This classic Italian summer panzanella salad oozes with fresh flavors of summer, and takes advantage of your ability to jump in the garden and harvest bell peppers, heirloom tomatoes, fresh assorted herbs, and the last of your summer squash. I usually see panzanella salad with tomatoes, crusty bread, and mozzarella cheese, but like the twist of these added grilled summer vegetables.

I do think this is a very special salad, and one that is a crowd pleaser. There is some preparation time involved with quite a bit of chopping, grilling, and assembling. All of it, well worth it in my opinion.

I found this recipe at Epicurious.com, from Bon Appetit Magazine, August 2005, Grilled Panzanella Salad With Bell Peppers, Summer Squash, and Tomatoes. Although this recipe includes recommended Italian white wine pairings. I think a nice Sangiovese wine would be enjoyable, as well.

What recipes do you make with your summer vegetables? Have you made Italian panzanella salad before?

Here at Domaine de Manion, our backyard syrah vineyard, it is late summer and our syrah grapes are showing their true color. Our syrah grapevines have a full vegetative leaf canopy, perfectly formed grape clusters dangle from their shoots, and now the veraison process begins. Veraison is the phenomenon of grapes transitioning in their development from hard to soft in touch, and their color transitions from green to their harvest color, depending on the grape varietal. Syrah, our vineyard grape varietal, is a very dark, inky black color when ripe and at harvest time. In the above photo you can see the color transition happening among the individual grapes.

In this process, the grape's sugar level will slowly begin to rise. Regular testing of your grape sugar content with a refractometer helps monitor your harvest time frame.

When grapes transition from green to their varietal harvest color of yellow, pink, red, or black, it is a signal to birds and wildlife, a food source is available and ripening. Netting your grapevines is invaluable in protecting your grapes from birds, raccoons, deer, and wildlife in general. Even our beloved chickens love the ripening grape clusters, jumping nearly a foot to reach the clusters, if they are not netted.

Our netting system is simple. Measure out netting the entire length of each of your grapevine row, and allow 3' on each end to secure the netting ends. Throw the entire netting over both sides of your grapevine row, and clip at bottom with wooden clothespins at spaced intervals. These nets can be used year after year, if rolled up and secured away in a safe place until needed the following year. Netting your backyard vineyard ensures your entire year's efforts and crop will not be lost. Netting is particularly important to the backyard vineyard, which is generally isolated, versus commercial vineyards where there are acres and acres of growing grapes.

It is an exciting time of year, harvest is in a matter of weeks. Do you have a backyard vineyard? Do you net your grapes from wildlife?

For me, the prize out of our kitchen garden each summer is always heirloom tomatoes. In the spring I plant as many different types as I can, and baby them along through August. I seek out tomato plants I have read about, tomato plants that have funny names, tomato plants that bear certain tomato colors, and even tomato plants with a story behind them.

Heirloom tomatoes have so much color and character. They have fun names like Mortgage Lifter, Green Zebra, Mr. Stripey, Purple Cherokee, Pineapple, and Abe Lincoln, to name a few. Heirloom tomato names rival in stature the gifted quirky race horses names we all love like Dolly Daggers, Platinum Stiletto, Wink and Nod, Bling Star Dream, and Six Pack Abs, (borrowing a few horse names running at the Del Mar Race Track this season).

Heirloom tomatoes have longevity, these seeds have been passed down from generation to another, and with their genetics intact. They come in a rainbow of colors, and at first glance, an heirloom tomato is usually never perfect, but characteristically funny with bumps, creases, and what some people might call blemishes. I call them perfect, and absolutely heaven to your taste buds.

Heirloom tomatoes are so perfect in taste, slicing and adding a pinch of sea salt is all you need. If you would like to go a step further, slice fresh heirloom tomatoes, place on top of sliced fresh mozzarella cheese, add a few leaves of your summer basil from your garden, and lightly drizzle fabulous fig vinegar on top. Delicious. Of course, heirloom tomatoes are a cook's bonus to summer pasta, pizza, salsas, sauces, as well

Some of my heirloom tomato plants do not always grow well for me. I am the first to admit, living close to the Pacific coast might make me tomato-challenged. But I have persevered, and now our heirloom tomato harvest is usually abundant.

The last two years I have tried growing the "Julia Child" heirloom tomato, and with no luck. The plant grows, but does not produce many tomatoes.  Yes, besides a rose, and probably many other unknown treasures to me, Julia Child has an heirloom tomato named after her. Wouldn't you know it, this tomato plant is unusually tall with potato-type leaves and with pink 4" fluted tomatoes at harvest. How appropriate for Julia. Guess I will try again next year, because I'm sure the tomatoes are "Bon Appetit" tasty.

I usually purchase my tomato seedlings locally, but I noticed on the web a nice heirloom tomato website, Tomato Fest, with a wonderful selection of heirloom tomato seeds, including "Julia Child".

What heirloom tomatoes do you grow and recommend? What do you think is the biggest difference between heirloom tomatoes and commercial hybrid tomatoes?

I know that nothing is a coincidence. Just last week I experienced my second honey bee swarming. The first one was in a friend's backyard a few years ago, and the second one was last week, close to our vineyard by the "Little Ollie" olive trees. At first I noticed a tiny dense dark cloud moving above our vineyard, with motion and fervor. Following this sight with my eyes for a while, it dawned on me that it was a swarm of honey bees. Upon further investigation and with the mission to water our "Little Ollie" olive trees, I spotted the swarm, quiet and resting under one of the branches. I wasn't afraid of them, and knew that they would be soon travelling on.

Swarming is an important part of the honey bee reproductive life cycle, and how they create new colonies for the new and old queen bees. Scouts from the swarm are sent out to find a new suitable spot for a permanent hive. In the mean time, the swarm rests, patiently protecting the queen bee, and is usually not aggressive. If you find a swarm, it is best to leave it alone. Do not spray the swarm with insecticide. Chances are the swarm will be there for only a day or two, and then move on. Contact a professional beekeeper, or your local Cooperative Extension office for questions and assistance.

We all have heard about the alarming diminishing honey bee populations in our country today. There is speculation that the bee populations might be experiencing repercussions from global warming, harmful effects from pesticides in our environment, and even experiencing some pest or fungus ravaging them. The truth is, we really don't know what is happening to our honey bee populations. This is devastating to our agricultural crops, especially almonds, and trickles down to our very own backyards, with our flower and vegetable gardens. We need bees for pollination, and of course for the golden nectar, honey.

Coincidentally last week, a special garden friend recently told me about Gretchen LeBuhn, and The Great Sunflower Project. Gretchen LeBuhn is a Bay Area biologist, who started this "grass roots" project in 2008, with little money and realistic expectations. She created a website where people could sign up, receive the specific "Lemon Queen" sunflower seeds, and then count the number of bees that visit these blooming sunflowers in their yards. This projected has blossomed to the point where she now has bee-data feedback from people in all 50 states, plus Canada. Tens of thousands of volunteers, and growing, are very concerned about the plight of the honey bee, and want to help her cause. As Gretchen LeBuhn states on her website at the bottom, "Bees: Responsible for Every Third Bite of Food".

For more coincidence, Sunset magazine's current August 2009 issue features Gretchen LeBuhn in a two page article, called "Hive Minds", page 54.

I have signed up, and you hope you will , too. Are you already part of The Great Sunflower Project? What are you finding in your own backyard with bees? All of these coincidences are a wake-up call, to help with the plight of our honey bees.

Imagine, it is August, and summer vegetables are at their peak. You are reaping all the benefits of your time invested, and steps taken to ensure a bountiful vegetable harvest. It gives me so much satisfaction to harvest these beautiful and flavorful vegetables.

If you have never had a vegetable garden before, or would like to review what it takes to have a successful vegetable garden, please follow these simple basic steps.

1) Make your plan first on paper, what you are going to plant, where your vegetables will be planted in your garden plot, and when to expect harvest for each. Read and follow seed packet directions or seedling instructions, for planting, spacing, and thinning.

2) Plant the vegetables that you and your loved ones like to eat the most. If you're not interested in a certain type of vegetable, than don't grow it. I always plant an assortment of heirloom tomatoes and squash each year. For fun, I always try and plant one or two new vegetables that I have never grown before. Don't be afraid to experiment with some of the exciting heirloom vegetable seeds available.

3) Pick a nice sunny, level, location away from trees and shrubs that might shade, and compete for water and nutrients. Make sure this location has a convenient water source. Starting out, don't make your garden too big. A 10' x 10" plot will feed a family easily, with lots of vegetables to share. Plant your tallest vegetables to the north, so they don't shade the shorter ones, and continue on down your plot with your shortest plants on your south side. Generally, it is wise to surround your vegetable plot with a fence to keep out critters like Peter Rabbit.

4) Work your soil first before planting. Ideally, you want loose, rich, well-drained soil for a vegetable garden. If you have finished compost, or the ability to add nutrient-rich amendments, add to your soil, turn over well, and mix in. Level your ready-soil before planting.

5) Mark off your vegetable plot in "one foot segments" using two stakes tied with string the width of your desired vegetable plot, to provide a straight line for planting. Some of your seeds might require rounded mounds, allow room for them. Adhere to the types of vegetables that are planted in the spring, summer, fall, and even winter.

6) Regular weeding and hoeing is a must. This keeps your soil loose for water penetration and air. Weeds if left unchecked, can rob nutrients from your growing vegetables. Water requirements vary according to your particular soil type and zone. Plants generally need 2" of water per week. Some plants have specific deep watering requirements, like tomatoes.  If possible, water your vegetable garden in the morning.

7) Know when and how to harvest your vegetables for optimum flavor and harvest. This will help your vegetables retain their maximum vitamin content and flavor. Mark it on your calendar beforehand, the approximate time frame your specific vegetables should be harvested, and observe your vegetables closely approaching this time.

Add your thoughts, do you have other tips you have used for successful vegetable gardening. Do you plan on continuing your vegetable gardening into the fall, and throughout the year. Do you have a favorite heirloom vegetable you planted this year to share.

Chickens and backyard chicken coops have got to be one of the hottest trends happening today in the garden, right up there with growing your own vegetables. In case you missed it this week, there was an interesting article in the New York Times about backyard chickens, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/04/business/04chickens.html? emc=eta1.

Last month, the fab daily e-newsletter out of Southern California, "dirt du jour", spoke about the upcoming trend of chicken coop tours alongside garden tours in various parts of the country, http://www.dirtdujour.com/item/tour_de_coop/

Recently, dear friend, Debra Prinzing, author of Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways wrote on her blog, Shedstyle, "Chicken Coop Sightings" and how utterly charming, beautiful, and creative chicken coops can be. Thank you for including "Coop de Manion" in your sightings.

Check out the latest scoop.

I've been looking for a new pair of garden clogs, shoes, or boots, for sometime now. I haven't really found a desirable new replacement pair, as of yet. So, I thought I would simply ask all of you. This has been the impetus for VintageGardenGal's Gardenin' Survey today. I want to hear from you, your feedback. Please answer and comment on any, or all of these questions.

What is your favorite shoe, clog, or boot to garden in? Why? How long do you usually keep your garden boots?

What is your favorite garden tool, you can't garden without?

What are your favorite garden websites and or garden blogs you follow? Can you list your top five to ten?

What kind of a gardener are you?  Sporadic?   Weekend?  Passionate everyday gardener?   When the mood hits me gardener?  Since you were a child?

What motivates you to garden?  How did you get started gardening?

Where do you look for help with your garden? Magazines? Blogs? Websites? Workshops? Nurseries? Friends? Professionals?

What garden trends are you seeing in your community? Your garden clubs? Your neighborhood?

In what ways do you think gardening today is different, from even five years ago?

VintageGardenGal is a garden lifestyle blog covering many categories. What is your lifestyle? What draws your attention to VintageGardenGal? What would you like to see more of?  Do you prefer "How To's"?  The Unusual?  Garden tips?  More of the same?   Other categories?  Please feel free to comment, and please suggest your favorite footwear you garden in!

The creative folks at Ethel Gloves approached me, and asked if I might want to review their gloves, and ultimately share my thoughts with you. Upon accepting their offer, I was sent a complimentary pair of Ethel Gloves. It is my intention to present a fair, unbiased, and informative review for you.

I had never heard of Ethel Gloves before, but in researching their website, they are widely distributed. I like their philosophy of gloves created for women gardeners, which focus on fashion, function, and protection. Their product packaging alone was enough to woo one over, clever and beautifully designed.

My initial reaction when I put my new Ethel Gloves on was similar to wearing my winter leather car-driving gloves...classy. Instantly I felt fashionable in my garden gloves, something I've never experienced before. I have a small hand, and received a size small, which fit my hand nicely. The gloves come in S, M, and L. The glove conforms to your hand easily and has reinforced finger tips and palm surface for protection. An elasticized cuff, keeps your gloves comfortably in place. So fashion was good, nice fit, and many styles to choose from.

Putting on my Ethel Gloves, I started my hands-on gardening practices. I was pleasantly surprised at the great hand dexterity in holding tools, clipping plants, and best of all, creating my vintage container designs. In my designs I'm working with chop sticks, tiny spaces, intricate placing of plants, and usually without the aid of my garden gloves, but Ethel Gloves are like a second comfortable skin and worked well throughout my designs. So function, was very good.

I consider myself a bit of a "guerrilla gardener". In one week I helped move a wood pile, trimmed and mulched over 30 rose bushes, and tended to my black berry bushes, wearing my new Ethel Gloves. For these heavy duty chores where thorns and splinters lurk, I could have used a little more protection from my Ethel Gloves. So protection was only fair. Please note, Ethel Gloves does have a specific "rose glove" available. However, we all have a wardrobe of clothes and shoes for specific activities and functions. If you are an avid gardener, why not have a wardrobe of garden gloves to choose from as well.

The Ethel Gloves shown above are the Gala model, priced at $20.00, black with contrasting grey fleur-de-lis pattern, and black palm. This glove is machine washable. For more information on Ethel Gloves, please go to Ethel Gloves.