Garden and Food books by Gayla Trail

Out Now: Drinking the Summer Garden

Hooray! Our first volume in the You Grow Guides series is out today. $9.99 eBook Bundle $19.99 Paperback I am so happy with the way this pocketbook has turned out and I can’t wait for you to start using it. Here are some images and details to give you an idea of what is inside:

Herbaria (July 27, 2012)

The theme for this week, Purple/Red/Burgundy, is an intentional one. It started when I chose a few plants that were all the same hue and then I figured, Why not? Let’s go with a theme. Turns out I could do this theme for weeks. It’s a popular colour in my garden.

Banking the Bounty Workshop in New York

It has already been an exciting week full of new prospects and events (there are more to come), but to add to that I am thrilled to announce that in early September I will be traveling to the Berkshires in New York State to conduct a full-day workshop on saving seed and preserving garden bounty

Herbaria (July 20, 2012)

The theme for this week is fruit. Fruit as a plant part as opposed to fruits such as strawberries and bananas, although you’ll notice some of those, too. It seems that fruit — some edible and some not — is forming in every corner of the garden. Flower diversity is still high, it’s just that

Coming Soon: You Grow Guides, Volume One

This project has been a year in the making, and even longer in the dreaming and planning. I was going to wait a little while longer before announcing it, but as we draw ever closer to publication, I am finding it nearly impossible to contain myself a minute longer. So here it is: My partner

Herbaria (July 13, 2012)

Once again work deadlines have pushed last week’s Herbaria into this week. Still, I was sure to take the photograph last week — it just took me until this week to do the write-up. This collection marks the 8th box that I have done so far. I figured it was high time to write up

Recently in My Garden

Clockwise from Top Left: 1. This is a view of half of one of the raised beds, situated about midway down the garden on the west side. This bed housed an assortment of crops last year, but this year it holds several determinate (bush) and dwarf tomato varieties that have quickly turned into a jungle

The First Ripe Tomato of the 2012 Growing Season

…is ‘Hahms Gelbe Topftomate.’ In a surprise upset, this pretty little dwarf plant beat out the usual top competitors, ‘Whippersnapper’ and ‘Ditmarsher.’ It’s a true winner as I started the seeds at the same time and planted them out together, too. I am amazed. Both of the other varieties have fruit that are VERY close

Herbaria (July 6, 2012)

As you can see from the photo, this week’s garden was dominated by the invasion of the pom-pom flowers. The other major development is the heat. It is absolutely blazing out right now. In fact was already so hot by noon (when I took this photo) that I had to switch out one of my

Double Hollyhock ‘Peaches ‘n Dreams’

I’m glad I didn’t register the name of this hollyhock (Alcea rosea) variety, ‘Peaches ‘n Dreams,’ before I bought and planted it because… The Cheese. God knows I will buy and grow a plant specifically for The Cheese, but there is some cheese that is just too much Lifetime, made-for-TV-movie, Sunday afternoon drama for even

Herbaria (June 27, 2012)

When I think back on the garden over this last week, the poppies are still dominating in a big way, although I can see that they are waning. Most of them are on their second or third bloom and then that will be it. The David Austin rose (that I am stubbornly describing as orange