ROLLING GREENS

There is nothing like walking into a place and having a moment of profound awestruck inspiration. Such a moment happened this morning when I visited Rolling Greens Nursery in Los Angeles. This is a mecca of all things creative in the world of gardens, flowers, beach and cottage outdoor/indoor design. This is not just a nursery but an overflow of ideas and inspiration the likes of which I haven't seen in quite a while. It makes me understand that all spaces can flow and be intrinsically connected through color, themes and amazing ideas. Whether you want ethnic, rustic, beachy or elegant...this space had it all. I spent an hour just walking around and taking photos. Today's posting is a sampling of the unbelievable installations that I saw within various parts of the nursery.

Old Macdonald had a farm!

looking through some old photos I came across some memorable visits to pumpkin patches and farms and decided that my post today was in honor of this slow seasonal change that is upon us. I am excited to take Jacob to his first pumpkin patch on Sauvie's Island and I am sure he will be standing in the middle of the field trying to lift multiple pumpkins.

It seems as if summer flew by and today at the store I saw orange everywhere and people buying halloween costumes. I will blink once and then it will be Turkey day and lights and the smell of pine Christmas trees. I am trying to enjoy every moment but sometime it just zooms by in chunks of time. Why did it seem to go by so slowly when we were kids?

TOMATO DAYS

When I was a little girl in Russia I remember having a love for a plain and pure tomato. Well actually it was tomato with salt. Russians must love their salt because there is nothing like tasting a beautifully ripe tomato sprinkled with a little salt. As summer is coming to a close the tomatoes here in Portland are finally starting to ripen. Today I stepped outside to find the vines sprinkled with red, orange and yellow tomatoes of varying shapes and sizes. I ate two heirlooms and a handful of sun gold and sweet 100's before lunch. YUM. The hardest thing about planting tomatoes is picking which variety you want and then staggering the various kinds in such a way that you have an abundance of tomatoes throughout the season. Aside from picking the usual suspects it is wise to get adventurous and try out purple, black and even white heirlooms. Each has a unique acidity that adds a great assortment of color to salads and other dishes. 

There were of course other things in the garden today but I was neglecting them because my focus was on gathering as many tomatoes as I could. My neighbor Molly just informed me that you can freeze tomatoes whole for the winter. I've never tried that but that might be something to do this weekend.

Little Hands, Little Feet

I was asked recently to write an article for a friend starting up a website about children. I started thinking a lot about children and gardening. What age do children begin to understand nature and how do we begin to teach them about plants and the connection to food? How can we as parents encourage the natural curiosity that our children display for all things nature. In my case, I recall that my son (now 18 months) was able to focus with his eyes on trees and flowers when he was just a tiny infant. I spent the first summer of his life trying to be outside as much as possible. When he started walking at 13 months it was just about springtime and all the flowers in the garden had emerged, thus I took the opportunity to walk around smelling everything. He waddled behind me, carefully observing and watching my every move. It was only a month or two later that he started picking the flowers himself, leaning over to smell them "like mommy" and handing them to me.


Digging in dirt is as fun as digging in sand and another way for babies, toddlers and children of all ages to connect to the earth and for us adults to begin a dialogue about what things we can plant and how with water, care and sun we can grow food. My son eats a lot of vegetables and recently we picked green beans from the garden, along with cucumbers and baby tomatoes. Suddenly Jacob had interest from a different perspective. He would run to the back garden and point to the cucumber and want to eat it straight from the vine. He walks around to inspect the color of tomatoes and is learning that green is not as good as red. Even now, after all the raspberries have disappeared, he still walks to the canes and points up at the leaves as if he knows those little berries should be there. It is magical to see the connections in his mind that he now makes in regards to some of the foods he eats. It it this awareness at a young age that I feel helps children to understand not only the importance of where food comes from but the cycle of seasons and how change in nature reflects so many things in this world.

Hollyhocks, Sweet Pea and Toddlers Oh My!

Stepped outside the door a couple of days ago and the fragrant scent of sweet pea engulfed almost the entire periphery of the house. My 17 month old son has discovered that he can pick flowers (among other things) and smell them (or at least pretend to smell them). He has also delighted in the fact that you can pick the petals off the leaves and throw them up in the air. Maybe he thinks they will fly.

The portland weather has been cool and many things in the garden seem to be very behind. No cukes, only flowers and tomatoes are inching closer to ripeness but if the rain and lack of sun continues then we will be lucky to get tomatoes at all this year. The only positive news is that this cooler weather has allowed the kale, swiss chard and certain lettuces to really take off. My newest love of the week is lemon basil which I planted on a fluke and have been using it in everything (salads, fish and chicken dishes, etc.)

THE BEAUTY OF COLOR

I have embarked on a journey of creative collision. One that involves my camera, my garden and the divine dance between earth and sky. I have spent a few days digging in the dirt, picking berries and trying to capture the magic that only happens once a year when all things bloom at the perfect moment during the season. I walk outside my door here in Portland and am instantly seduced by the scent of roses everywhere, the vibrancy of blue Delphiniums and the promise that tomorrow there will be more. I've never planted snapdragons as they are typically annuals and I prefer perennials, but after this one planting I can see why people come back to this flower year after year. They are amazing cut flowers and visually fill in a variety of spaces.

Have you ever had a real berry?

What is a real berry? I am browsing the supermarket and I pick up a plastic container of strawberries. They are somewhat glossy, large and an average shade of red. The problem here folks is that these strawberries like many do not taste like real berries. The kind of berries you used to eat when you were a kid from your grandmothers backyard. The kind of berry that you can smell when you sit at the table and is so juicy and flavorful that you cannot help grab handfuls. These berries are not uniform in shape, they are not grotesquely large...but just the sight of them and you know they are organic, natural and REAL. Sure you can go to the farmer's market and ask for organic berries but to me there is nothing that beats rolling up your sleeves and picking them yourself. Berry picking season is now upon us. I highly recommend the trip to a u-pick farm with the family. Not only will you have fun plucking berries but you will eat your share right there on the spot. Picking is also great for future freezing (that is a note to all you morning shake fans who use frozen fruit and pay a fortune for it). My newly discovered passion of the last few years are Boysenberries and Marionberries and I cannot wait to pick them. While there are many U-pick farms around (you can find one in your area by going to pickyourown.org), the berry picking season is short (May-July for Strawberry, Boysenberry, Marionberry & Rasberry).