Marie Selby Botanical Gardens

My Mom and I went to the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens today, located in Sarasota, Florida and what a special place! The property was once the home and garden of Marie and Willam Selby, and upon her death in 1971 she bequeathed it to the town of Sarasota for the “enjoyment of the general public”. The […]

Hydroponics in the Bahamas

We are visiting our home away from home on an island in the Bahamas. Being in the middle of the Abacos, all food and supplies that are needed have to be flown or shipped in. As our community began to grow, club management decided to start a garden right on property to provide the fresh […]

David Austin bare root roses are in!!!

One of the most exciting events of the year is the arrival of David Austin bare root roses. I got my email announcement yesterday and went online to see their roses this morning. They have a wonderful site that allows you to select filters (rose category, flower type and color). I chose the category ‘English Roses’, […]

Getaway to We Care

If it’s November, it’s time for my annual getaway health retreat to We Care Spa in Palm Springs. If you’re imagining it’s one of those nice spas where you are pampered in luxury and treatments for a week, think again. While they do have treatments, We Care is primarily a juice fasting and detoxification program that will not […]

Soil Amendments & Testing

I’ve always wanted to get my soil tested but never knew how to go about it. Thanks to my friend Toni Breck, I learned about the Soil and Plant Laboratory in San Jose. I called them, spoke with Annmarie Lucchesi, a consultant at the soil lab and she told me what to do. It’s easy! I downloaded their form, […]

Roasted Butternut Squash

I love the fall when all the varieties of squash begin hitting the farmer’s market and are being harvested out of my garden. This year my garden provided an abundant of butternut squash. I will make butternut squash soup and channeling my love of mashed potatoes; will make mashed butternut squash. But the easiest way […]

A perfect afternoon

I just picked up the newly released At Home In The Garden by Carolyne Roehm. She is the quintessential stylist, gardener, entertainer and enthusiast of all things beautiful. I have followed her for years and own all of her books. The gardens on her Weatherstone estate are extraordinary.

Farmhouse Inn in Forestville

There’s rustic sweetness about this area of northern California, with fields of pinot grapes, haphazard large, old trees, and small authentic, unspoiled towns dotting the small road going from Hwy 101 in Santa Rosa, along River Road through to Jenner. This is the site of the wedding we are attending this weekend. We found a […]

Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur

My husband and I spend a long weekend at Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur for our anniversary every year, which we look forward to all year long. This magnificent property is situated on 100 acres which originally belonged to the Post family, one of Big Sur’s first pioneers, and served as a homestead and […]

Taking Stock

I picked up my planting journal this morning to review the last several years of planting dates, plant rotations and planting volumes. I am always so excited when I head to the nursery to decide what to plant next, that I usually buy too many starts and seeds. As I spent the weekend harvesting, cutting […]

Fall Tomatoes

Spent the day harvesting the last of my green beans and Sun Gold cherry tomatoes before I pulled the tired plants from my beds. I also picked the ripe tomatoes from my other varietals (Brandywine, Early Girl, Roma, Cherokee Purple, and San Marzano) but left the still healthy plants in the garden so the sun […]

The Ranch at Live Oak Cookbook

Vicki gave me the greatest gift one day, the The Ranch at Live Oak cookbook. What I love about it is the several page introduction to their eating philosophy, which is basically a plant-based, non-refined sugar diet just like We Care advocates. If you’re one of those people who gets confused by all of the different messages we get […]

The Puglia wheat lesson

While visiting Masseria Salamina, I asked proprietor Philipo about the local wheat and spelt which goes into all of the region’s yummy breads and pastas. They taste so much better than at home and just seem healthier. The breads and pasta in Puglia all have a wonderful texture and delicious flavor. At the masserias we visited, it was commonplace to […]

Cucumber or Melon???

While in Puglia earlier this month, we were served a plate of crudité with our main course – a first. On our plate were carrots, celery, radishes and what appeared to be melon…until I tasted it. It tasted like melon, but it also tasted like cucumber. Confused, I asked our waiter, “what is this???” He […]

Peace and quiet in Lecce

My husband and I drove from our hotel to Lecce, which was about an hour south along the coastline, in the Puglia region of Italy. Our small map ran out of map, so when we arrived in Lecce we simply followed signs to ‘centro’ to get our bearings. As we were winding our way through the streets […]