Gardening books for children can be the seeds that start your children or grandchildren thinking about nature, wildlife, gardening, our mother earth, and so much more. If you are a gardener, most likely your children or grandchildren observe you in your garden and share in your garden pleasure. Kathyrn O. Galbraith has written over a dozen children's books for ages 4-8, which include valuable life lessons.

Kathryn O. Galbraith has a wonderful new children's book out now called, Planting the Wild Garden It is beautifully illustrated by talented artist, Wendy Anderson Halperin. I particularly like her whimsical raccoons.

A farmer and her boy, plant seeds in their garden, but in the wild garden many seeds are planted haphazardly by many kinds of creatures, elements of weather, and mother nature in general. Galbraith teaches us we are all connected to each other. We must respect mother nature and her creatures who are part of  the circle of life, too.

Last year Kathryn O. Galbraith wrote the children's book Arbor Day Square, illustrated by another talented artist, Cyd Moore. It is a touching children's story about the beginnings of Arbor Day, and the importance of planting trees. Kathryn O. Galbraith's Arbor Day Square won her a 2010 Parents' Choice Award.

Arbor Day Square has many life lessons to share with children, too.  A dusty prairie with no trees in the beginning, translates into it is up to you to make your own life and environment. You can make a difference in your community, and world. How planting the trees each year was a celebration and became a tradition. Cherish your family traditions, and community. Small trees, over time become large massive trees reaching towards the sky. One must have patience. The benefits of trees are many, and can be enjoyed and preserved for generations.

Kathryn O. Galbraith author's note at the back of her book is fascinating. The first Arbor Day was "first celebrated" in what is now the state of Nebraska on April 10, 1872. Over a million trees were planted that day. Arbor Day is now celebrated in all fifty states, and is even celebrated in many other countries around the world. For more information please visit, Arbor Day. This year's Arbor Day is Friday, April 29, 2011. Let us teach all of our children the importance of trees and our environment through special days like Arbor Day and Earth Day.

Encinitas Garden Festival is Saturday, April 30, 2011. For more information, please visit Encinitas Garden Festival

Look at this beauty. Last fall I purchased this redbud tree, grown by Monrovia at a local nursery sale. I had a perfect spot for it in my garden, close to a guest bedroom window. A quiet garden spot where it can take center stage. Now, in early spring it is coming to life and blooming in weeping branches of pink showy flowers.

It's official name is Cercis canadensis "Covey." It is a smaller deciduous evergreen species which reaches 6' tall and 6-8' wide. It has an enticing weeping branch structure which slightly twist, adding more to it's drama. A spring burst of lavender pink blooms follows the outline of its branches.

The Lavender Twist Redbud tree is hardy in zones 7-9. It likes full sun, and moderate regular water. Once its spring fashion show ebbs, deep green heart-shaped leaves emerge. Select pruning should be done after it blooms.

The Lavender Twist Redbud is a North American native. Besides the attraction of this tree's appearance, it is also used in landscapes for fire-scaping purposes. There are many varieties of redbud trees, which cover a multiple of zones, for those of you not in zones 7-9. This is a great tree to have in your garden for four season interest.

Please share if you have a redbud tree in your garden. Please comment on what you like about your redbud tree.

VintageGardenGal Tidbit Thyme...

Attention Chicken Lovers! Spruce up your chicken coop for VintageGardenGal's Annual Chicken Coop Photo Contest. Send in your photos this coming May!

  The Encinitas Garden Festival is Saturday, April 30, 2011. For more information, go to Encintas Garden Festival.

Country Gardens magazine Spring 2011, features VintageGardenGal's fun combination of vintage containers and succulent design in their article, "Show Off Succulents." Country Gardens Magazine, Spring 2011.

Many thanks to Country Gardens magazine, and James A. Baggett, Editor, for their interest in my vintage container and succulent designs. This article was produced by Andrea Caughey, and photographed by Ed Gohlich.

My Bullet Tips on Designing with Vintage Containers: -One of a kind, unique -Surprise element, usually through repurposing -Look for them at flea markets, garage sales, antique shops, online -Buckets, pails, chicken feeders, nests, vintage sewing drawers, oil cans, strainers -Vintage containers dictate your design by color, shape, character, and style -Allow for ample drainage, either with gravel or shells -Add gravel, then your potting soil; next place your bulbs, plants -Wood containers need to be lined with a heavy plastic first -Bulbs and succulents require little water, moist not wet, can use spray bottle

My Bullet Tips on Designing with Vintage Containers & Succulents -Design and plant tight areas using chop stick or knitting needle -Succulent designs lend themselves to small space requirements -Dense planting of succulents is best, less growth, and maintenance -Design ideas tips: 1) single color or tone but different form, 2) group with same shape, or 3) repeat same color tones

Please share if you have ever designed with vintage containers. Please comment on your favorite succulents.

What is blooming in my garden now. My Ceanothus, or California's wild lilac. Sometimes it is hard to find pretty  shades of blue colors for your garden. Usually blooming in late winter or early spring, the Ceanothus heralds "spring is coming."  This drought tolerant California native is delightful. I always look forward to its profuse blue blooms in my garden each year.

Ceanothus, an evergreen shrub, comes in many varieties, shapes, and blue color flower spikes. Some Ceanothus varieties are low and spreading, others are shrubby and bushy, and like my Ceanothus Ray Hartman, some have a tendency to grow upright and can be groomed into small trees. Flower colors range from pale blues to deep dark violet blues. There is even a Ceanothus with white blooms. Each variety has its own unique color. Their spike-blooms are showy and long-lived.

Ceanothus are very easy to care for and generally low maintenance shrubs. Ceanothus like full sun, and very little water. Avoid when planting Ceanothus, drip irrigation, summer water, and soil amendments. As a California native they prefer to be dry, and rely on our natural rainfall. Prune discreetly after their bloom time.

Don't be afraid to get "Blue in the Garden," think of  the dramatic Ceanothus. They thrive in zones 5-9, 14-24. You won't be disappointed. Please share if you have Ceanothus in your garden. Please comment on your favorite Ceanothus.

VintageGardenGal Tidbit Thyme....

On Friday, March 18 at 4:00 p.m., national partners (Plant A Row for the Hungry, Garden Writers Association, The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, Keep America Beautiful, National Gardening Association and Franklin Park Conservatory) will join Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in the dedication of a series of reading, learning and community gardens in East Los Angeles. The installation event is part of the recently launched GRO1000 gardening and green spaces initiative and helps to kick off Keep Los Angeles Beautiful's Great American Cleanup.

This garden event will be held at the Proyecto Pastoral Community Center in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of East Los Angeles, 135 North Mission Road, Los Angeles. Approximately 200 area students, as well as members of the Guadalupe Homeless Project, will join Mayor Villaraigosa and GRO1000 national and local partners in the garden installation and dedication. One deserving student at the event will also be presented with the national Give Back To Gro Youth Gardener Award.

GRO1000 is a partnership committed to the establishment of 1,000 community gardens and green spaces over the next seven years throughout the United States and abroad. The initiative seeks to broaden the opportunities for individuals and communities to experience the benefits of community gardening and access to green spaces.

Additionally, community organizations interested in participating in GRO1000, by installing their own community garden, edible garden or green space, are able to apply for a GRO1000 Grassroots Grant by visiting http://www.thescottsmiraclegrocompany.com/GRO1000. Projects should include the involvement of neighborhood residents and foster a sense of community spirit. Interested organizations have until March 31, at midnight EST, to apply.

In celebration of Sunset's newly released book later this month, The One-Block Feast: An Adventure in Food from Yard to Table, Sunset is hosting a special One Block Diet Invitation and Contest.

Sunset magazine asked VintageGardenGal to share this exciting invitation and contest with all of you because you love sun-ripened strawberries from your own strawberry patch, abundant artichokes from your kitchen garden, fresh eggs from your fine-feathered hens, and more.

Don't delay, enter now. Growing and raising your own food, and sharing with your family, friends, and neighbors has never been funnier.

It is blissful when all of your hens get along easily. My three hens, Charley, Dolly, and Dahlia have been together since they were day old chicks. They get along famously, and move around in my garden as a unit. They are never far from one another. It was special to find them all together in the warm sandy soil under one of my Pink Breath of Heaven shrubs.

Out in the garden, my hens are usually so active, poking for bugs, greens, and treats. The sunny warm soil must have been so inviting, they had to take five, and relax together. Sand flung up on their backs is soothing and cleansing to them. This is the ultimate dirt bath that chickens love.

Hens that are the same age, and have grown up together have better chances of getting along and avoiding the sometimes cruel pecking order.

VintageGardenGal Tidbit Thyme....

The 6th Annual Encinitas Garden Festival and Tour is Saturday, April 30, 2011, from 10am to 4pm. The featured neighborhood this year is the historic tree-lined Crest Drive in Cardiff, with diverse gardens and panoramic views of our community west to the ocean, and east to the backcountry. Don't miss it!

You can purchase tickets online at Encinitas Garden Festival, and at these local nurseries: Anderson's La Costa Nursery, Barrels and Branches, Cedros Gardens, The Madd Potter, and Weidner's Gardens.

Maybe I should have titled this post, cooking with one of my favorite authors. When Sunset magazine, May 2010 issue, featured a wonderful "taste journey" about Georgeanne Brennan's new "Provence in California Culinary Weekends," I was ecstatic.

I have an affinity for Provence, and so does Georgeanne Brennan. I satiate my Provence fix with "two week stays" in Provence, while Georgeanne Brennan has lived off and on in Provence for over thirty years. Now mainly residing in Northern California on a beautiful 10 acre farm, she shares her Provencal cooking expertise in day, and weekend classes.

I thought I had read most of Georgeanne Brennan books until she mentioned in our cooking class she has authored and co-authored over 30 books. Hearing that, reinforces my esteemed opinion of her as a forceful food visionary, placing her alongside Alice Waters, Rosalind Creasy, Michael Pollan, and distinguished others.

Meeting Georgeanne Brennan is such a delight. Immediately you are ease with the peaceful energy she exudes, and the easy going comfortable way she manages her cooking classes. Her cooking classes usually are small and intimate with about 6 students, because they are hands-on cooking classes, pairing up with a new friend to make each recipe.

Georgeanne Brennan's culinary classes generally start at the classy Davis Farmer's Market, where students are given "market dollars" and their own list of ingredients to buy and bring back to her kitchen. Before actually cooking preparation starts, it is out into her massive potager to gather more fresh ingredients for our soon-to-be-made recipes. You can almost close your eyes, and believe you are in Provence. Fresh, seasonal ingredients. Colorful Provencal recipes. Beautiful country ambiance.

Two hours of cooking and baking merits a break for appetizers and Provence rose wine outside under her gigantic walnut tree. Back inside to finish our class, assembling and serving up a gastronomic experience, relaxing at a sit down lunch together sharing tips on making the recipes, stories from Georgeanne, and fun!

Georgeanne Brennan is busy. A new cheese cookbook out this spring with Williams-Sonoma. Her "Provence in California Culinary Weekends" are popular and sell out fast. She frequently posts seasonal recipes on her website, Georgeanne Brennan. She is frequently asked to write articles for many national magazines, and is on the guest chef circuit at the world renown spa, Rancho La Puerta.

When I think of Georgeanne Brennan, I think of inspiration. Inspiration for fresh, vibrant food. Inspiration for seasonal growing and eating. Inspiration of the Provence culture. Inspiration for the passion of food. Inspiration for sharing a great meal with family and friends. Thank you Georgeanne.

My husband, John, and I like to have our backyard syrah vineyard here in Southern California pruned by early February or Super Bowl time frame. It is a necessary and important annual task for the vineyard. At this point in the year, the vines are dormant and barren with no leaves to be seen. The vineyard has its own structural beauty showing the trunks and cordons of each vine.

The pruning task at hand is trimming last years shoots, that have matured into canes back down to the fruiting zone of the vines cordons or arms. If you look carefully you can see and count the buds along last year's canes, close to the cordons. There is usually one bud underneath, and more buds follow on the top side. Count one, two buds on top side of mature cane, close to your cordon. Trim at a 45 degree angle an inch away from the second bud. Mature canes trimmed to the two top-sided buds become your new fruit spurs on your cordons. It is ideal to have fruit spurs straight and perpendicular to your cordon arm, and towards the front or the cordon for better sun exposure.

Pruning is a technique that kicks off the entire grape growing season once again, for the year ahead. It is also time to review each vine. It takes some time, because each vine needs to be assessed. Do you have your 4-5 fruit spurs on each cordon. Are your fruit spurs about a "closed fist" length apart. Are there any dead wood parts of the cordon which should be trimmed off. Do you need to pull a mature cane over and create a new cordon, replacing a cordon that is not doing well. Are your fruit spurs out of the central "v" area of your vine. I call it "purposeful pruning".

Your time invested now in meticulous pruning yields all kinds of benefits this coming year such as greater fruit yield, better quality fruit clusters, good canopy management, and allowance for sun exposure and air circulation. Please note there are various pruning techniques for grapevines, not all grapevines are pruned in the technique we use here at Domaine de Manion.

VintageGardenGal Tidbit Thyme...

The word is out. The 6th Annual Encinitas Garden Festival & Tour is Saturday, April 30, 2011. Save the date! Please go to Encinitas Garden Festival for more detailed information.