In the midst of last week's San Francisco Flower and Garden Show 2012, Sunset's garden editors and magazine warmly welcomed an intimate group of garden bloggers to their headquarters, test kitchen, and gardens.

Sunset's  headquarters is located on a historical property which was originally part of an old spanish land grant. The subtle fawn-colored building was originally designed by famed architect, Cliff May in the early 1950's, and landscaped by Thomas Church. It is a stunning setting that evokes all the beauty and creativity that Sunset is known for.

As a special treat, Sunset Garden Editors, Kathy Brenzel, Julie Chai, Johanna Silver, along with Sunset Food Editor, Margo True, and her test kitchen staff welcomed us with a special breakfast to celebrate sneak peeks of exciting upcoming Sunset projects.

First, the celebration of the just-released, The New Western Garden Book: The Ultimate Gardening Guide (Sunset Western Garden Book). Second, a tasty and "oh so delicious" breakfast featuring recipes from the new The Sunset Edible Garden Cookbook: Fresh, Healthy Cooking from the Garden, soon to be released in April 2012. Third, Senior Editor, Julie Chai, spoke about the exciting new launch of the Sunset Western Garden Collection "of top performing plants for the Western gardener" available in local garden centers beginning in May 2012.

After our relaxing and informative breakfast, we were further treated to a tour of Sunset's beautiful grounds, and a peek at the test and project gardens that Associate Editor, Johanna Silver oversees. It couldn't have been a more memorable morning, and I was thrilled to be a part of it. Thank you Sunset.

The New Western Garden Book: The Ultimate Gardening Guide (Sunset Western Garden Book), edited by Senior Editor, Kathy Brenzel, is very user-friendly, completely revised and updated with over 2,000 beautiful color photographs and a 9,000 plant encyclopedia. The popular "Plant Finder" tool has also been updated and enhanced. It  features many " handy design tools"  to help with your individual microclimate, water conservation needs, sustainable interests, and creative garden projects.

I asked Kathy Brenzel at our breakfast, what she wanted readers to take away from reading and using this book.  Brenzel replied, "One can garden anywhere creatively, such as a table top, on an urban roof top, or even vertically on a wall. Claim your space, and create a sense of place which calls to your soul."

Please share with a comment below, how Sunset's Western Garden Book has personally helped you in your garden. Five lucky commenters will be chosen, and will receive a copy of the latest, The New Sunset Western Garden Book 2012. Participants must be U.S. Residents. Be sure and provide an e-mail address for contacting. Deadline to post comments is Monday, April 9, 2012. 

Congratulations to the winners, and thanks for participating. Enjoy your New Sunset Western Garden Book!  Elaine Lewis from Covina, CA. Judy Sundermann from Santa Ana, CA. Heather Hazen from Leucadia, CA.

VintageGardenGal is proud to be Day 2 of the fifteen-day Blog Book Tour celebrating Gail Damerow's "The Chicken Encyclopedia."  See below for a complete listing of the dates and chicken blogs participating. You may also visit, Storey's Blog for more information.

I'd like to share with you, Julia, one of my favorite poultry breeds, an Ameraucana hen. Ameraucana's are wonderful in so many ways. First, their feathers are a beautiful honey color, 2) they lay a blue-green egg--like a natural Easter egg, and 3) they are a large hen that is hardy and thrives in a backyard flock. Ameraucana's have a pea comb, beards and muffs, instead of wattles.

In Gail Damerow's just-released book, The Chicken Encyclopedia: An Illustrated Reference, Damerow describes the Ameraucana breed as originally from Chile, and one of only two breeds that lay this special blue-colored egg. She also writes the Ameraucanas breed has many many color varieties, and can be large or bantam in size. In Damerow's new book, she lists and describes many more poultry breeds at your finger tips.

The Chicken Encyclopedia: An Illustrated Reference is a concise A to Z reference book on chickens. This is a must have reference for those of you who have backyard chickens, and love everything about chickens.

My hen, Julia, would like to share with you all, the celebration of The Chicken Encyclopedia, and a contest that  Storey Publishing  has generously sponsored for a free book to one of VintageGardenGal's lucky readers.

Prize: One copy of the The Chicken Encyclopedia by Gaill Damerow. Entry Deadline: March 15, 2012 How to Enter: Post a comment below on this post about your favorite poultry breed, and why this breed is so special to you. Please note only U.S. residents only. Please include your e-mail address in your comment, to be able to contact you. One lucky winner will be chosen for the best response. Good luck! Quick update. Thank you everyone for participating and all of your comments. VintageGardenGal's lucky winner was Kim Rocha of San Antonio, Texas.

The celebration of Gail Deamerow's newly-released book, The Chicken Encyclopedia, kicks off with a blog tour. Please follow along as this blog tour unfolds, and you will be introduced to a clutch of interesting chicken blogs.  Here is the official schedule for you to follow:

2-Mar, For the Love of Chickens, For the Love of Chickens 3-Mar, VintageGardenGal, VintageGardenGal 4-Mar, The Garden Roof Coop, The Garden Roof Coop 5-Mar, Common Weeder, Common Weeder 6-Mar, Chickens in the Road, Chickens in the Road 7-Mar, Garden Rant, Garden Rant 8-Mar, Fresh Eggs Daily, Fresh Eggs Daily 9-Mar, My Pet Chicken Blog, My Pet Chicken 10-Mar, Coop Thoughts, Coop Thoughts 11-Mar, BoHo Farm and Home, Boho Farm and Home 12-Mar, Happy Chickens Lay Healthy Eggs, Happy Chickens Lay Healthy Eggs 13-Mar, A Charlotte Garden, A Charlotte Garden 14-Mar, Farm Fresh Fun, Farm Fresh Fun 15-Mar, The HenCam, HenCam 16-Mar, Life on a Southern Farm, Life on a Southern Farm 17-Mar, ADozenGirls, The Chicken Chick, ADozenGirls 18-Mar, North Coast Gardening, North Coast Gardening

"A cauliflower is a cabbage with a college education."-- Mark Twain.  My first attempt growing cauliflower has been very surprising and rewarding. Last November I started a winter vegetable garden and ventured into the unknown. I had never grown many of the winter vegetables, including cauliflower.

Cauliflower seedlings can be found at local nurseries. Look for varieties that are self-blanching, which means you don't have to tie leaves overhead as soon as the center white curd forms to protect them from sunlight. Cauliflower seedlings are easy to grow, but need space. Plant seedlings 16"-18" apart and in rows 2 1/2' apart. Water regularly and soon you will have a large white cauliflower head to harvest. Cauliflowers are ready to harvest when edges begin to loosen.

The exquisite flavor of a home-grown cauliflower makes it really worth growing in your own garden. Harvest a cauliflower by cutting the center white head at its base. Rinse your cauliflower head. It is delicious raw, cut up in bite size pieces. Why not serve it, with the original Green Goddess Dressing as a dip. What a treat, that just doesn't get any better.

My chickens love cauliflower leaves as a treat. Please share if you grow cauliflower in your garden. Please share your favorite recipe for cauliflower.

Green Goddess Dressing

This is a classic dressing, just as popular and versatile today as the year it was created. It is thought to have originated at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco in 1927. The only difference now, is we use a food processor, rather than mincing and mixing all of the ingredients by hand. It can used as a dip, with seafood, and as a salad dressing. I was introduced to this recipe when I attended Georgeanne Brennan's "Provence in California Culinary Weekends" in February 2011.

1 cup mayonnaise

1 clove garlic, chopped

3 anchovy fillets, chopped

1/4 cup chopped chives

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1 tablespoon chopped tarragon

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon Champagne vinegar

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup sour cream or creme fraiche

Combine all ingredients in a food processor; puree until a luscious green and blended. Makes about one and a half (1-1/2) cups. Yum.

My hens are so excited to share with you a new exciting book just released, Free-Range Chicken Gardens by Jessi Bloom. I met Jessi last July in Seattle at a national garden bloggers conference, Seattle Fling, when Jessi was just completing this book.

Jessi Bloom has written a terrific book on chickens, and the many facets of the fine line of keeping happy, healthy, chickens in a beautiful backyard garden setting. It is a fresh and informative book on chickens. I consider myself a chicken aficionado, and I think her book is right on. Her tips are little tidbits of chicken wisdom.

That's not all, now through February 17, 2012, Timber Press is currently hosting a contest highlighting Free-Range Chickens and featuring great chicken-related prizes to win. If you love chickens, or you are thinking of getting chickens this spring, this is a great read and guide.

Please share if you let your chickens free range in your backyard garden setting. Please comment how you were introduced to keeping chickens. Please share what you like most about your backyard chickens. Please comment on how you name your chickens.

Now is a great time to get organized in the New Year.  Besides the usual closets, pantry, and garage, don't forget about organizing your garden sheds , too. A neat and organized garden shed will help ensure you have a healthy, productive, and thriving garden.

Take a look at this garden shed, from a client of Karen Contreras of Urban Plantations. Urban Plantations is a design and maintenance of edible landscape for an urban environment in the Greater San Diego area.

Check List for Your Garden Shed: 1) A garden shed should be clean, and well lit. The door opening is big enough to move bulky tools and bags around easily. 2) Keep a huge calendar to jot down, when seeds and seedlings were planted, harvest dates, and important days to remember. 3) A huge white board, keeps your "To Do" list visible and on track. 4) A cork board keeps important charts and papers in place, and easily accessible. 5) A place to hang a garden hat and coat is a must.

6) Garden tools are clean, organized, and hung up on a wall. 7) Sturdy shelving provides space and organization for garden products.

Take a cue from this garden shed, and start your gardening year on the right "hoe." Please share if you have a garden shed for your tools, equipment, and products. Please comment how you organize your garden shed.

For those of you with limited dining table space who need a floral arrangement which is not too overwhelming in stature and height, try this floral arrangement which compacts rose heads. I've seen this type of floral arrangement in flower shops in Europe, and sometimes in dazzling floral demonstrations. It can be done for any occasion, and in any color. It is a design concept, which can inspire you to create an arrangement of your own.

I have an antique dining table which is very long and narrow. I love our table, but it is always a little challenging to get candles, place settings, and sometimes flowers squeezed in. I did this arrangement for our Christmas dinner, and it worked out well.

This floral arrangement starts with a table oasis which you can readily find at floral supply stores. The oasis is soaked in water as usual, and then placed in a plastic form box which keeps your tablecloth and table dry. I choose white roses, but you can choose any color rose which compliments your particular theme.

Start with fresh roses, and cut them at an angle to about 3-4" in length. Line them up, shoulder to shoulder in your oasis. Remember that your roses will continue to open up, and expand in your floral arrangement. Creating this arrangement 2 days ahead allows the roses to open more, and fill in the arrangement with a mass look.

For greenery, I clipped foliage from my garden. I found green boxwood, feathery cypress, chartreuse euonymus tips, and blooming blue rosemary. You might have berries, pods, and other blooming shrubs to use from your garden. Green foliage is placed horizontally in the floral arrangement to hang over sides, cover your oasis, and complete the look.

This arrangement will last longer than usual because the water has less distance to travel to the rose head. Check every few days if your oasis is still moist.

Please share if you create a special floral arrangement for your holiday table. Please share if you are familiar with this type of floral arrangement.

We all came to get a glimpse of pioneer, visionary, advocate, and chef Alice Waters, and join in the celebration of her new book, 40 Years of Chez Panisse. It was held at the Chino Farm in Rancho Santa Fe on Sunday, December 11, 2011. Chino Farm is owned and still farmed by the Japanese immigrant Chino family since 1952. Nearly fifty acres in size, the family has an outstanding reputation for raising select seasonal fruit and vegetables, highly sought after by the general public and talented restaurant chefs alike.

Alice Waters has had a special and enduring relationship with the Chino family and farm over four decades, early on buying weekly seasonal produce for her acclaimed restaurant, Chez Panisse. It was fitting that she would be signing her new book at San Diego's most famous farm stand.

Just as our culture had Steve Jobs with his visionary genius in technology, we have had Alice Waters with her visionary genius of sustainable food, and the first to tell us that farm-to-table and eating locally is the best choice in our food. Her message has remained the same, you reap the most taste from your food, not necessarily by how it is cooked or prepared, but how it is grown and harvested in relation to its optimum environment.

40 Years of Chez Panisse is organized by decade and is a true retrospective of Alice's  famous restaurant, Chez Panisse. This is not a cookbook. Instead, it is a readable and fascinating personal tribute of the four decades that Alice Waters and Chez Panisse has served as a beacon of great food and sustainable farming practices, with the help of her many friends that have shared this journey with her. Thank you Alice Waters.

The Chino Farm is located at 6123 Calzada del Bosque, Del Mar, CA 92014. Call for hours, (tel) (858) 756-3184.

Please share if you have been to Chez Panisse. Please share how you have been influenced and inspired by Alice Waters.

I want to share with you some of the exceptional places that I come across from time to time. These places are gems and not to be missed if you are in the area, or they could even be a destination. Most have a “garden thread” to them. “Places To Know” can be retail, restaurants, nurseries, and other. Whatever the place, expect the unusual.

On a recent getaway to the always picturesque Rivera-like town of Santa Barbara, California, my husband, John, and I explored the Urban Wine Trail in Santa Barbara. What a concept.

Located in an older, nearly forgotten industrial part of Santa Barbara, a mecca of small, creative and innovative urban wineries are springing up in what is called the "Funk Zone."  In former industrial warehouses, gutted tiny bungalows, and buildings that have had past lives, you will find a group of urban winemakers and wineries offering wine lovers a new tasting experience with artfully crafted wines from nearby Santa Barbara County vineyards.

We stopped in at a few, and were quite surprised at the range and quality of the wines. There are at least 15 wineries now on this Urban Wine Trail in Santa Barbara. Each an experience, as you set foot in the door. Municipal Winemakers, pictured above, is totally decorated in "industrial discard style" re-purposing file cabinets as behind the wine bar glassware storage.

Municipal Winemakers, 28 Anacapa Street, Municipal Winemakers. (tel) (805) 598-1896. Located in an old industrial building, and only open on weekends.

Kunin Wines, 28 Anacapa Street, Kunin Wines, (tel) (805) 963-9696. Located in a former World War II army barrack, now tastefully decorated in gray and yellow accent colors. Open daily 11am-6pm.

Oreana Winery, 205 Anacapa Street, Oreana Winery (tel) (805) 962-5857. Located in what once was an old tire shop, now transformed into a collage of winery, tasting room, and art gallery. Open daily 11am-5pm.

These are just a few of the urban wineries in Santa Barbara. Visit Urban Wine Trial, Santa Barbara and plot your next wine tasting trip.

Please share if you have been to the Urban Wine Trail in Santa Barbara. Please comment if you enjoy the wines of Santa Barbara County.