WINTER HAS COME

So old man winter has hit and hit hard. Breathtaking to see the whiteness all around. The garden is sleeping soundly until the beauty of spring.

Beautiful Fall

Was inspired to take these pictures outside my window. The wind has been blowing all the color off the trees at a fast rate. There is something about the fierce red and orange hues that gets to me. Maybe Summer's last cry knowing it is time to sleep for a while.

The most beautiful farm!!!

Visiting my friend Jessica in September in Pleasantville NY, she took me to a little slice of heaven called Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture. Located in Pocantico Hills New York, it is hard to fathom that this place is less than an hour from bustling NYC. This place has it all. A working farm that prides itself on organic produce grown with no chemicals or pesticides. The livestock is raised on pasture, grass fed and the farm practices rotational grazing as well as rotation of their crops. All of this helps the soil, the land and all the produce that comes from the farm. Stone Barns also has the Blue Hill Restaurant and a daily cafe where everything is served fresh from the farm and onto your plate. I found myself wandering around this beautiful landscape admiring the animals and the serenity that one feels walking through a place like this. Volunteers were tending to the garden, visitors were laughing over coffee and sandwiches. It made me appreciate the slower pace of life and the true idea of balance between land, people and food.

VEGETABLE BOUNTY

I am still amazed that a tiny little plant can produce so much goodness. After being away all weekend I came home to find an abundance of fresh veggies waiting for me in the garden. The tomatoes look stunning and I have so many cucumbers it's astonishing. Still corn, broccoli and cauliflower are next to come. I just planted a bunch more lettuce as I am eating it all the time. Radishes are coming up too!!!

WHAT IS A BOYSENBERRY?

Went to an amazing place yesterday called Willamette-Land Farm to pick fresh berries. About 30 minutes from Portland. Never had a real Boysenberry or Marionberry before. What are they you ask? Good question. Basically they are both crosses of our favorite type of berries. A Boysenberry is a cross between the raspberry and blackberry. See the picture below as they get huge in size and the flavor. Sweet like a raspberry with hints of tartness from the blackberry.

A Marionberry is native to Oregon and 90% of all Marionberries come from here. Named after the county (Marion) in which they were first discovered, a Marion is a cross between two types of blackberries. You could get lost in this mine-field of berries but not only did I enjoy picking and eating them but I made my first EVER batch of homemade jam. A lovely Raspberry-Marionberry-Boysenberry mix. Gonna try it and give it out to family and friends today for the first time.

Veggie garden splendor

Growing, growing, growing!!!!

Today's fresh pickings

So came back from Los Angeles to find the new veggie garden full of life and food. It's amazing what a little time does to the growing process. Here was the first day of picking. Salad galore and lots of herbs. The Raspberries are out in full force and I suspect by little neighbor (who was watering while I was away) ate his fair share.

Red Red Strawberry

Before I heading out on my Los Angeles trip next week, I am trying to get in as much of the Pacific Northwest as I can. Hard to leave when berries to pick are all over the place. Today I went to pick fresh strawberries. Why do I bother buying them from the store when the taste and real flavor of strawberry is missing? I forget this until I get a chance to pick and eat organic strawberries on a farm. The sweetness is divine. Reminds me of my childhood when we went to pick berries every year. Somehow in the maze and haze of busy life, such simple activities are forgotten.

Flower Power

It's amazing how there are just a few weeks where the roses and flowers in my garden are absolutely perfect. It's like one day they all lay on top of each other perfectly, open perfectly and the colors all come together...perfectly. It's a sight to behold. Today a few people stopped in front of the house and were staring at the roses on the trellis. I must say a great thank you to the woman who owned this house before me as I inherited this unbelievable piece of heaven and now I just have the job of maintaining it's splendor.

A few plants from the veggie garden. The little green tomatoes, not quite there yet. I suspect the strawberries will be ripe any day.

How it all began

Okay so today is my first ever blog. Hmmm. Lots to say. I decided to chronicle my adventures into this world of gardening because honestly...I don't know what the heck I am doing. Less than two years ago I was sitting in my condo near the Sunset Strip (yeah that Sunset Strip!) and gardening was the furthest thing from my mind. Yes I had these visions of having a house one day with beautiful flowers and land and all that...but a little house in LA with land is basically a million dollars, so the house idea was just a dream. Then upon my fateful move home to Oregon, I drove by this little cottage. Hidden away, in back of trees, a bit gray and worn. I stopped only because it was 3 blocks from where I grew up. The land was amazing. Lots of room and on a whim, I made an offer the next day. How am I going to afford two mortgages I thought? No idea but I just knew it would work out. My brain works in this strange creative way where I can see the end result or the possibilities and I knew this place was it! The back of the cottage had a huge plot which was perfect for an organic vegetable garden. Again, no idea how to plant, what to plant and words like mulch and compost were totally foreign to me.

A few weeks ago I commited. I hired someone to help me. As you can see, the space is very green but totally overgrown. The first course of action was to pull everything out. My new friend Catherine pulled and pulled while I sat and thought about what I wanted to eat...I mean plant. I decided that I wanted to use cedar beds. Let me tell you, they are not cheap! The plan was to use Cedar beds to plant in and use rock for the pathways. I already have rasberries growing in part of the plot, so those will stay put, everything else is going. I then needed soil which was delivered in a huge mound on my front lawn and mulch. Okay what is mulch? It's basically any type of material that is spread or laid over the surface of the soil, basically as a covering. The most common type is bark, but also can be grass clippings, leaves, straw, newspaper. It all helps the soil to retain moisture. Catherine had her work cut out for her. So it all began.

When I went to the nursery to pick out vegetables to plant, Um, there were no vegetables. Ok I am exaggerating but basically people have now caught on. The price of organic veggies is starting to become ridiculous. $5 dollars for two organic tomatoes at Whole foods. One vine tomato plant can yield 10-25 tomatoes I am told, throughout the season. I just planted 5 tomato plants, so we shall see. Here is the full list of what was planted yesterday and today. Catherine seems to think this will feed at least 3 people if not more.

Sweet Corn
Peppers (red and yellow)
Cabbage
Onions
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Cucumbers
Carrots
Radishes
Beets
Lettuce
Arugula and mixed european salad mix
Tomatoes
Eggplant
Watermelon

Also planted wild native strawberries, huckleberry (also native) and oregon grape (used more for cooking than eating).

I think I've gone a little insane but what the heck. Pics of the garden in it's "after" state below.

Nature at it's finest.