California. They prefer zones 3-9 and we’re on the edge of that range at 9. I’ve had my plants for nearly 3 years and what I have learned is that they prefer nearly full sunlight in the […]
Back-Saving Tool
A couple of years ago, my dear friend Helen bought me a wonderful garden gift from the gift shop at the Coastal Maine Botanical Garden. At first I couldn’t figure out what it was, but this fantastic two-sided bench is a real back saver when tending to you vegetable beds! I use it whenever I need […]
Zucchini Tomato Gratin
This delicious recipe is from a friend in France that I have used countless times for an easy side dish. We had friends over for dinner and I wanted to harvest some red onions out of my garden. Zucchini Tomato Gratin 2-3 zucchini, thinly sliced 2-4 tomatoes, thinly sliced 1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced 2 […]
Potted Tomatoes
On Saturday, I bought three more tomato plants from Forni Brown in Calistoga – under the wire before they close to the public. I felt like I wanted just a few more this year, so I could test out some new varieties. So I chose three varieties that I could put into terra cotta pots (because my […]
Martha’s Maine Garden
I have found great pleasure in resurrecting my grandfather’s garden, ever since I returned to his home in Prouts Neck, Maine. Year Nine began on 2/18 by starting seeds in my basement. I place heat mats on plywood over sawhorses and hang grow lights from the rafters to help my onions, shallots, eggplant, peppers, lettuces, brassicas, tomatoes, peas, carrots, […]
Annie’s Annuals
On my drive down from the Napa Valley on Monday morning, I had a little extra time, so I decided to take a circuitous route home – to visit Annie’s Annuals in Richmond. I’ve heard of this place for years but had never seen it before. If you live in northern California and visit local nurseries, you […]
My early roses
My roses are early this year in the Napa Valley. I have been watching them emerge in my garden for the past three weeks! I can’t remember when I last saw blooming roses in my garden in March. And there is nothing like the first blooms of the year. Enjoy some of the roses we’re enjoying […]
new Crop Cage
The raspberries I planted last year have really taken off this spring in their 8×4 raised bed. I may have made a mistake by putting three plants in a single box as those three plants have completely consumed the box – and then some. Time will tell… But one thing I know for sure: with the […]
Buy, buy, buy!
I was in Van Windens nursery Sunday morning, on a mission to buy some lettuces to complete my boxes. I was thrilled to discover my absolute favorite lettuce – Simpson Elite. This beautiful chartreuse lettuce is wonderfully tender and sweet. It’s also hard to find. I had searched for the seed from Seed Savers, as well as […]
Meet my beans
My favorite veggies in my garden are always my beans. As I mentioned in a previous post, I bought heirloom bean seeds from Seed Savers this year and planted my beans in early March, transplanting them into my vegetable boxes last weekend. Choosing my beans was a difficult choice this year because there were so […]
P-P-P-Peppers!
I went back to Forni-Brown in Calistoga today to add a few new things to my vegetable garden. After meeting with my gardeners this week, who are originally from Mexico, I realize that I didn’t take them into consideration when planting my peppers. All I had planted initially were padrons. They enjoy HOT peppers, so I […]
Living Vicariously
We all know that we have to make trade-offs in our vegetable gardens. There is only so much square footage so we can’t plant everything we’d like to plant. So we pick our favorites and if we’re lucky and have extra room, we get to add something new that we can’t resist. This is certainly true […]