ELEGANT EDIBLE GARDEN DESIGN is the title of my new class with Craftsy.com. This summer, a film crew descended on my garden, and in five days we filmed a seven part series based on the principles I teach in my garden lectures and newest book, The Complete Kitchen Garden. Hop on board, and check it […]
Compost
COMPOST is the recycling of natural, organic materials that decompose to provide nutrients that will go back to the living plants in your garden in the form of soil. What comes from the garden goes back to the garden. But how does compost work? The most important thing to remember about both methods is to […]
Mid-Summer Ritual for Kitchen Gardeners
It’s a mid-summer ritual for kitchen gardeners, bringing the canning kettles up from the basement, and a sure sign that the harvest season has begun. At first, it’s a little like remembering how to drive a car in winter, but then gets easier with each batch of pickles, dilly beans and ginger peach chutney. I […]
Happy Birthday, Wendell Berry!
“What I stand for is what I stand on.” – Wendell Berry Today, August 5th, we celebrate the birthday of extraordinary poet, writer and farmer Wendell Berry. Born in 1934, his wisdom and writing has transformed and guided everyone who has stumbled across his books or listened to him speak. Tonight, I am honored to […]
Rhubarb Crumb Cake
Makes one 9′ X 13′ pan / 10 servings The sour of the rhubarb balances with the sweet spicy crumb topping in this recipe for Rhubarb Crumb Cake. Especially good as a morning treat or served with afternoon tea. Rhubarb, a reliable perennial, rewards the gardener with ample fruit for pies, cakes and jams from […]
Kitchen Garden Design
Kitchen Garden Design My first kitchen garden design, began with the four square system, which is one of the oldest and most practical methods that goes back seven centuries. The design has evolved through the ages, and in its best form, combines classic design with the principles of organic gardening. A four square garden simplifies […]
Summer Garden Tour
Summer Garden Tour If you find yourself in Vermont this summer, come to my summer garden tour. It’s a small, intimate four square design, on .24 acre of land, that will give you an idea of how to set up a productive and inviting area for growing food with limited space. I’ll show you around […]
Spring Greens
SPRING GREENS are my only hope, as I wait for winter to end. I gaze longingly out my kitchen window for signs of spring and imagine the first tiny, tender shoots that will emerge in the garden, thinking about all the food that I can grow. It only takes a few seconds to push a […]
From Art to The Kitchen Garden
ARTFUL KITCHEN GARDENS. I’ll admit that I get my best ideas while in the garden, and one day I realized that everything I knew about gardening, I actually learned in art school. Here’s my top 10 things I learned in art school, that help me stay creative, and keep my garden thriving. One: Start with […]
Recipe for Seeds
If you are still reading seed catalogs tagged with sticky notes, and trying to make a decision about what to order, you are not alone. You also have plenty of time. I dug into the pile this weekend, and have my seed order more or less narrowed down to just three catalogs: Select Seeds, Wild […]
Roasted Tomato Soup
Roasted Tomato Soup Makes 8 cups Making soup is like arranging flowers; both begin with a few spiky accents to act as the backbone such as leeks, onions and garlic; large focal flowers to provide substance, and for soup that would be beans, squash or tomatoes that add primary flavors. Roasted tomatoes can be bought […]
Green and White Plants
Attending spring garden lectures always sparks my own garden design ideas, and ever since last years visit to North Hill Gardens, I’m drawn to designing with more green and whites, both flowers and foliage. Not only will these blend beautifully with nature, but there are more variations on the theme than I can possibly imagine, […]
