Have you ever had a recipe lying around that you keep for years, just knowing that someday you'll make it? Year after year, I've flipped through my binder of torn-out recipes from magazines that I've collected over time. My eyes have landed on this one page a hundred times, and each time I've promised myself I'll make it. This week I finally made good on that promise - 15 years later.
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Our adventure in Ojai continue with the opening day of "u-pick" season at a local lavender farm. New Oak Ranch hung balloons out on the road sign, inviting folks to come and pick a handful of fresh lavender for $5 a bunch. The farm features 20 different varieties of lavender (mostly Grosso, Hidcote, Buena Vista, and Provence) but they also have Pixie tangerines, olives and walnuts.
The bees were hovering throughout ...
A quick weekend getaway was in order - some place warm and cozy, and filled with joyful memories. Ojai, CA fit the bill. It was the location of our destination wedding five years ago. Laden with orange groves, olive and avocado trees, and lavender fields, Ojai (pronounced Oh-Hi) combines the small town feeling of local farmers with the artist community of hippies. On a weekend with no plans, we found ourselves pretty busy.
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Have you ever planted mint, thinking that it would be a nice addition to your vegetable or herb garden, only to find that in no time at all it had taken over your garden and choked out your veggies? Well that's what happened to Joan Wilner in Beverly Hills. She called me up to rescue her waning vegetable garden from the claws of the overwhelming mint patch a couple of weeks ago.
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Sometimes the best things in life are free - and from your neighbor. That seems to be a theme this week. While my garden may still be launching into its productive phase, some of my neighbors' gardens are already there.
At my community plot the lady to my left is overrun with ripening blackberries and, as of last week, I've been given permission to harvest as many as I please. Since I've been dying to find a ...
Summer is nearly here and the rain barrels are running dry. What will you do this summer to conserve water in your garden and home? Well, come to the Metropolitan Water District's Spring Green Expo 2010 to find out ways to conserve not only water, but energy and time as well. Gardenerd will be hosting a booth, so bring your gardening questions and get them answered.
I will ...
Let it be known that the kumquats are here. Lots of them. More than we know what to do with.
We planted a kumquat tree as an appetite suppressant for my husband. During "snack attack" moments, instead of opening the refrigerator, he wanders out to the front yard and eats a few kumquats. (He also drinks grapefruit juice for the same reason). The flavor is so powerful - that combination of tart and sweet - that he desires nothing for several hours after ...
Yes, Woolly School Gardens needs your vote, and I'll tell you about that in just a minute, but first a little story:
On Tuesday, June 1st, I had the opportunity to help install two Woolly School Gardens at two neighboring schools in downtown Los Angeles. Together with a team of Woolly gardeners, we filled Pockets with soil and planted food gardens for students to enjoy. We planted herbs like sage, chives (which some of the kids pronounced chee-vess), thyme, basil, rosemary and ...
Last fall 2009, I planted brown mustard seed as an experiment in the test garden. I wanted to see how much seed I would get for my favorite Indian food dishes from growing seed in 7 square feet. After the birds got their share of sprouts, I ended up with 7 or 8 plants that grew to fruition. I've waited until the harvest this spring to share the process with you.
The mustard ...
Lightning in a Bottle is a festival that might be hard to describe. Some say that it's Burning Man with less dust, while others say that it's enchantment in a perfect blend of music, art, and funky people enjoying the outdoors. My experience of Lightning in a Bottle (back in 2008) was most profound in meeting a collection of forward-thinking people out to save the world with big new ideas.
This year, ...