lettuce and herbs....

This basil was from the farmers market- we transplanted it. Although it looks nice here, we ended up pulling it out because Meg tried to cook with it and it was disgusting.

little herb patch- thyme, cilantro, sage, parsley & dill.

Here's the plants I bought at ACE before they went in the ground.

that's some good dirt.

lettuce patch. From the back: Romaine, butter lettuce, arugula, spinach in the front row (not pictured.)

planted herbs and poppies in the cinder blocks.

lavender by the door.

Peas...

borrowed a staple gun from Gino to put up the trellis netting for the peas to climb.

Strawberries!

This is the garden gate. I finished putting the mulch up to the door, but had ran out when I took this photo.

Planted six strawberry plants in these cinder blocks- they're pictured above as you enter the gate. Apparently strawberries like to grow in pots.

Put a pot under the table...

put a strawberry in it. Strawberries grow year round here.

Tips for growing strawberries...

• Bees carry more pollen to strawberry blossoms than the wind- so try to attract bees to your garden. more pollen= bigger berries.
• Strawberries should not be planted where tomatoes, eggplant raspberries or potatoes have grown since these plants can harbor verticillium- a bad disease for strawberries.
• They need good drainage, sun and prefer sandy, nutrient rich soil
• All varieties of strawberries have the same care/planting procedure but vary in sweetness and harvest time. A few of the best-tasting, disease-resistant June bearers are "earligrow," "tristar," and "jewel."
• If you're planting them as perennials pinch off all the flowers and runners the first year- this will ensure your berries develop a good root system.

Lanterns.

The garden lantern idea is from Apartment Therapy (http://www.apartmentherapy.com/) a great blog about home design. Meg found these mason jars at the Junk Store in Carp.

Loop the wire around the top and make a hook.

Fill partway with sand and drop a tea light inside. This sand is kind of special because it's from Hammonds, my favorite place to be in Santa Barbara.

This is a lame picture because they look much better when its dark, they're lit and you're actually there. We had a big garden feast- we lit all the lanterns, roasted a chicken, pulled out all the tables and improvised seating we could find. There was plenty of friends and even more food and the whole affair wouldn't have been nearly as magical or possible without the lanterns.