Tom’s Garden

Our garden lies in what Sunset calls “one of Northern California’s finest horticultural climates.” We are located in an area of wet mild winters and dry mild summers — a Mediterranean climate zone. It’s a region with unique challenges and opportunities. I love gardening here.

Approaches to gardening are strongly determined by scale. Our garden is a small family garden. Its core was formerly a swimming pool. Often we might be growing just a single plant in a container, or a handful of plants, where a larger-scale gardening operation might be planting long rows of crops. Over time we have adjusted to find the right balance for our home garden.

On Top

All this new stuff goes on top
turn it over, turn it over
wait and water down
from the dark bottom
turn it inside out
let it spread through
Sift down even
Watch it sprout.

A mind like compost.

— Gary Snyder

 

Cunonia capensis
Artemisia douglasiana, Mugwort
Euphorbia myrsinites, Donkeytail Spurge
Kitazawa Seed Co.
Browsing the Seed Catalogues: Overview
Old Tom's Aromatic Bitters
Brown-Headed Cowbird
How to Make Vermouth: Resources
Plant Propogation System
Making Ginger Beer

ABOUT THE BAY
As it's evolved, this site has increasingly focused on vita plantae in the San Francisco Bay Area, so I've rejiggered this blog to reflect that. You will still find plenty of more general posts on life by the bay. Visit the site home or try one of these:

• Orientation
• Environment
• History
• Activities
• Culture

And you can contact me here.