Fort Bragg

In My Garden – November 2018
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In My Garden – November 2018

We have been very busy in the garden in October, not so much in the kitchen. My kitchen has been abandoned as a consequence of me being tired and filthy at the end of the day. All I want is a hot shower, a glass of wine, and a “dump dinner” out of the freezer or fridge or pantry. My husband loves  these inventive “kitchen sink” (everything but the kitchen sink) dinners but laments they can never be exactly repeated. And, sorry kind readers, I am usually too exhausted to take pictures or write it down. I promise to do a post soon on the recommendations for a great dump salad or soup. There are definite categories of flavors and texture that need to be included. Besides that, it is up to the ingredients on hand and your imagination.

So what’s going on in the garden?

I have been moving big piles of dirt around and digging new garden beds; while my dear husband builds beautiful borders and gravel paths between them. I have been planting dozens of new plants with plans for many more. Look out spring! Thank goodness that Annie’s Annuals and Perennials were having a big sale. They deliver and the plants have really been in excellent shape, not a single one was root bound and they all look like they survived the shipping and transplanting.

Here is a quick review of our labors.

We expanded the herb and flower beds at the back of the house, added edging and gravel paths:

Eventually the path will lead to a square where the fire pit will have its permanent home. It be much safer to sit out at night with a fire and star gaze, which is amazing up here without any light contamination. Hopefully we will be finished by spring.

In addition to the back meadow, I have also been prepping the large open space to the right of our driveway for planting.  This is what it looked like prior to the start of the project.

Original space, a field of weeds and grass of dubious origin.

The soil has been improved by the addition of new soil and compost

Another view

There will be a 4 foot strip of grass around the edge and the rest will be planted with a mix of native flower seeds and perennials. It’s intended to be a sustainable pollinator garden for insects and birds. The plantings will be primarily various grasses, annuals and perennials that self sow. I have been inspired by two books as well as a class I took at a Master Gardener conference a couple of years ago. The landscaping idea is call “intermingling”, you can read more about it on this post from 2017.

We also purchased 2 raised beds, 2 more are on order. The first two have been planted with several seed mixes of lettuce, arugula, chard, kale, radishes, parsley, cilantro, and escarole.

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First two raised beds

And the sweet peas have been planted in a half-wine barrel.

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Sweet peas

The weather has been cool but clear so they are getting a good head start.

If any of my readers have planted a wildflower meadow, I would love to hear from you.

 

 

 

 

In the Garden – July 2018
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In the Garden – July 2018

I hope you enjoyed the Fourth of July holiday if you are reading this in the U.S. On the coast the town of Mendocino hosts an old time parade which is quite a community event. Labor Day is the time Fort Bragg has its own parade. An example of the cooperation between the two cities, only a few miles apart.

 

We appreciate our volunteer firefighters and Cal Fire personnel in Mendocino County and they lead the parade. The summer fire season has been devastating to so many communities and is a constant worry. I must admit to tearing a little as these brave men and women from communities up and down the Northern California coast drove very noisily by sirens blasting.

But, now on to events in the garden.

Summer is here and I find It is at that “in between” stage. In between the lush new growth of spring (which is now sprawling, overgrown and starting to go to seed) and the not-quite-yet growth of summer flowers.

New this month are the tomatoes and zucchini planted in half wine barrels. Although the tomatoes are still green and I don’t expect ripe ones until the end of August, the zucchini are already productive.

Green tomatoes

Zucchini

First harvest of zucchini

With the warm weather we have been able to set up a couple of outside seating and eating areas, plus chairs around an outdoor fire-pit for star watching and the making of s’mores. Are you familiar with them? They are a traditional summer camping dessert. to make them you melt and brown a marshmallow on a stick over an open fire and sandwich it with a chocolate square between two graham crackers. The hot marshmallow melts the chocolate and makes a very messy but delicious treat.

It’s lovely to set and watch the birds, especially the darting hummingbirds. I find myself resenting any time that I need to stay inside.

Here are a few shots of the flower gardens.

I’ve started to cut back the California poppies; they will put out a second bloom later this summer although not as profusely or as tall. They were starting to sprawl everywhere and cut off the sun of other plantings in addition to setting seed.

The sweet peas are blooming in the half wine barrel, one of my favorite flowers. I wasn’t sure they would do well in a container but it has worked very well.

Sweet peas

 

I’ve saved some of the seeds of the poppies and am hoping they will reseed themselves for next year. It’s been exciting to find out what will succeed in this coastal climate with sandy soil compared to the had clay I had in Oakland.

There are new plants going in…more snapdragons, coral colored yarrow, pink nicotina, blue penstemons, sunflowers, hummingbird mint, and a burgundy leaved tea tree. Look for more about these next month.

New plants

Next week we depart on an Alaska cruise with friends so I am not sure how much gardening I will be able to do in the coming weeks. Fingers crossed that my house sitter will keep things alive while we are gone. The dogs are already disturbed by the open suitcases as we pack for the trip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

August – Fort Bragg Remodel Finished!
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August – Fort Bragg Remodel Finished!

I love the results of the remodel of our vacation cabin in Fort Bragg, CA! It turned out even better than we had hoped. The entire house looks brighter and larger with the new flooring, but the biggest changes are in the kitchen and bathroom.

Yes, my blog is about cooking and gardening; but also it’s a record of change. Changes in your home ripple and have an effect on your life and mental state. A change in your immediate environment changes you as well. A revamped (even cleaning out your cupboards, pantry and fridge) kitchen will make a difference in your life. That difference may include what is prepared in your kitchen, who comes to dinner, and the general mood of the cook. But it could be bigger. Experts have found that a messy and unorganized kitchen promotes overeating. Think about it, it’s stressful and feels out of control. And if you’re stressed you are much more likely to reach for the chips or the cookies. Ok, enough with the lecture.

Bear with me while I first talk about the new bathroom, but feel free to jump directly to the kitchen.

The “old” bathroom had a sunken tub and a clear glass window immediately to the right of the front door, necessitating a privacy screen. This picture of the front of the house is a little dark and it’s hard to see. I took this one the first week we had the house. It’s amazing how much bigger the bushes have grown over the past four years.

Fort Bragg "old" Front

Fort Bragg “old” front as it looked when purchased

The new window is frosted, it lets in tons of light but gives privacy to the person taking a shower. We wanted a large walk-in shower with a flat entry and frameless shower doors, you can see how much light that new window lets into the room. Increasing the size of the shower meant that we needed to move the toilet and reduce the size of the vanity. We purchased a dark blue molded glass sink from our friend John Lewis at his yearly seconds sale and found a small piece of marble at a close-out sale.

First, here is the “old” bathroom:

Fort Bragg "old" Bathroom with Sunken Tub

Fort Bragg “old” Bathroom with Sunken Tub and Privacy Screen

Fort Bragg "old" Bathroom Vanity and Sink

Fort Bragg “old” Bathroom Vanity and Sink

New Vanity and Sink

New Vanity and Sink

New Shower Window From the Inside

New Shower Window From the Inside

And we have a new front door as well as the new bathroom window.

New Front Door and Bathroom Window

New Front Door and Bathroom Window

Ok, it’s time to show the finished kitchen. Some of you may have already seen some pictures. The sliding glass door off the kitchen has now been replaced with a French door.

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Kitchen

Kitchen

Center Island

Center Island

Center Island

Center Island

Remember that raw redwood board?

Old Growth Redwood

Old Growth Redwood

Here it is on the finished cabinet.

Redwood Top to Cabinet

Redwood Top to Cabinet

 

Wood is so amazing!

If anyone in Fort Bragg, CA is considering a remodel, I am happy to share the names and give recommendations for the appliance store, custom window/shower glass store; not to mention our painter, cabinet maker, and contractor. We are extremely happy with the quality of their work and found them very professional to work with.

But you can’t have our contractor until we complete phase II, an addition on the back of the house.

The Architectural and Engineering Plans - Phase II

The Architectural and Engineering Plans – Phase II

Thank you everyone for your encouragement and comments along the journey!

May – Fort Bragg Remodel Update III
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May – Fort Bragg Remodel Update III

Our remodel of the cabin in Fort Bragg continues although it seems to be slowing somewhat. I had hoped the workers would have started on the tile, not yet it seems. But, the new wood floor is installed with the exception of the spare bedroom.

New floor

New floor

That is the new range in the middle of the room, it should be installed this week.

The kitchen sink and faucet are in but not hooked up yet, ditto for the dishwasher.

Kitchen sink, faucet and dishwasher

Kitchen sink, faucet and dishwasher

We are very pleased with how the sweatshirt grey paint we chose for the back cabinets combines with the stainless steel refrigerator. Since living, dining and kitchen are essentially one room we didn’t want the fridge to dominate the room. The grey paint softens the stainless industrial look.

Sweatshirt grey cabinets and stainless steel fridge

Sweatshirt grey cabinets and stainless steel fridge

And the new lighting was a successful choice. Here are the pendants over the kitchen island.IMG_4415

The new window for the bathroom arrived.

Bathroom window

Bathroom window

It will go in this spot, in the back of the shower.

Area for new bathroom window

Area for new bathroom window

Can you believe it was clear glass before, necessitating a privacy screen? The window is placed just to the right of the front door.

Bathroom window

Bathroom window

The dry rot means we will have to replace some of the boards on the deck.

I’m not sure I will be able to get up to the coast again until the end of this month. Hopefully we will almost be finished by then. Look for more progress reports.

April – Fort Bragg Remodel Update
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April – Fort Bragg Remodel Update

Demolition is almost complete at the Fort Bragg cabin, now things are being put back together again. This is just a quick post to update the remodel diary.

The kitchen cabinets are in and we LOVE the blue Hale Navy we chose for the island! We agonized over the choice so it is a great relief. It is the most amazing color and looks entirely different depending on the light…sometimes so dark it is almost black, and sometimes more grey than blue. The color is not going to come through in the pictures but it will give you an idea.

Hale Navy cabinet as seen from the front door.

Hale Navy cabinet as seen from the front door.

Hale Navy Island from backside

Hale Navy Island from backside (this is where stools can pulled up for a breakfast bar)

Hale Navy island from the sink side

Hale Navy island from the sink side

The grey for the cabinets on the wall also came out well, this is Sweatshirt Grey.

Sweatshirt Grey

Sweatshirt Grey

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You can see the hood for the range is “mostly” installed. The appliances will come in after the flooring. There is still a lot to do but we hope to be finished by Memorial Day.

The new flooring has been laid in one of the bedrooms. Next step is the rest of the house. It was a challenge around the fireplace as there wasn’t an even edge. Our contractor had to smooth the line of the rocks at floor level.

New hardwood flooring

New hardwood flooring

And we chose the hardware for the cabinets.

Kitchen cabinet hardware

Kitchen cabinet hardware

My husband, Steve, really wanted a redwood top for the Hale Navy cabinet you see when you first enter the house. We found the perfect piece over the weekend at Anderson’s Alternatives in Mendocino, an eco lumber supplier.

Old Growth Redwood

Old Growth Redwood

Since the property has many redwood trees, it seems appropriate. It will be beautiful when finished.