Every spring I notice a certain "special buzz" around my Provence posts here at VintageGardenGal. I'm not exactly sure why. Is it an upcoming once-in-a-lifetime trip to Provence? Is it the sensational association with Provence and spring gardens? Could it be the urge to immerse oneself in the romantic French countryside? Ah, maybe it is because Provence calls us all for different reasons.

It has been two years since my husband, John and I, were last in Provence and we dearly miss it. What's not to love about Provence. Its simplicity is pure beauty. It teaches you to expect the unexpected. Its charm  wins you over for a lifetime.

Provence is one of the great garden destinations of the world. It is a special place where the beauty of its natural landscape has magically mingled with civilizations for centuries, and the beauty keeps on radiating. One of my favorite quotes on Provence is from Lawrence Durrell back in 1959. He said it much more elegantly, "Some spots are the cradle of genius. Provence is one."

Last year I wrote a series about Provence, sharing with you some of my favorite things about Provence. The gardens. The landscapes. The villages. The people. The restaurants. The Roman ruins. The cafes. The fields of poppies. The magic!

This month I have a special treat for you. Out of Provence, two very special guest writers will weave their words on poetic Provence for you in another "Provence Series." Just imagine, you can sit back in your comfortable over-stuffed armchair, computer at hand, and we'll all travel to Provence together.

Please share what draws you to Provence. Please comment on your favorite things about Provence.

Thank goodness there has been a renaissance in the popularity of farmers markets in the last ten years. If you are not able to grow fresh organic vegetables, believe me, there is someone at your local farmer markets that does.

Farmers markets are a signature of European lifestyle. Europeans generally shop every few days, if not every day for their fresh baguette and croissants. Why not frequent a farmers market one day a week, and introduce it into your lifestyle. You will be guaranteed seasonal selections.

Farmers markets tend to draw colorful and lively people, and it is a fun experience. It is also a way of supporting people who are passionate about growing fresh, often heirloom and organic produce. There are also plant and flower farmers, too, who specialize in amazing heirloom vegetable selections and healthy herbs, to take home for your own kitchen garden.

The Hillcrest Farmers Market on Sundays 9am-2pm (rain or shine) is one of the best in the San Diego area. It is located at 3960 Normal Street, at Lincoln, adjacent to the DMV parking lot, San Diego, CA 92103. It is a worthwhile treat to visit on Sundays.

You can easily make it into a Hillcrest Farmers Market day excursion. This little excursion can be done with your car or if you are adventurous, a bike. Make sure you bring your camera and a cooler to keep your purchased produce.

Start your Sunday morning off, with a little breakfast and an aromatic cup of coffee at the popular Bread & Cie, 350 University Ave., San Diego, CA 92103. Sunday hours are 8am-6pm. (tel) (619) 683-9322.

Proceed with a 5 minute car ride to the Hillcrest Farmers Market, where you will find a bustling hub of excitement. Nearby parking spots are sometimes hard to find. Let your senses fuse with all of the color, aromas, activity. Plan your meals for the following week, with what is in season. I like to purchase interesting vegetable seedlings to supplement my kitchen garden. Look for the unusual such as flavored honey, fresh gourmet mushrooms, fresh hummus, or Greek pastries.

When you are finished at the farmers market, hop into your car for another short 5 minute car ride, and you are in Balboa Park. Visit the Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden, free to the public 365 days a year. This public rose garden is one of the best in the country with 2,500 roses of 200 varieties. Peak season for this spectacular rose garden is April to May. It is located across from the San Diego Natural History Museum.

If you worked up a little appetite, and want a tasty bite for lunch, Mama Testa is a reasonable lunch, serving "rave review" tacos from recipes around Mexico. Just down the street from Balboa Park, Mama Testa is located at 1417a University Ave. San Diego, CA 92103. Sunday hours are Noon to 8pm. (tel) (619) 298-8226.

Whether you live in San Diego, or plan on visiting some day. Be sure and put the Sunday Hillcrest Farmers Market on your calendar or itinerary.

Please share if you frequent your local farmers markets. Please comment if you have been to the Hillcrest Farmers Market in San Diego.

My first venture into growing my own strawberries, was purchasing by a fluke, two pony packs of Chandler strawberries.  That was the winter we received a record 25 inches of rain or so, here in Southern California. I don't want to scare you, but from those original two pony packs I gave away 17 full nursery flats of Chandler strawberry plants to my enthusiastic garden friends that following spring.  Needless to say, conditions must have been optimum.

Picking my own sun-ripened strawberries for morning breakfast is always a delectable treat. My strawberries are so sweet and juicy, and incredibly flavorful. Once you have had your own strawberries, you will be spoiled, and never want anything but your home-grown. Here are some tips I have found growing strawberries in my kitchen garden:

1) Pick a sunny sloping spot with rich, well-draining, preferably acidic soil in your kitchen garden. Strawberry plants are perennials, but should be rotated out after three years, because the plants start to decline. Either replace "your strawberry patch" with new plants, or start cultivating a "new strawberry patch" with your young runner plants. If you don't have space in your garden, a planted strawberry pot or container works well, and is very attractive.

2) Mulch your strawberries with straw, or in my case, I use my compost mixture. This will keep your strawberries off of the soil, discourage bugs, and allow pristine berries to grow and ripen.

3) Provide adequate water. Strawberries need regular moderate watering.

4) If you have the room, I urge you to experiment with different strawberry varieties. Bear in mind there are three types of market strawberries, June-bearing, everbearing, and day-neutral varieties. June-bearing produce one crop of strawberries in early spring or early June. Generally speaking, these are the best quality strawberries you can grow in your garden. Everbearing varieties produce two crops one in June and one late summer. Day-neutral varieties can produce a continuous crop from June to frost. There are also alpine and musk strawberries which are not to be confused, and are a different species.

5) Pick your ripe strawberries regularly, and often. This also discourages bugs from enjoying your strawberries first.

6) After harvest, or in the winter, I prune back my strawberry plants. Be careful not to damage the crown of the plant for the following year. Some gardeners actually lightly mow the tops of their strawberry plants, but I prefer gentle pruning.

There are so many different strawberry varieties available to grow, buy regional strawberry varieties adapted to your particular area. This spring, I got "Strawberry Mania" and planted four different strawberry varieties, one type in each corner of my potager or kitchen garden. I thought it would be fun to experiment in taste, size, texture, and yield.

My point is, a "strawberry" is not just a strawberry. In the above photo, I planted and tasted my favorite, Chandler strawberry, and  a new-to-me variety, Camarossa strawberry, both June-bearing varieties. I planted in two other corners, Eversweet and Sweetheart everbearing strawberries, which are also new-to-me varieties this year. Time will tell how they all will fare in my home-grown taste comparison.

Strawberries are so versatile in baking, cooking, preserves, summer desserts, salads, and simply fresh straight out of the garden. If you love strawberries, try planting your own strawberry patch. For more in depth information on growing strawberries, please refer to some of the amazing new books on edibles, Sunset's Western Garden Book of Edibles and Grocery Gardening, I have reviewed recently.

Please share tips from your strawberry patch. Please comment on the varieties of  strawberries you grow.

Fast forward two months later, and my "Garden Circle of Sweet Peas" have grown tall and are starting to bloom. There wasn't a label on my sweet peas, so I had no idea what color they would be. The mystery is over. Red, white, and purple is the answer.

When your sweet peas bloom, remember the more you clip your sweet peas for a small hand-tied bouquet or vase, the more it encourages them to bloom. I put my first bouquet of these fragrant beauties in a vase next to my kitchen sink, and the fragrance is intoxicating.

We Want Your Vote! You Can Make A Difference! Announcing the return of the prestigious "Mouse and Trowel" Awards, garden bloggers equivalent to the Oscars. If you love your gardening blogs, including VintageGardenGal, please support us by voting. Nominations started April 1, 2010 and are open through midnight on April 30, 2010. Simply click on the banner below, and type in your nominations.

Mouse and Trowel Awards are the brain child of Colleen Vanderlinden who blogs at In The Garden Online She initiated these awards in 2007, and then took a break in 2009. We thank her for bringing them back in 2010, with even more verve.

There are several different categories to vote for such as Best Writing, Best Photography, as well as several "Niche Garden Categories" to vote for, such as Best Urban Garden Blog, Best Container Gardening Blog. We want to hear from you. It is fun, and a benefit to all of us. Please tell garden bloggers they make a difference in your lives, by casting your vote today.

On Easter, my hens laid four beautiful eggs for me, one egg from each breed I have.  They were so beautiful, I had to put them in a pastel Easter basket, and share them with you. There is something so special, and perfect about freshly laid eggs from your backyard flock. It is like Easter every day.

I currently have five hens in my flock, from four different chicken breeds. Each hen lays an egg, color and size specify to her breed. I knew, by looking at my hen's eggs, who had laid an egg. Please bear in mind, that my hens range in age from nearly 8 years old to six months.

If you recall, Julia, my  wonderful honey-feathered Ameraucana hen, surprised me last spring by laying a miracle pastel blue-green colored egg at nearly 7 years old. This spring at nearly 8 years old (in May), she once again started laying. It is a surprise, since she hasn't laid an egg in about a year. Julia laid a small "pullet" size egg the day before Easter, and then on Easter day laid this incredible full-size perfect pastel-blue egg. What a gift. Really, it is incredible for a hen to be laying at nearly 8 years old. She is such a sweetheart. She will lay a few eggs more this spring, and then drop off for the rest of the year.

Coco, my French Wheaten Maran hen is just two years old, and laid the massive "chocolate-colored" egg on Easter. French Marans, typically are a very large hen. Coco weighs nearly 7 pounds. Her eggs are very desirable for their size, and tinting of dark chocolate color.

It is hard to tell the difference in the photo, but Charley, my White-Crested Blue Polish hen laid the slightly "bone colored" egg in the foreground. She lays a smaller egg, in ratio to her smaller body size. She is just six months old, and laying well. Needless to say, she is the "clown" in the flock with her "tossled" plume of feathers and personality.

The "cream-colored" egg behind Charley's is an egg laid from one of my Silver Spangled Hamburgs, Dolly and Dahlia. Silver Spangled Hamburgs are elegant faithful layers, with smaller eggs, and a smaller body type. An old breed, originating in Europe, they were at one time called "the Dutch every day layer."

What a wonderful Easter gift from my hens. These eggs are so fresh and tasty, it is hard really to describe them. They are so beautiful visually, it is hard to think of eating them. Yet, that is the best part. There is no comparison for cooking and baking with fresh eggs, making perhaps a spring frittata, and the delight in raising your own hens.

Please share if you have multiple chicken breeds in your flock. Please comment on your experience using fresh eggs from your own flock.

In case you missed it last week, Martha Stewart did a show on chickens, and offered quite a few interesting links and information on chickens on her website, Martha Stewart Show.

Sometimes the hardest part of a home remodel, is letting go of the old. Soon, it will be out with the old, and in with the new. It really is not that cut and dry. We have carefully thought this through, and tipped the scale in favor of our new barn.

In the above photo, is our revered garage named  "Le Vin de Garage," where until recently we made and stored our Domaine de Manion vintages. My husband, John, cleverly tweaked a photo of our "Le Vin de Garage" for our first label. It placed "Fourth Place" in "wine label category" at the San Diego County Fair a few years ago.

John got the "garage idea," one night, when we were watching the movie, A Good Year (Full-Screen Edition), based in Provence, directed by Ridley Scott, and starring Russell Crowe in one of his only comedy roles. Based on the book, A Good Year, one of the many books written by Peter Mayle, the endearing plot revolves around a tasty mysterious boutique cult wine. These tasty cult wines called "garage wines" as mentioned in the movie, were from small vineyards, small productions, and often commanding super premium prices.

Our home was originally built in 1930, and we believe this stand alone garage was built a little later in the 1960's. It has to be close to 50 years old. A previous unknown owner took the time to enhance its character, with whales, waves, and crossed oars. If only our "Le Vin de Garage" could tell us some of its colorful stories of the past.

Alas, our garage has served us well over the last ten years, and it is sad to see it go. It does have termite damage from past neglect. When we have a heavy rain it does leak a bit. Now with our remodel plans, it is not in the best location.

Actually our "Le Vin de Garage," is not totally going away. We've decided to re-purpose its best materials in the form of a shed, close to our vineyard. In a way, it will live on, and continue to help us with our vineyard maintenance and vintages.

Our new barn is nearly finished. It has our new wine-making room on its ground floor, with a work counter for testing the wines, storage area for our equipment, and a harvest table. We really have come a long way, from the day we got the idea to plant a vineyard.

Please share if you make home-made wine? Please share how you got started making wine. Please comment on what kind of area or space you devote to making wine.

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I'm sure you have heard of a strawberry patch and a strawberry pot, but have you heard of a "crown of strawberries."  I have had this pair of cherub planters potted with bacopa and a few other trailing plants, but they really took on another look and life when I potted ornamental strawberry edibles in them. Imagine these planters placed on a table for a Sunday brunch.

There is something about using edibles in design, that transcends many styles such as cottage, country, eclectic, European, primitive, and even modern. It just works well. There is a bit of an element of surprise, that also pleases.

Decorative styling with edibles, is borrowing from the European potager kitchen garden concept, using flowers and vegetables intermingled, delivering function and beauty. Flowers and edibles are sensational together for floral designs, tabletop topiary, in the  garden, unusual containers, and where ever your imagination leads you.

Use live plants or  harvested fruit and vegetables to embrace this concept. Think of apples, asparagus, artichokes, green bananas, broccoli, cabbage, cranberries, gourds, lemons, kale, kumquats, oranges, pomegranates, strawberries, squash, and more.

First, your design starts with your container or location. What is it calling for. What form would look best. Is there a color combination that would be nice. Is there a plant combination that would surprise. Is there a function involved. What kind of creative ideas come to mind.

In the example of my two sweet cherub planters, I chose an ornamental strawberry plant, beautiful by itself. Deep green glossy leaves, bright pink flowers, emerging rouge-red ripening strawberries dangling like a crown, all add to its design drama and zeal. It has beauty. It is appealing.  It is growing edible fruit.

Please share if you design with edibles now. Please share some of your fun design combinations.

It might look like a cathedral but in reality, it is our new dining room and living room, seen from our new elevated kitchen vantage point. One of our goals in our remodel, was to integrate more of our home with our garden. Essentially we pushed out our old living room to the south, doubling the size. This great room is close to ground level, yet surprisingly has enough elevation to easily see into our  garden, vineyard, and the ocean horizon.

The single wood door on the left hand side, in the above photo is our front door. There are massive French doors on either side of this room for light and views. A stucco fireplace at the very end of the room serves as a focal point, and an exclamation point. The area near the fireplace will be our new living room.

On the west side of this great room will be a long low outside deck running the entire length of the room. Our house was designed to hug our massive and beautiful Italian Stone Pine tree, embracing its beauty. From our intended dining room spot in the foreground, we will be able to dine looking westward to the vineyard, and enjoy the gnarly impressive trunk of this great tree that oversees our property.

Our ceiling is custom tongue and groove crafted lumber, with massive support beams. It is stained a warm gray color, called Drift Gray by Behr. The floor will be  an 8' x 8' Spanish tile, made out of durable concrete by Arto Brick, Artillo style, in Spanish Coto. It is a lovely blend of warm honey terra cotta and slightly darker hues.

We are about half-way through our remodel now, five months into it. Our home and barn is in place, and the last five months will be the finish work. Our decisions we need to make now come fast and furious.

Our syrah vineyard is pruned, weeded, and chartreuse buds are bursting with new shoots. I feel like it is a race to harvest. Will our home be done in time. I think so.

Please share your remodel experience.  Did it happen within your anticipated time frame? As it emerged in reality, was it your same vision as on paper?

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