Best Picks
The Best Way to Make Rosewater (No Fancy Equipment)
Have you ever smelled a rose that was so absolutely decadent you wished you could capture the smell and wear it on your body all day? The closest I’ve ever come to achieving this is making my own rosewater, and using it as a facial mist on the hottest of Summer days....
How to Grow & Care for Anemone Flowers
I really don't like high-maintenance flowers. Unfortunately, there are a lot of Spring flowers that require things like chilling or vernalization in order to bloom---like many tulips for example. This is why I love growing anemone flowers. Anemones are an incredible...
Blueberry Varieties For Southern California
Today’s blogpost is gonna be short and sweet---because we're talking about some sweet homegrown blueberries of course! Blueberries are known to be somewhat elusive for us gardeners here in Southern California, but I have good news. After some trial and error, I've got...
What to do about leaf miners?
By now, you probably know that I don’t think a garden should be free of pests. In order to have a garden as free from chemicals or pesticides as possible, there has to be both “bad” bugs and “good” bugs. Sadly, the bad bugs usually show up first, and then it takes...
Are Homegrown Strawberries Worth It?
We are about 1.6 pounds into strawberry season in our backyard, and I have some thoughts. Last year we planted two whole Birdie’s raised beds with strawberry bare root plants, which means I dedicated a lot of valuable real estate to these berries. I think it’s...
Beautiful Companion Plants for Roses
The backyard rose garden is exceeding my expectations. While the roses themselves are pulling their weight, I attribute the true dreaminess of it all to the plants I have added around the roses. In our small rose garden I've squeezed in kitchen herbs that you can run...
Caring for Newly Planted Fruit Trees
Currently, we have a mix of trees in my garden---everything from seven year old trees to brand new bare roots we potted up this season. The other day I was thinning some of the fruit on our multi-graft peach tree and realized that I haven't talked much about young...
How to Grow and Harvest Lavender for Culinary Use
Floral flavors tend to be highly divisive, don’t they? If you’re anything like me, I’m the person whose eyes light up when I see anything floral on a menu---lavender scones, rose lattes, chamomile infused ice cream---you name it, I’m probably ordering it. My passion...
Meet Randi
