Hello,
Thank you for showing up and playing along with a handmade garden, a whipsaw, sometimes rambling but always colorful look at a gardener’s life. Last August I expanded the scope of my monthly newsletter to include a weekly roundup of my color studies and began publishing on Substack. That’s 52 weeks
Now coming to fruition — tomatoes! dahlias! — this summer has also been a lesson in coming-to-my-senses, especially regarding my edible garden. Moving forward and with deep gratitude, I am officially handing over most of my homegrown crops to local farmers whose butter lettuce is tender, whose berries are sweet, and who have room to grow enough fava beans to yield more than a single meal (*sigh). My decision is bittersweet and tinged with a whiff of personal failure. But I can still grow flavor.
Earlier this summer I decided to grow my own house blend of herbes de Provence, it’s not lost on me that I haven’t left the country in more years than I care to count. However, rosemary, marjoram, fennel, lavender, and thyme, are happily thriving in my garden and together they taste of deep summer under sunny skies. I’m also growing “garden tea,” a haphazard blend of rose petals, chamomile, tarragon, mint, lemon verbena, and any other steep-able petal or leaf that catches my interest. Perfect for sipping, sweetened with the Lavender Honey that I shared last month. I’m so glad you’re here.
xo Lorene
Writing is my joy and my job. I’m grateful for a patchwork of outlets that allow me to tell garden/life stories. Special thanks to those of you who financially support this publication. Feel free to browse the archives here.
In the store
2024 Calendars are coming! I’ll be sending a pre-sale offer and discount code to email subscribers on 8/16. These limited-edition print calendars are my love letter to the natural world and an encouragement to pay attention to every passing moment. Preorders save you money and they help me plot and plan. For those of you who aren’t familiar with my Living Color Calendars, you can check out the 2023 version here.
A very colorful offer
Last March I flew to the Bay Area to film with Creativebug. A Daily Practice, Color In and Out of the Garden launched in May. Now you can get all access to Creativebug videos for a week — FOR FREE! — which is more than enough time to watch all 31 chapters of my 3 hour 10 minute class. This offer runs now through August 7, so don’t delay. Affiliate link: I get a little money at no additional cost to you.
Recent writing: “Gardeners hate to lose plants, but with every loss, there’s growth” in The Seattle Times. Very on brand for those of us with the late-summer doldrums.
Recent reading: “Invisible Things, The Picture Book!” by Andy J. Pizza & Sophie Miller is wonderful! The book is a quirky colorful look at playful, important and wise aspects of life that can be hard to pin down—for kids, parents, grands, and other humans.
Sharing is Caring: Share this newsletter with anyone (and everyone) you think might enjoy it and earn free access to benefits enjoyed by paid subscribers. Details here. Many thanks!
Color my world
July 26, 2023
I have always wanted to be a strawberry blond. For the record, I’m sort of a mousy brown (now grey). Nobody names marigolds, or flowers of any sort, ‘Mousey’. But if they did, I bet I’d find it and grow it.
‘Strawberry Blond’ marigold is a bit stubby—that’s a characteristic we both share. (Insert personal metaphor here) The wonder is in how the blossoms change. The flowers open a deep warm scarlet then transition through stages of copper and burnt orange before ending up deep gold that fades to a more flaxen yellow.
Change is constant, in the garden as well as in all parts of life. Although I’m pretty certain I’ve stopped growing and will always be stubby.
July 27, 2023
Recently, someone asked me how many plants I grow or have grown in my garden — that would be like adding up the breaths of a lifetime.
July 28, 2023
Golden foliage and potent tiny strawberries 🍓 I’m already planning on dividing my plants this fall to increase this beautiful garden flavor. More, more, more please.
July 29, 2023
This tender heart of a butter lettuce is a sign of my shifting relationship with the homegrown edible garden. So thankful to local producers at the West Seattle Farmers Market for producing delicious flavors well beyond what I can grow at home.
Although, the (not) Sugar Magnolia snap peas continue to yield sweet crisp salads.
July 30, 2023
Oreganopalooza is here!
Happy holidays for those of you who observe this peak summer moment.
July 31, 2023
Begonia, a Love Story
Seduced by the promise of orange flowers, I picked up a weary pot of Begonia sutherlandii from a nursery sale table in late summer. A species begonia nearly unknown in the trade, the plant had few leaves and even less promise.
Surprisingly, the tiny begonia was with me for years. Until it wasn’t. Who knows what tipped my plant—now grown into a sizable clump—into the abyss? An arctic blast. A wet winter. Neglect. But once it was gone, I missed it. For years, I scanned plant sales and nurseries, looking for my darling’s lime-green foliage, fleshy ruby stems, and tumbling mass of simple blossoms.
Long story short—how other people’s love lives do drag on—I finally found another small plant. This time I value and tend to my treasure. One of the gifts of garden making is the possibility of joy and discovery, or rediscovery. Maybe especially rediscovery.
—from my book, Color In and Out of the Garden
August 1, 2023
The star jasmine is blooming with twining stems of furled white flowers against glossy dark green leaves.
Clambering up and over a brick wall, this is summer on my back stoop. Even better — the heady perfume drifts in through the screen on the open window each night. This old house may not have AC, but my dreams are sweet.
imaginary travel
Homegrown Herbes de Provence
Add this heady herbal blend to roasted chicken or vegetables, tomato sauce, homemade crackers, even popcorn, and soon you’ll feel like you’re sunning on a patio surrounded by the garrigue—hey, a girl can dream!
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to a handmade garden to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.