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

Syrah Grape Clusters Basking in the Sun

Just like magic, our Syrah grape clusters have developed, are maturing, and grapevines are closing in on harvest. The sense is harvest is a tad bit earlier than usual. Fruit set looks abundant and lovely.

It really is something to see the grapevines go through their process each year. Some years are better than others, like life. Like life, there are some things within your control, and some that are not. Like life, one should focus on the present journey, rather than the destination, and the destination will take care of itself. “Life is a journey, not a destination.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson

Grapevines Marching Onto Harvest

Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend…Bonnie

John Manion, Beloved Husband, Winemaker Extradronaire, VP Liquid Assets

It starts with sunlight, a good grape varietal, blessed terroir, knowledge to bring it together, and a lot of help from our friends and family! Viola, a wine that is fine!

Our backyard vineyard idea was a landscape solution to begin with. Could we really grow a pretty vineyard to look over, that would have four season interest, be drought tolerant, and maybe yield a good grape for a nice wine. A grand experiment that luckily has worked out well, and ultimately created a nice lifestyle for us at Domaine de Manion.

We use to enter a lot of home wine competitions, and did well with medals and awards. Later, my husband, John, was even asked to judge some of these competitions. With judging duties and the pandemic, we stopped entering our wines.

This spring for fun, we entered two of our wines in the 2022 Orange County Fair Home Wine Competition. We were surprised when we received a Gold Medal for our Syrah 2020 and a Bronze Medal for our Syrah Rosé 2021. We knew our wines were drinking well. It reinforces we are managing the vineyard well, and doing right by the grapes. John is a great winemaker, and he has a nice style with his wines.

Hail to the winemaker! The wine is fine!

Related Past Posts:

Hail to the Winemaker

Surprise at the Orange County Fair

Anticipating One’s First Grape Harvest

Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend…Bonnie

Vines Now Nearly Hiding “Coop de Manion”

The last time I mentioned our vineyard, Prepping the Vineyard, it was March and pruning had just finished. In a few months time, the vines have exploded in growth. In fact, you can hardly see the chicken coop through the vigor of the vines.

Vines Before In Spring After Pruning

I often joke that grapevines are like weeds, and they are. Besides all this growth vigor, the vines are flowering and tiny grape clusters are forming. It looks like it is a good fruit set for this year.

Grapevines Flowering

I really enjoy how the vineyard looks in the spring. The vines are a lush vibrant green, full in canopy, stretching for the sky, and basically happily unbridled.

Rows of Happy Grapevines at Domaine de Manion

Now as the vineyard marches toward harvest, the grapevines get down to business further maturing in canopy, growing the grape clusters, verasion or coloring of the grapes, and the ultimate ripening of the grapes in sugar brix for harvest.

It has been fun sharing the vigor of our vineyard. Is there something in your garden that explodes with vigor that you look forward to each year?

Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend….Bonnie

Spring Prepping the Vineyard

I mentioned previously a few weeks ago, all of the spring sprucing I was doing in the garden. Well, my husband, John, and I have also been doing some sprucing in the vineyard, and prepping for the year ahead. It can be a big chore, but also very rewarding. Time well spent now means a continued healthy vineyard and a successful harvest in the fall.

Vines have been pruned back to their two cordon arms. Vineyard rows have been mowed twice already to keep weeds low and at bay. I have tried sowing cover crops a few times between the rows, but have been unsuccessful most likely because of low winter rains. The vines have drip irrigation at each plant, but no irrigation in the rows.

For one reason or another, our grapes last harvest were beautiful, but half of our normal yield. I heard and read that most of California vineyards had lower than usual yields. It could also have been very little winter rains, high winds at flowering, etc. Many factors could have played into it.

I have added compost to our vines before, and thought it might be a good time to add some rich compost to them this year. While I am doing my flower beds, let’s do the vineyard too!

This year I added and mixed in three generous shovels of compost to the base of each grapevine to add back organic nitrogen. Compost has amazing qualities to benefit soil and plants. See below for my many related past posts on composting. I am composting year-round, but with the quantity to cover each grapevine, I bought a yard and a half of compost from Agriservice El Corazon in Oceanside. It helps if you have a truck, or access to a truck, although Agri Service El Corazon delivers too. If interested in delivery services, please visit their information online, and call them for more details.

Adding Rich Compost to Each Grapevine Base

I have been composting for a very long time on our property. When you have chickens, it is almost a necessity. Chicken manure is “green gold” and not to be wasted. It is a perfect green to add to your compost bin besides your kitchen scraps, and landscape greens. It is a hot manure however, and will burn your plants if it not aged and broken down into compost with your other ingredients.

I add compost mixed with my soil for every plant, tree, and vegetable bed I plant. Compost adds back valuable nitrogen, and has about ten fantastic attributes. Compost is also very dark and adds a dressy look to your flower beds and around your landscape.

For composting tools, products, and services, please look into what your local city offers. You might be surprised.

Related Past Posts on Composting:

Ten Ways Composting Benefits Your Soil

How to Compost in Your Backyard

The Green Way to Lose a Lawn

Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend…Bonnie

Sunset Over Domaine de Manion

I have taken you through a whole year in our vineyard. Winter, Spring, Summer, Harvest, and now Autumn. The grapes are in, the vines are slowly going dormant and turning beautiful fall colors. Light frequent rains, have already transformed the vineyard floor into a verdant carpet. If you look closely you can see that the grapevines almost mirror the spectacular color of a recent sunset. Yellow, orange, red, tawny, leaves give a spectacular visual display before soon dropping to the ground and starting the process all over again for next year. Like life, each year is different, and full of surprises. It is a time of reflection.

At this moment, I would like to “thank all of you” who read this blog, and so many who have reached out to me, in person and online, about the information shared, great recipes, or tip they gleaned in one of the posts. If you have friends who might enjoy it as well, you can sign them up on my website homepage, bonniejomanion.com or email me and I can sign them up.

I am very thankful and grateful for your kindness and support. Blessings! Merci beaucoup!

Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend….Bonnie

Happy Grape Clusters Ripening

I am always amazed at the vineyard from winter to spring to summer, and now to fall and the ensuing transformation of buds to fruit clusters on the grapevines. It is almost time to harvest at Domaine de Manion. Vintages each year are just like children, and years of your life, each one is always different, and unknown to the outcome.

I am simply going to leave you with one of the most memorable quotes on wine by Galileo Galilei, “Wine is sunlight, held together by water.”

It means that wine is the perfect combination of it’s terroir, natural rainfall, and perfect amount of sunlight.

May this year’s vintage be outstanding and remarkable at Domaine de Manion! Salut!!

Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend….Bonnie

Grape Clusters Forming

After the grapevines flower, the grape berry clusters being to form on the vines. Still immature and green, the berries will continue to gain in size, and the march is on to harvest. Grapevines thrive on warm summer temperatures with cooler night temperatures. In a few weeks the grape berries will begin to change color which is called verasion, and the onset of the ripening of the grapes. At Domaine de Manion, once the berries begin verasion, we estimate we are about six weeks away from harvest.

I love the look of the vineyard this time of year because the vines are full, flowing in the wind, and unbridled. With the onset of verasion, we have to net each vineyard row and clip the nets together using clothespins. Birds and other wildlife will be eager to eat the grape clusters as the grapes continue to ripen and their sugar (brix) rises.

The Summer Vineyard at Domaine de Manion

Bon Appétit and Bon Weekend….Bonnie