“Simple French Comfort Food” Cooking Class

March 2024 started off with a bang, with a full class for the “Simple French Comfort Food” cooking class. The blustery day started out with a little rain, so a nice warm fire and a comforting menu was perfect. Everyone rolled up their sleeves and made delicious recipes that culminated in a relaxing lunch, à table. All my students were an inspiration for me. Merci!

À Table For A Relaxing Lunch With Recipes Completed

Winter Storms Brought Spectacular Sunsets

Welcome winter rains brought spectacular sunsets. The mature trees have been trimmed. The garden pathways replenished with fresh mulch. The flowerbeds manicured. The vineyard and roses pruned and poised for another growing season. The potager has been planted.

The garden and vineyard are waiting for longer days and warmer temperatures. I am hopeful all this wonderful winter rain will promise a spectacular showing in spring.

Olivenhain Garden Club Visiting March 2024. Thank You For The Photo By Olivenhain Garden Club

In mid-March, The Olivenhain Garden Club came for a garden tour and a glimpse of spring emerging. Just like your favorite perennial, this club, and many other lovely garden clubs have been here before for a visit, and have seen the garden and Domaine de Manion evolve over the years.

The Olivenhain Garden Club comments and compliments were so nice. They didn’t go hungry, I prepared a few different charcuterie boards and platters for them.

One Of The Charcuterie Boards. A Little Something For Everyone

“Meet The Masters” Check-In And Book Signing For Gabriela Salazar

Mid-March was The Village Garden Club of La Jolla’s “Meet the Masters” 2024 event with program speaker, fabulous Gabriela Salazar, an internationally recognized floral artist and grower out of Mexico. She wowed us with her flower philosophy and technique in flower arranging.

It was a huge, fun, successful event. I helped, along with many dutiful ladies checking guests in, and giving them their table seating. It was a pleasure to be on this committee with my fellow members. Hats off to The Village Garden Club of La Jolla!

As March continued to unfold, spring was emerging, slowly but surely. First, narcissus bulbs appeared in the lawn, next Cherokee rose started to bloom, and then wisteria came to life in purple pendulum display. Early spring was here!

Naturalized Narcissus Bulbs Transition Winter Into Spring

Cherokee Rose Beginning To Bloom White

Wisteria Over the Shed Heralds In Spring

March 2024 started off with a bang, and is ending with a bang, Easter! March has had momentum with a nice energy, perhaps it will continue throughout the year. I wish all of you a beautiful spring!

Vintage Hen And Chick Remind Us Easter Is Here

Bon Appétit, Bon Weekend, and Happy Easter…Bonnie

Roger’s Red Through the Autumn Morning Sun

Roger’s Red grapevine is something to roar about. An ornamental grapevine that is thought to be a natural hybrid between the native grape, Vitis californica and the European wine grape, Vitis vinifera.

This grapevine is absolutely stunning with red foliage for your autumn garden. It can produce small grapes, although mine hasn’t yet. I really can’t say enough about the foliage, sometimes chocolate in some light, sometime warm red to burnish orange leaves in other light. And a dash of green color, too.

Roger Red Grapevine Climbing Up My Outdoor Patio

It does like to climb on fences, gates, or some kind of support, which is perfect for a garden setting. It will take full sun to light shade with regular to moderate water. Allowing this grapevine to climb will allow it to move and dance with the wind.

I found my Roger’s Red grapevine at Tree of Life Nursery. Sometimes you can find it in nurseries, in their native plant section. You can probably find it online, too.

A very hardy grapevine, it did take me a few years to get it started and growing.

Another View of Roger’s Red Grapevine

I like the idea of decorating your autumn table or buffet with this fabulous grapevine. A trick to doing this is clipping your grapevines in advance, and soaking the ends in a watering can overnight before your intended use. This will help keep your leaves from wilting during your special occasion.

You can even totally immerse individual leaves in water overnight, dry them, and press them flat for a few hours before needing to use them on your table or in your vignette.

Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend…Bonnie

Welcoming Roses at Domaine de Manion

Cultivated Boxwood Curves

Blooming Sweet Peas on Willow Obelisks

Rambunctious Nasturtium on Coop de Manion

Riot of Blooms in White Garden

Olive Allée at Domaine de Manion

Profusely Blooming Privet at Domaine de Manion

Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend…Bonnie

Intrigue Rose Brightens My Kitchen

“Less is more” is the message here. In my kitchen I have in a corner a marble lazy-susan on my kitchen counter. I keep different olive oils, salts, pepper, garlic, and more at handy reach. In a very simple antique vase I try and keep a favorite blooming cut rose in it.

It makes me happy. It is cheery. It is beautiful. It is often very fragrant. It speaks to me in many ways. it is a companion while cooking. It reminds me of my garden when i can’t be there. It gives me joy.

Try a simple cut rose in your kitchen, it will make you smile, and it smile back with so much more.

Simplicity is elegance. Never underestimate a single cut rose.

Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend…Bonnie

Winter Morning Sun over Domaine de Manion

Even though it is wintertime, and not much seems to be happening in the garden—there is. The garden may be somewhat dormant, but it is not. It is resting and storing up energy for the great burst of growth and flowering in spring, and the long growing season ahead.

Structure is prevalent in the garden, and the bones of the garden much more easily seen. Are there changes you would like to do in your garden moving forward, or are you happy with your garden as it is. Now is a good time to take a good, close look at your garden.

Pruning is really important in the winter garden, while plants and trees are dormant. I pruned all of my roses in one day. I went from one garden room to the next garden room, and powered it out. I tipped and lightly pruned some of my Crape Myrtle trees, and a few of my fruit trees.

Newly Planted Sweet Peas on Willow Obelisks

I have added more bare root climbing roses this winter, and bare root roses for my cutting garden. Now is the perfect time to plant roses, water well, and apply compost around them. Apply a dormant spray within a week of your pruning (check with your local nursery for exact recommendations). Your roses will do all the work, until they need a little rose food/fertilizer at Easter.

I added a Chocolate Persimmon fruit tree, and a dwarf climbing Mulberry vine to my berry room. I planted dwarf sweet peas in containers, and climbing mammoth sweet peas for my willow obelisks.

In the potager I have Swiss Chard doing well. I planted some gourmet lettuce, and soon it will be time to germinate heirloom tomato seeds and other heirloom vegetables.

Viburnum ‘Spring Bouquet’ Happy After Our Rains

Although the garden is dormant, there are many surprising plants blooming now in February at Domaine de Manion. Most of them have been planted for a while.

Arctosis (Many Varieties)

Cherokee Rose

Eleanor Roosevelt Iris (Intermediate Bearded Purple Iris)

Landscape Geraniums

Magnolia ‘Black Tulip’

Narcissus Bulbs (Many Varieties)

New Zealand Tea Tree

Rosemary (Many varieties)

Verbena

Viburnum ‘Spring Bouquet’ (Great for using in floral designs)

Domaine de Manion Vineyard Anxiously Waiting To Be Pruned

The winter rains have benefited our Syrah vines which are now approaching 17 years old. We have had to mow knee-high weeds, and cover crop between the rows already. Our date to prune each year is usually around Super Bowl time.

Last year we had a record high yield of 1400 pounds, which was unbelievable to us. It was an intense emergency Labor Day morning harvest, because of the intense end of summer heat. Every year is different, and every harvest, and every vintage different. We are hopeful this will be a great growing season, harvest, and vintage.

Even though it might be cool, overcast, sometimes damp, and even rainy, I urge you to get out in your garden now and observe. Make note of any changes you want to make, new plants to plant, or a list of things to do for spring. Your garden awaits you.

Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend…Bonnie

Fabulous Bareroot Selection of Fruit Trees and Roses

From time to time I write about “Places to Know” around San Diego. This time of year with bare root season in full swing for garden roses and backyard fruit trees, Green Thumb Nursery in San Marcos is a great place to know. Prices are reasonable. Garden product is well marked and organized. Nursery staff is very helpful.

Recently, I picked up a couple of my favorite climbing rose—Eden, for $24.99 each. That is a very reasonable price for that rose. Besides climbing roses, you can find all kinds of rose varieties for $24.99 up to $39.99.

The fruit tree selection is incredible with many varieties you don’t often see. I splurged on a bare root Chocolate Persimmon, which is a little smaller tree in size than the more well known Fuyu. Chocolate Persimmons are known for their brownish flesh and outstanding flavor.

Besides roses and fruit trees, Green Thumb Nursery offers many varieties of bare root berries, wisteria, nut trees, and a great selection of vegetables and herbs. If there is something you are looking for to plant in your garden now, chances Green Thumb Nursery has it.

Sign up for the weekly Green Thumb Nursery newsletter on their homepage website. Most weeks there is a nice coupon at the bottom.

Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend….Bonnie

Cherry Falls Cherry Tomato Happy On Cart In Courtyard

Cheers for Cherry Falls Cherry Tomato is a tongue twister for sure. I have been so happy with this cherry tomato plant, I wanted to share it with you once again. If you recall back in February, I wrote about growing tomatoes from seed, Thyme To Think Tomatoes, and I was concentrating on tomatoes ideal for containers.

Cherry Falls Cherry Tomato Starting To Ripen

I don’t normally think of tomato plants as being charming, but this one is. Beauty and function intertwined is a winning combination, one of the principles of “French Country Living” I like to live by.

The description from John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds catalog is what caught my eye initially. It is a compact, cascading determinate tomato plant (sets all its fruit at one time) that will grow only 6” high, but can cascade nearly 3’ over the side. It produces an abundance of 1-1/2” sweet red cherry tomatoes. I have these cherry tomato plants potted and elevated in my cart, and it looks so nice. You could also plant this particular cherry tomato plant in a hanging basket. Remember to fertilize regularly and water frequently as pots and baskets can dry out quickly.

This is a great example of growing different tomatoes and other vegetables from the fabulous seed catalogs that are available besides John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds like Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company, Botanical Interests, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, Renee’s Garden Seeds, and Seed Savers Exchange. It is so much fun to explore and grow different varieties that you don’t normally see in retail garden centers and stores.

I am excited for the maturing and ripening of the other tomato plants I started from seed last February. For now, the Cherry Falls Cherry Tomato is the first to ripen. Cheers for the commencing of tomato season, and cheers for the Cherry Falls Cherry Tomato!

Please share what tomatoes you like to grow in your potager and pots.

Past Related Tomato Posts

Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend…Bonnie

May 2022 South Garden Facing North. Poppy, Where Did You Come From?

Quite a few years ago I was given some oriental poppy seeds. Some were red, and some were purple. All were beautiful and delicate when they bloomed. Poppy seeds are very tiny like carrot seeds, and benefit before sowing, to mix them with sand. From that one sowing of poppy seeds, the poppies come back each year. However, it is always in a different spot, different number of poppies, and different blooming. It is a mystery of where they will spring up. This year one sole red poppy has sprung up and bloomed beautifully in my South Garden.

I said to myself, these poppies sure have a mind of their own. Then I thought, there are some life lessons and musings in the way these beguiling poppies conduct themselves. Maybe you will sport a smile and agree.

It is okay to stand out in a crowd. We are all very special and unique in this world. No one is exactly like us. Remember to be your best of who you are, and not anyone else. You will never be a “wallflower.”

Follow your bliss, and everything else will fall into place. We make our own everlasting joy and happiness, and it comes from within us, not from external circumstances or material things. Bloom because you are happy.

Make each and every year different, in what you do, what you experience, and where you go. Keep your life vibrant in trying new things, meeting new people, reading, and traveling. Bloom in a different spot each year.

Persistence is everything. Even if you don’t have optimum circumstances, sheer persistence and perseverance is on your side, and you will bloom.

Be authentic to yourself and others. Don’t try and be something that you simply are not. An oriental poppy will never be a groundcover verbena.

Life is fleeting. Enjoy each and every day. Live in the “now” and “present” as much as you possibly can. You may not have a tomorrow, but you bloomed in magnificent beauty today.

You might look different from others, but we are all part of, and connected to this beautiful universe. Be careful not to judge by appearances. Everyone is beautiful in their own right, and everyone has a reason they are part of this beautiful universe. Be a beautiful poppy.

Don’t take yourself too seriously. A little bit of humor goes a long way in easing tension, lifting one’s spirits, and creating moments. A red oriental poppy couldn’t be any further from the design of the South Garden. Red oriental poppy makes you stop and chuckle.

Stand up for yourself and what you believe in. No one else is going to take up your mantle. Be passionate, and make a difference. You might see red, but I am a strong and determined red oriental poppy.

Don’t be hard on yourself. “You are enough.” You might not understand the circumstances that allowed you to grow and bloom, but the fact that you did is a gift.

Embrace change. Life is all about change. Don’t worry. Don’t fight change, rather “go with the flow of change.” Everything seems to work out just about the way it is intended to, in the end. If there is only one beautiful red oriental poppy this year, maybe there will be more next year.

April 2019, South Garden Facing West

May 2019, Main Pathway, Purple Oriental Poppies

Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend….Bonnie