By Johanna Silver, Sunset test garden coordinator   

Need a bit of inspiration this spring? Head over to Far Out Flora, the blog of two friends I've made in Plant ID class at City College of San Francisco. They are up to all sorts of DIY gardening fun and are always happy to share their tips.

Here are a few of my favorites entries:

• This post about thrift store succulent containers

• This post, in which Matti teaches how to mount a staghorn fern (Matti has been asked to teach classes about staghorns this spring at Workshop. I will keep you posted when the schedule is released!)

• And lastly, this post, about their backyard makeover

They also take lots of field trips to Bay Area gems (here is their post about visiting Annie's Annuals).

You can even keep up with our Plant ID class without waking up early on Saturdays!

By Sharon Cohoon, Sunset senior garden writer

You can build a condo for solitary bees to nest in out of common 2" x 4".  (Las Vegas Master Gardener Paula Garrett sent us step by step photos and instructions for building those.  To see them, click here.)

Or see our instructions plus tips on other things you can do to help bees.

You can also use an old log, and express your appreciation for the hard work bees perform the way Meredith of the Austin blog Great Stems did shown here.

To see more of Meredith's bee houses, click here.

Or, if you're really ambitious, you can turn a bee nest condo into a piece of sculpture, as Greg Corman does.  See examples here.

By Sharon Cohoon, Sunset senior garden writer

I just received my copy of the Western Garden Book of Edibles. And since I had no part in creating it I feel I can brag on the book as much as I want.

As the title above would indicate, I'm not very far into Edibles yet.  I did browse through the whole thing once to see how it was laid out.  But now I'm going through it page by page, and it's been a true pleasure.

The Western Garden Book of Edibles is beautifully organized and meticulously researched.  Knowing my co-blogger Jim McCausland was at the helm, I should have expected nothing less.  Still I'm impressed.

The photographs are also gorgeous and inspiring--and there's one or more on nearly every page.  Again, why should I be surprised?  Our trusty garden photo editor, Linda Lamb Peters, was in charge of that department.  Naturally she'd find good stuff.

What is a surprise, though, is how much I'm learning.  For instance, how to meet the challenge of dealing with Brassica pests.

Though I've grown leafy Brassicas like collards and kale, I have yet to try my hand at broccolli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and cabbages.  I've been a little daunted by the pests I might have to deal with, I guess.  But I've learned the same deterrents work for all of these crops, and, frankly, they don't sound that difficult to do.

You can prevent root maggots, I've learned, by covering the seedlings with row covers. Or, alternatively, by ringing the base of each plant with a tar-paper collar or covering each plant with a cone fashioned from a window screen.  To deter cutworms, make collars from paper cups or metal cans with the ends removed.

That doesn't sound too hard, does it?  I feel empowered. Savoy cabbage, shown below, here I come.

I am also intrigued with the idea it is possible to develop corn seed perfectly adapted to your neighborhood.  You start by sowing an open-pollinated corn that is supposed to do well in your climate.  When the corn has ripened, you leave one or two ears on each plant that had some quality you wanted to perpetuate -- particuarly good flavor or robust growth, for instance. 

After the silk has dried,you'd put paper bags over the ears to protect them.  At season's end, you pick the ears, peel back the husks, hang the ears to dry in a place where the kernels will dry completely.  And, once they have, break off the seed, store it in a cool, dark place, and then plant the seed the following spring.

Repeat this process for a few years, and you'll have corn uniquely adapted to where you live.

I don't know where I will find room for corn in my small yard, but, being a Midwest girl and addicted to corn on the cob--and now a corn risotto recipe from Sunset as well, I have to try this.

I'll post more about what I'm learning as I make my way through Edibles. Don't wait for me, though.  I'm only on page 42.  Buy your own copy.

Read what Jim learned researching this book here.

For a little preview of what the book is like also see 21 Best Crops for Your Edible Garden.

By Jim McCausland, Sunset Magazine

Looking at some photography from last year's garden tours, I realized why I love the following shot so much: it has three of my favorite garden features all in one place, which happens to be the home of Dot and Russ Carson in Tualatin, Oregon.

First: the path mown into the meadow. I tried something similar on a weedy vacant lot. Disaster. For it to work, the meadow has to be one kind of long, healthy grass.

Second: the large, globe-shaped sculpture at the intersection of the main path and a side path. It's by Ivan McLean. Check his work out at Springbox Gallery in Portland.

Third: the Adirondack chairs, which make me want to nap . . . and dream about next summer's garden tours.

See more great garden paths from Sunset

By Sharon Cohoon, Sunset senior garden writer

By Sharon Cohoon, Sunset senior garden writer

Susan Hirsch's online directory and blog, Socalnurseryplants.com, is a great resource for Southern California gardeners but a rather dangerous place to log onto for nursery hoppers.

It's a resource because it lists all the nurseries in Los Angeles, the Valley, Ventura, San Diego, and Orange County, describes what they specialize in, lists hours, addresses, services, and includes links where applicable.  Use it to help you find a particular type of plant -- California natives, tropicals, bamboo -- for instance.  Or use it to discover a destination nursery out of your area. (I've already identified several I can't wait to visit.)

By Sharon Cohoon, Sunset senior garden writer

If you're planning an escape to Hawaii, consider buying some of your provisions from a farmer's market instead of a supermarket.  Dr. Peter A. Bowler, director of the University of California Irvine Arboretum, wrote about his visit to the Kapiolani Community College Farmers' Market in Oahu in the latest issue of the Arboretum Quarterly. 

Dr. Bowler obviously had a great time meeting locals, tasting things you don't find in mainland farmers' markets -- farm-grown heart of palm, farm-raised barbecued abalone, sea asparagus (Salicornia virginica), pickled ogo and goma wakame (algal-based foods) -- and getting instructions in how to cook it all.

By Jim McCausland, Sunset Magazine

You have to be a brave man to sell heirloom tomato seed, since every sale could be your last. That’s because heirloom tomatoes are replanted from the seeds they produce, and their offspring is just like the parent plants. (Not so with hybrids. Replant their seeds, and you’ll get something inferior, so you have to go back to the source to buy more seed every year.)

Gary Ibsen is that brave man. Founder of the Carmel TomatoFest and proprietor of TomatoFest.com seeds, he sells more than 600 varieties of certified organic heirloom tomato seeds. This season he’s noticing more orders from cold-climate gardeners, urban gardeners, new gardeners, and more orders overall for cherry tomatoes. Tomato varieties that excel in all those categories also tend to be great varieties for container culture.

If you've never grown heirlooms before and don't know where to begin, start with a sampler. This year I'm growing the Short Season Collection: nine varieties for twenty bucks, with fast, cheap ($3.95) shipping. Ibsen also offers collections for children, for saucing, for size and color, plus his own favorites. 

Closely identified with Carmel, California, Gary and his wife Dagma moved to the Mendocino area this year. They fill orders from their house—about as personal as service can get.  Plant this month and you’ll be in tomato heaven by midsummer.

More: Sunset's guide to growing tomatoes

By Johanna Silver, Sunset test garden coordinator

Dearest test garden,

Oh, if only Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day was on the 16th instead of the 15th!

I walked outside yesterday and came face to face with a big, bright, yellow and white daffodil.

I'm so sorry, test garden! I'm sorry for complaining about you and abandoning you for the non-editorial grounds. I've done you wrong. You are my constant teacher. Hopefully one day the lesson about patience will sink in.

Here's to spring.....

Love,

Johanna

Don't make something unless it is both necessary and useful; but if it is necessary and useful, don't hesitate to make it beautiful.  --- Shaker rule of thumb

I visited Room&Board recently to see their line of Shaker-inspired furniture.  And though I found the simplicity of that furniture line elegant and appealing, I thought the Navy chair fit the Shaker ethos, too.  I'll try not to wax too poetic here, but I'm a little smitten with the 1006, as the Navy chair is also called.

The 1006 is called the Navy chair because that is who it was designed for.  The Navy wanted a seaworthy chair for their submarines and warships, and the Electrical Machine and Equipment Company (now called Emeco) of Hanover, Pennsylvania developed one for them in collaboration with ALCOA and Navy engineers.  Above is the result.

The all-aluminum chair is handcrafted, requiring 77 separate steps.

From World War II through the 70s, the U.S. government was the largest purchaser of the 1006.  But by the time the cold war ended, the size of the U.S. military shrank significantly, and sales of the Navy chair plummeted. 

When George Buchbinder purchased Emeco in 1998 he refocused the company from government contractor to commercial supplier, aiming at architects, designers, and others who would appreciate the chair's sleek design as well as its durability.  Buchbinder also brought in famous designers like Frank Gehry and Philippe Starck to design new models of aluminum chairs.

But the Navy chair is still Emeco's best selling product.  Maybe because its timeless design looks as good now as it did in 1944.  (Witton Carlyle Dinges, Emeco's founder, was an engineer but he also loved sculpture, and he envisoned the 1006 looking like a single sculptured piece.)

And I think customers like knowing its design has gone unchanged in all that time.

Or maybe customers like the 1006's proven durability.  A chair made in 1944 might well be usable today.  Emeco chairs are estimated to last 150 years and all come with a lifetime guarantee. Your patio, no matter where you live, is not likely to present it with any challenges.

And, as if that weren't green enough, Emeco chairs are made from 80% recycled materials, making them LEED compliant.

Like I said, I'm a bit in love with this chair.