Next year, I am planting twice as many heirloom sunflowers. Seeds are easy to sow, plants grow effortlessly and they are a magnet for bees and butterflies. Many of the heirloom sunflowers drop their seed, and volunteer on their own while others are intentionally sown around the kitchen garden. Perhaps the charm of the sunflower […]
Kitchen Garden Designs
How to design a kitchen garden
How to Design a Kitchen Garden A well designed kitchen garden is a work of art, with a tapestry of colors, textures and shapes. It may give the impression of carefree abundance, yet it is organized and carefully planned. If this is your first garden, get to truly know your landscape first and then start […]
Heirloom Ornamental Corn
Corn is a space hog in the kitchen garden, the roots go deep and absorb quantities of nutrients from the soil. Plus fresh corn is easily available from a local farm stand. This year, however, I was tempted to try an heirloom ornamental corn called Japonica Striped Maze and ordered a packet from the Seed Savers Exchange. […]
Art in the Garden
One of my favorite times of year is when I can add art to the garden. It has to wait until the garden is fully planted, then I begin to clean out the garden shed. Using the method I learned from Marie Kondo’s method, I pull everything out before replacing each object carefully back inside. but […]
Art of the rustic trellis
A rustic trellis is one of most beautiful ways to enhance and create a transitional portal into the garden. The rustic trellis weaves together nature and art, allowing the garden to be more personal and whimsical while still remain practical. A rustic trellis won’t last forever, perhaps only a few years, but this fleeting nature also […]
Spring 2018. Garden Design Magazine
I’m a huge fan of Garden Design magazine, and delighted to be featured on page 88 of the spring 2018 issue, with superb photography by Dave Barnum. It is an honor to be included along with other notable gardeners, and appreciate the tremendous effort that goes into a magazine of this caliber. Be sure to pick […]
Hygge in the Garden
Five Ways to Find Hygge in the Garden Coming home to the garden after a week of travel was not the homecoming I had anticipated. Instead, I felt stressed. There was simply too much to do. But wait! I remembered that my garden was my sanctuary, the place I go to de-stress and relax. Over […]
Heirloom Apples
Every fall, heirloom apples drop to the ground from a tree that was planted in my backyard 100 years ago. Each spring it blooms magnificently, followed by tart green apples that make a hearty applesauce, simmered with a bit of cinnamon. It’s not a named variety, and I’ve noticed other similar heirloom apple trees in the neighborhood, most likely […]
Permaculture Garden
What is Permaculture? It’s for the long term. Permaculture design emphasizes patterns that function with the existing landscape to allow all species to thrive. The result can often be surprising. Often gardeners select specimen plants as a focal point, yet in permaculture, the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. Selecting plants to […]
The Garden Bench
Getting Started Knowing what to grow and when to start seeds takes a bit of practice, which is why I always start with a bench. Finding the perfect garden bench is the key to happiness. It is where all the major decisions are made throughout the season: how to combine tall peas with short spinach, where to […]
Planting the Seed
PLANTING THE SEED Ever since last spring, when Garden Design Magazine asked me to contribute 3 kitchen garden designs based on heirlooms for a future issue, I’ve been thinking about seeds. The designs were to be part of a larger issue, which focused entirely on heirlooms: heirloom plants, interviews with heirloom gardeners including Peter Hatch, […]
Landscape Design
LANDSCAPE DESIGN involves listening and observing the world and imagining new ways to sculpt the earth in subtle ways to engage curiosity, and connection. It also requires exploring different ideas on paper, and not just falling back on the most familiar square or rectangle for planting a kitchen garden. Too often I see kitchen gardens […]
