Spring Harvest of Ideas

This display garden by Jason Hamon, EcoSystems Landscape Solutions, is filled with repurposed and rethought articles used in whimsical ways in the garden. His garden was called "A Breath of Fresh Air," and it won the prestigious silver medal for design. Jason's attitude is "get outside and play in your garden." Shouldn't your garden be playful, too?

Dear Friends,

This is an extra post for the week because I just returned from the San Francisco Flower & Garden Show. If you are anywhere near the show and you're looking for inspiration, rare plants, garden furniture, garden art, books, seeds galore, and more, well, you MUST take time and treat yourself to a day at the show.

Any comments you leave will be added to the hat for my double-doozie drawing this Sunday. You may win a kneeler from Gardener's Supply Company or my friend Karen Weir-Jimerson's wonderful new book So Much Sky.

Here are a few highlights and some of my favorite products and ideas:

Jason used old magazines as placemats

Jason's patio features this circa 1950ish kitchen cart, which he uses as a serving area, game holder, and cookbook storage.

Another idea from Jason, and who'd a thunk?

Another repurposing by Jason. I actually feature this idea in my book Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots. Don't you have an old wagon sitting around somewhere? I grew miniature pumpkins in my son's old wagon. A great part of growing in this is that you can follow the sun.

Handmade, glass stars dangle and dazzle from the trees in Jason's garden. The stars were crafted by Tandem Glass of Maine. 

Landscape Restoration Dan Pozzi's "Timeless Peace" won a Silver medal

An old clawfoot bathtub and shower for a water element in his garden

Dan's gardener's shed nestles among trees 

Love modern and chic? These stainless steel clad planters, all in varying sizes and heights, seem to float above the ground. They highlight the sculptural form of the plants featured.

Modern, minimalist (not enough plants for me, but perfect for others). I like the simple double rusted iron fire rings. This would be simple to do in any garden EXCEPT a California forest or chaparral lands. I liked the rectangular, shallow pool, and fountain to the left, too.

I've been drooling over one of these huge galvanized containers at our local Farm Supply in San Luis Obispo. I wanted to use it for a water element (not bad at $195.00), but the folks at Star Apple Edible Gardens, a fabulous, young company that designs and installs edible gardens, used this tub for a series of pie-shaped gardens. One is for tea plants, one for a variety of mustards, and one for tomatoes. The plant in the middle is a Yuzu, which is a citrus. Fred Hempel, breeder and farmer at Baia Nicchia Farm & Nursery, uses all the plants featured AND the Yuzu. They use both the leaves and the rinds of the fruits. 

I'll let the Baia Nicchia folks speak for themselves. They've got great ideas and great products.

A close up of the mini-garden with Yuzu in center

Patricia "Pattie" Boudier, who owns one of my favorite garden and seed supply businesses, interviews me in the Star Apple garden for a segment they filmed for their on-line Peaceful Valley Farm and Garden Supply web-site. This video should be up in a couple of weeks. I'll let you know.

Raised planters were constructed of recycled wood. I like how they've planted herbs with a repeat pattern of succulents between the varieties.

Even a tiny patio could accommodate a recycled wood unit like this. If these were all at the same level, there wouldn't be the great design wow factor.

A great use for old windows. Start your tender seedlings inside this. Ok, Lili (Fearless Nesting), now you can go look for windows and have Henri build you one of these. Or Grace Peterson, how about you and your dh? I loved these so much.

An outdoor dining table made from recycled wood and planted in the center with...

...an array of handsome succulents

I can't shower Star Apple with enough kudos.

Star Apple used recycled wood for these restaurant planters. They lined the sides of the planters with burlap from food bags, filled them with great soil, and planted them with goodies.

Star Apples salad garden. The wooden salad fork is a garden marker.

You probably know that I have worked toward a garden in every school for two decades. Well, I have long been an admirer of Ben Eichorn, famed for his school gardens projects. Here is his "Grow Your Lunch" garden for kids. Look at some of his playful solutions for small school gardens.

Color, innovation, and organic practices inform Ben's garden designs for kids

Some products I loved (and bought)

Handmade copper gardening tools at Harley Farms. THESE ARE GORGEOUS and usable. I couldn't resist and treated myself to a weeder.

Every morning I spend time sweeping and raking my patios, stone walkways, and decomposed granite pathways. The broom doesn't quite cut it, and the rake stirs up the decomposed granite. I found my solution yesterday with this wonderful, handmade garden broom. It is lightweight and made from coconut palm leaves that have withered and fallen off the tree. I used it for half an hour and managed to do a job that normally takes twice as much time. I love it. The Original Garden Broom, gardenbroom@gmail.com, 604 724-0872.

I could not resist these tin boxes of seeds that come from Peaceful Valley (oh yes, and that is my copper weeder and cultivator from Harley Farm). The seeds are so wonderful, they have nine different collections available. I'm especially tickled by the "Crafter's Delight" autumn decor mix, which includes gourds, broom corn, blue corn, and more. Soon I will be offering NINE of these to lucky winners in upcoming drawings. If you are a follower and a member of my Grimy Hands Girls' Club, one of these could be in YOUR future.

I hope that this posting has given you a few ideas for your own garden. Be sure to leave a comment to be eligible for the Sunday drawing of a kneeler and the new book by Karen Weir-Jimerson.

Love and peace,

Still going after all these months!

Sharon 

In the Grace of the World

A give-away awaits with a special bonus for members of the Grimy Hands Girls' Club.

"For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free."

Wendell Berry

Dear Friends,

Sometimes I just need to stop, brew a pot of tea, pick up a favorite book,  and settle into my kitchen 

rocker for peace...

...and the pleasures of one of my beloved old books, My Friend the Garden, by Fernand LeQuenne (translated from the French version). See the pieces of paper marking some of my favorite passages? Here is one of his old adages: "February warm brings spring with a storm." It surely did that today. Our first day of spring and brrrrr, it is cold and winter like.

So much is going on in our small and fragile world. I need to give thanks for the bounty and simple joys that keep me going, and I need to remember and offer up prayers for those who are not as fortunate.

Won't you join me for a few happy minutes in a small and well-loved (and used) kitchen? I'd take you out into the garden, but you'd want to hurry back indoors. The skies are dark, the winds are as blustery as a Winnie the Pooh day, and the rains have pounded my new seedlings into the ground.

I'll brew a pot of tea, take down the honey, and my Grandmother's pottery teapot, sugar, and creamer...

Slice and sautee some fresh-picked veggies...

...pull out the last of the cold-storage apples, pick a lemon, mix some sugar, spices, and berries...

...for a comfort food dessert.

I'll whip some cream with Zelda, my new/old mixer, a find from our local thrift store.  Zelda doesn't weigh much so she is easy for me to use, and she came with a selection of bowls and attachments for grinding meat and...

...for squeezing fresh orange juice. Oh, and when she is whirring along and doing a great job, she has an aroma that reminds me of baking with my grandmother.

Jeff will juice pounds of oranges; I'll mash the softening avocados into a spicy guacamole sauce and process the pears for freezing.

Just a few hours of quiet work helps mend the tattered and frayed pieces of life. I appreciate every minute at home, but also love the times I've shared with others. This past weekend I presented talks at The Kindergarten Forum in Saratoga, California. This was probably the fourth or fifth time I've participated in the Forum, which I LOVE for its attendees who are educators still filled with a childlike sense of wonder. These folks are the first nurturers of the spirits of our youngsters, our most precious resource.

I loved this gathering. We had people writing poetry, making wool roving dolls, knitting, drawing, doing needlepoint, and even...

...spinning! Nobody in this group wasted any time.

We sang children's songs, did rhythmic storytelling (even some African stories), and shared a bountiful potluck meal together. That is author-teacher Anna Rainville leading the singing.

Today is my peaceful, stay-at-home time, but starting tomorrow things change. Our favorite house-sitter moves in, and we journey north to the home of author Rebecca Sweet for a special party and celebration of the book Garden Up! written by Rebecca and Susan Morrison. It is a fabulous book and should be in the libraries of serious gardeners everywhere. We will also get a sneak peek at the San Francisco Flower & Garden Show, which we will photograph and share in a future posting. Then ONWARD to The Arboretum, State Botanical Garden of Kentucky, in Lexington, where I'll be giving a special presentation on Thursday evening and a morning after talk on children's gardens. On Friday afternoon, Jeff and I will be the guests at a special tea hosted by the Bluegrass Herb Guild.

I'd love to meet some of you after the lecture. This should be FUN!

Here is the wonderful gardening/cookbook From Seed to Skillet, written by Jimmy Williams and Susan Heeger, that some lucky reader will win. Leave a comment to participate. Members of the Grimy Hands Girls' Club will have double-luck if their name is drawn–an extra gift, which will be shipped with the book.

Here are just some of the envelopes, which I've stuffed with goodies. Jeff will print the labels (thank goodness I don't have to hand print them), and when we return from Kentucky, we'll mail them out to you. The first 100 charter members receive extra surprises (sorry, we've already closed the charter membership). All other members are eligible for special prizes, too.

Back to my book, then packing and getting ready for an adventure. I hope to meet some of you in person.

All joys to you,

Sharon 

P.S. Thank you Chinaberry.com for featuring Toad Cottages & Shooting Stars in this video.

What a Crazy Way to Earn a Living!

"Sharon, we HAVE TO GO NOW," Jeff said. We had a thousand mile drive ahead of us, but my plants needed some TLC, and I wasn't about to leave 'til I knew they were tended. Unusually warm spring days had spurred everything into new and exuberant growth. I had to finish my hand watering and wanted to top my containers with fresh worm castings.

An hour and a half later, we finished chores, packed props into the car for my television appearance, and Jeff handed me my "Girls," a "worm hotel" filled with red worms and some sliced potatoes to keep them happy. I tucked their black out fabric around them, settled them at my feet, and we took off.

Our first stop was the newly revitalized San Francisco Flower & Garden Show. I loved seeing what is new and what is old at the show, but I really loved connecting to my friends in garden design, architecture, growing, writing, blogging, and photography. Rebecca Sweet, YOU were one of the highlights for me.

This chicken tractor was beautiful and I have succumbed to total lust for the darned thing. I want one, but honestly, we have every inch of our yard planted, and there isn't a space left big enough to accommodate this wonderful contraption. Yes, there were chickens roosting inside. They'd been out during the day, but despite the bright lights and noise, they retired at their normal bedtime.

I loved the display gardens and find it hard to believe that designers can transport an entire world of a garden indoors.

The gorgeous succulent designs offered by Trish Ottens  were show-stoppers. I particularly liked the whimsical "Medusa" sculpture and the "wall tapestries."

Next year I intend to spend a couple of days at the Flower & Garden Show. Great speakers were featured this year. Imagine, for the price of admission you could tune into seed guru Renee Shepherd, California landscaping author Nan Sterman, succulent author Debra Lee Baldwin, edible landscaping queen Ros Creasey, Jean Ann Van Krevelen, Jeff Wyckoff, and so many more stellar gardeners and writers.

The day after the reception Jeff and I headed to Towne Center Books in beautiful Pleasanton, California. My talk and book signing were interactive and so much fun. I love having children in the audience. Judy Wheeler baked two of the cookie recipes from Toad Cottages & Shooting Stars. She told us that she hadn't believe the four ingredient cookies would work, but they DID, and I was vindicated. (Judy microwaved the bird nest cookies and didn't include the coconut).

More posting from the road when we have a few minutes to stop and work.

All joys to you. I LOVE your comments, your e-mails, and well wishes. I've made some great friends and so look forward to meeting all of you as I journey back and forth across the country. We're in the works for a fabulous workshop in Falmouth, Massachusetts, at historic Highfield Hall on June 24. I've already heard from two of my favorite bloggers who will not only post about the workshop, but also attend. Hurrah. For the $15.00 price of admission, attendees receive my new book, a wonderful "Celebrations" hand out I created and illustrated, and so much more.

Keep writing. I need your valued input,

Sharon

P.S. The "Girls" are fine, but they were reluctant participants on television. I wonder what the hotel people thought when we trekked through the lobby with a "worm hotel" in our arms?

P.P.S. To check my upcoming appearances, click here. (It takes a while to download).

To see what's going on n my garden, visit Lowe's Garden Grow Along blog.