I love the garden in the morning.
I have three terra cotta toppers, a bonus I found at Rancho Gordo in Napa. I’ve been buying dried beans from Steve Sando by mail ever since I discovered them at the Ferry Market on a visit to San Francisco. When we were in the area (but not really close), John indulged my need to visit the store, and I was not disappointed. Probably not too many people travel to Napa for the Mexican pottery.
Every spring I build bamboo pole teepees, and usually I grow my own beans on them. I tried that with one this year, but it’s completely bare, thanks to the deer. This one did better, with “Blushing Susie” Thunbergia from Bench Farms. The foliage is rough and smells vaguely bad, but isn’t it pretty in the morning sun?
A few years ago on an impulse I bought three Berggarten Sage plants at Mulberry Creek Herb Farm. Much to my delight, they are not only hardy, beautiful, and fragrant, but they seem to be deer-proof. They’re perfect for fried sage leaves . When I make those, I feel almost Italian. Just thinking about that is enough to convince me that I need to buy one more bottle of Campari before the season ends.
My daughter Olivia spent her junior year in South Africa, at the University of Durban. During the winter holidays, which of course are summer there, she traveled and explored the region. I don’t know where she bought this chair, or its larger companion, but she shipped them both home, wrapped in brown paper and string, and they have finally found a home in my garden. The construction is ingenious, and Olivia assures me that they are sturdy enough even for the men who make and sell them.
Speaking of sturdy, several years ago I planted bronze fennel. It was glorious, about six feet tall, and it attracted more butterflies than I have ever had before. There were so many caterpillars on the leaves that it also attracted birds. I collected fennel seeds by the pint jar. At the end of the season we realized that the roots were almost as deep as the plants were tall, and since we try to rotate crops in our small raised beds that was not a good thing. Bronze fennel still appears throughout the garden, but it’s under control this year, and, yes, it is deer-proof.
Maybe this will be the year I refresh the fennel seeds in my pantry.