I don’t consider myself a natural gardener; my green thumbs are more of the school of trial and error variety. Starting out, I just followed the directions on the seed packets. Now, I supplement with good books that teach me what I need to know and inspire me to try new things. What I lack in natural botanical insight is made up for with these garden resources and a hefty dose of wonderful Santa Barbara weather.
How to Grow More Vegetables
By John Jeavons
This is my favorite resource for my vegetable garden; I’ve read it cover to cover three times. It emphasizes the soil structure and how that greatly impacts your success in the garden. It also discusses companion planting (and also list garden antagonists), which is super cool. Green beans and strawberries thrive better when they are grown together, who knew?
Sow and Grow, A Gardening Book for Children
By Tina Davis
This book was a gift from mom. It goes month by month with interesting planting projects through the seasons for children. The old-fashioned illustrations are charming and beautiful, inspiring you to spend time with your kids in the garden. (Hint: It would make a wonderful Mother’s Day gift).
The Rodale Book of Composting
From Rodale, the publishers of Organic Gardening magazine
My resource for composting— all the stuff you want and need to know and even a little more than that. It’s a great introduction if you want to start composting and a great resource if you are having composting issues.
The Ruth Stout No-Work Garden Book
By Ruth Stout and Richard Clemence
Originally published in 1971, this gardening classic is the best at a no-nonsense approach to gardening, with practical and easy inspiration for starting a family garden. This book is now out of print, but you can find it through used-book resellers. It’s worth the search.
On Saturday morning, my eight-year old daughter came running into the kitchen and exclaimed, “Mom, you need to come outside right now! There is something magical I have to show you, it’s magical.” Without hesitation I set down the spatula and curiously followed her out to the backyard. She gleefully led to me our peach trees bursting in full blossom. Magic.
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Dragon fountain spout at Ganna Walska's Lotusland
Happy Year of the Dragon! Today, I want to share a first peek of a spectacular garden property. Ganna Walska’s Lotusland is an amazing garden in Montecito. Thirty-seven acres of incredible organic gardens with diversity and depth like no other. Open for private tours, Lotusland is a treasure of all treasures, especially for the garden lover. It serves as a constant source of inspiration for my own garden. Below are images of the beautiful and serene Japanese garden. I can’t wait to share more of Lotusland Continue reading…
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During the winter stone fruit trees are not blossoming and robust with juicy treasures. And while I wouldn’t trade the summer bounty for this colder season, I do love the sculptural look of the naked branches.
Most stone fruit trees produce fruit on new branches that have grown the previous year, thus the importance of pruning back your beloved peaches/plumbs/nectarine trees. If you neglect to prune, you will have an unwieldy and tall tree— too big to pick from and it generally won’t produce as Continue reading…
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“Arugula. I haven’t had arugula in six weeks.” – My Blue Heaven
My garden is generally a giver— it’s really incredible how such a small area can produce so much abundance for a family of four.
However, I recently swapped out my unsightly netting and stakes (our defense against bird and bunnies) for some pinwheels. I heard that if you place a bunch of pinwheels around your garden with the metallic reflection facing inside the birds won’t go anywhere near your precious produce. A neon blue Continue reading…
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