Local Harvest Ojai

July is harvest time around here.  

 Everything sort of "happens" in the month of July...

it's an explosion of fruit and vegetables

This year we had a bumper crop of peaches which I was able to pick before the squirrels got to them. Peaches continue to ripen off the tree, so you can pick them early and still use them.  

I peel and freeze what we can't eat right away.

 The apples are starting to blush from the sun and are also ready for picking.  

Yesterday I saw a young red tailed hawk sitting on our fence eating an apple...

now that was a first

 So every morning this time of year,

 I walk the garden with a big basket looking for goodies 

that are ready to pick 

and make I plans for 

a local harvest dinner...right from my own garden

 I pick herbs every day and I have to say 

that it is a real treat to use fresh herbs 

continuously throughout the year

 Earlier this year I planted onions and shallot, which are finally ready.  

 The shallot crop had been amazing and the taste is really sweet and garlicky

Most every thing I plant mid summer 

is self sown into the beds

This is my not so scientific way 

of keeping track of what is what.

 I staple the seed pocket onto a garden stake

wild arugula is a favorite for salads or to top a pizza

and it goes from this 

to this in

 about 3 weeks

 try some radishes

they are easy 

and you can toss the greens into salad 

as you thin them out

 This year I have 6 squash plants and a giant pumpkin 

 The tomatoes are starting to ripen 

and I planted 6 different varieties 

some red 

some yellow

small and large

 The grapes will be ready to pick soon...can't wait for those

And the lavender garden is in full bloom 

 So for this mornings harvest...fresh herbs;

thyme, parsley, arugula, basil, sage, rosemary, nasturtium and lavender

 spring onions and shallot

 lettuce varieties

 lemons, oranges, apples, squash and tomatoes

 there's even a pomegranate 

hiding in there somewhere

 I hung the shallot on my kitchen door 

and can pluck one off whenever I need it

and now for some really fun news...

I had the chance to speak with one of my favorite designers last week 

for about 2 hours...!!!!

I love her work and I know you do too

So stay tuned for a great Q & A 

Can you guess who she is?

Have a great week!

xo

kelley

Ina's Garden in the Hamptons

One of America's favorite cookbook authors is Ina Garten.   She lives and works in East Hampton, in  a lovely shingle style home with beautiful manicured gardens.

  Her cookbooks are full of easy recipes and lots of hints on great entertaining, but I find myself looking at the photos of her house and her garden just as much as the food photography

Lets go on a garden tour!!!

This is actually a somewhat newer remodeled home that she and her husband Jeffrey purchased, after living in a rental property, while she ran her successful food business The Barefoot Contessa. 

She hired landscape designer Edwina Von Gal to create a series of Parterre gardens on 1/4 acre of land near the house, calling it the "kitchen garden".  Initially she envisioned the parterres filled with vegetables but as most gardeners find out, deer and squirrels will take a bite out of just about anything edible.  The parterres soon became filled with flowers and very little in the way of herbs and vegetables.

Over the next ten years she tried to persuade her neighbor to sell her his property (so she could build a new kitchen and entertaining area)  but to no avail...then finally in 2006 the owner acquiesced and Ina acquired the property and was able to build a new barn inspired kitchen, a walled herb garden and cotinued to plant more beautiful expanses of flowers and trees

 The photo above from an early cookbook shows the young boxwood hedges and lavenders just starting to fill in.  Boxwood hedging is really wonderful but takes years to look really full.  The porch with the wisteria vine has since been screened and now has a permanent roof.

 I love some of the old wood fencing and little sheds she has on the property.

No matter how hard people try, the look of time worn wood and the structure of old trees and shrubs just cannot be duplicated

The new barn sits directly across from the house 

Below is the  new walled herb and vegetable garden which sits adjacent to the new barn.  I'm not sure why she decided on cypress trees inside this walled garden?  They look out of place to me and tend to be a haven for nesting rodents, which was why she built this garden behind walls to begin with.

To be honest, I'm not sure how much I like this garden.  I love the rustic touches in the barn design but this space is so austere especially for a vegetable garden....any thoughts?

The walled garden has really filled in, in these photos and I do love the simple bird bath

Here Ina is growing cherry tomatoes, chard, dill, squash just to name a few.  

In the corner is a fig tree!

I think Ina's tomatoes are in need of some trellis work...nice to see some one else has these crazy 

10 foot high tomato plants too!

love the orange roses!

There are dozens of articles about this wonderful barn and all of the beautiful details of  both the exterior and the inside...including the amazing kitchen and great room

Most of her table arrangements are simple and I suspect she uses as much as she can 

from her gardens to fill in the centerpieces

In the first of her two cookbooks there are a few photos of the early years of the garden just beginning to take shape. 

 She definitely has a thing for hydrangea

Her food styling is always so pretty, especially the shots taken out of doors.

I like the photo below with the old lichen covered fence and 

the grey shingle shed in the background

She seems quite  at home in the garden and I suspect she is a confident clipper and snipper 

but not so much of a digger and planter

Are you a clipper and snipper 

or a 

digger and planter

       I'm a little of both!

Hope you enjoyed the tour

Happy Gardening

Photos via House Beautiful, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, O Magazine

Ina Garten cookbooks