December Field Notes — What the Garden Is Doing While You're Not Looking
December is the right month to think about the garden as a whole — not the individual plant decisions, which are best made in the season, but the larger structural questions.
November Field Notes — The Beauty of the Bare Garden
A garden with beautiful bones looks extraordinary in November in the way that a garden without them never quite does, regardless of how spectacular its June border may be.
October Field Notes — Putting the Garden to Rest
There is a practice in October: the practice of deliberate incompletion. Of leaving things standing that could be cut down.
September Field Notes — What Your Soil Is Actually Telling You
Soil is a complex physical, chemical, and biological system that varies enormously from site to site and understanding its basic characteristics is the foundational skill of all successful planting.
August Field Notes — The Long Middle
The days have been shortening since the solstice, and by mid-August the change is visible in the quality of the evening light, which takes on a warmth and a lower angle.
July Field Notes — The Garden at Full Volume
Cut generously and often, restock your vases, and give flowers to everyone you encounter. July is genuinely not the month for moderation.
How to Deadhead, Stake, and Keep Summer Blooms Going
By removing spent blooms before seed sets, you interrupt this cycle and signal the plant to continue making flowers.
Bringing the Garden Inside — Flower Arranging with What You've Grown
The gardens of May offer extraordinary material: roses in their first flush, peonies at the very end of the month in most climates.
May Field Notes — What's Happening in the Garden This Month
The perennials are pushing up from the ground with varying degrees of vigor. May is the month for close observation, fast action, and genuine satisfaction.
The Art of Succession Planting
The mechanics are simple: divide the amount you'd normally sow into three or four smaller portions, and sow each portion two to three weeks apart.
What to Plant in March — A Northern California Grower's Guide
March is the month for planting things that can handle a light frost, while keeping warm-season crops indoors for a few more weeks.
Starting Seeds Indoors — What, When, and How
The core principle: count backwards from your last frost date. If you don't know your last frost date, look it up — it's the single most important piece of information a gardener can have.
What to Do in the Garden in January — Almost Nothing, and Thats the Point
Prune roses, if you haven't yet. For most climates, late January is appropriate timing — after the hardest frosts have likely passed but before the plant pushes new growth. Cut to just above an outward-facing bud, at a slight angle, and remove any dead or crossing canes entirely. It feels brutal. The roses will thank you in June.