I am the founder of GardenJot! I am as much a novice of a gardener as my mother is an expert. She is a certified Master Gardener in Marin County who works in her beautiful garden each and everyday. I am watching herbs and strawberries die on my fire escape. But, I'm still holding out hope that I can be better. To that end, I'm moving this week to a small house in the suburbs with a wonderful garden. I plan to do maintain what's there and do some cool things I'll document here.

I am a Master Gardener living in Marin County active with the local Rose Society and Dahlia Society. I also help organize the annual Tomato Market, which benefits the Marin County Master Gardener's sustainability projects all year round.

Hello GardenJot community! I don't yet have a garden, although I have an interest in making one soon. Because I don't have the space it will probably have to be a pretty small fire-escape type setup.

I live in San Francisco and am trying my luck at keeping some houseplants alive in our apartment, as well as growing some herbs for cooking. Would love any suggestions of new plants to try or tips you might have.

I've been a master gardener for 10 years. I work with youngsters and try to pass on the joys of growing things. I also grow and maintain a butterfly/hummingbird garden at a local library. My own garden is a small urban plot in an old neighborhood. It is surrounded by large old trees so my gardens are mostly shade and partial shade, though I do have spots that get 2-3 hours of sun.

Jesse and Julia's Kitchen Garden!

This is our fourth year here, and I am still trying out various plants in various sites, both perennials and annuals, to see what likes being in which garden, all of which get varying degrees of shade. Herbs are also a favourite, and I've begun to grow some tomatoes and hot peppers. A "temenos" is a parcel of land reserved as a sacred retreat, and this is my experience of my gardens, inclusive of hard work, meditation, joy and relaxation. Montreal's summers are short; our gardening months are intensive and celebratory!

I am 20 years old and love to garden. I grow mostly vegetables with a few flowers for colour. I also enjoy growing herbs to use in my many recepies. I hope you enjoy looking at my garden photos. They will be updated frequently throughout the summer. And anyone who would like herbs or Strawberry plants please come by and pick your own or dig up some strawberries as they have been trying to take over the garden in which they grow.

I am a mother of three, wife of one, dog owner of one, fish owner of seven, and providing a pond for four frogs who don't pay rent. This is the beginning of my second summer here in Westover; I have finally cleared enough of the vegetable garden that I can truly begin my rotation planting. This summer's project will be to build a cold frame, and spend some time on the sailboat. I think 'dandelions' needs to be included in the list of "currently growing".

I am an avid gardener. I am always looking for more specific planting times for all kinds of S. California edible garden vegetables. I am also going to plant citrus trees and pomegranate trees this fall.

After retiring we moved to the desert and met up with all new challenges in gardening. Our daughter and her husband are landscape designers and gave suggestions for our yard. We also joined the Palms Garden Club and gain information each month from interesting speakers. Some of the desert friendly plants in our garden are Mexican Bush Sage, artemesia, mixed with herbs and roses in the back yard. In the front we have palms, tabacco plant, sages and artemesia. The artemesia was a new plant for us that affords the grey green color and sets off the borders. I put seasonal bedding plants in front mixed with Mexican petunias. In the summer it is multicolored zinnias in the winter I plant snapdragons, pansies and petunias. These are also used in many color pots in the back yard with fresia bulbs everywhere! There are daffidols and iris as well. In two areas I have cannas which bloom from spring to fall and give us good color in the hot, hot summer. In our courtyard is a cactus garden with some sages and a slipper plant to attract the hummingbirds. Wouldn't it be nice if weeds and bugs were never a problem? I need more information about the feeding of plants and protection from harmful bugs.

Been gardening since I was a kid. Keep many house plants, keeps a yearly out door garden including mostly veg and roses + herbs. Mostly gets overgrown with weeds. Much too much room to work alone. Community style garden next year. Love starting from seed. Starting a minor seed bank.

I have lived in this area of the city for nine years. The garden started out as a veggie garden but too many challenges to overcome...so I started planting interesting perrenials and annuals. My garden is now a rambling mass of growth that gives this dreary neighbourhood a bright spot to enjoy. I have many compliments when I am working in my yard by those passing by.

I love gardening, and am always gardening in other peoples gardens. I live in a flat and haven't felt like I could invest a lot in the back garden, because I keep thinking Im going to move. Hence, everything I am growing are in pots! I do intend to plant bulbs later in the year, and grow a collection of herbs, because I will use them. I have five beach trees in pots at my mother's house, which will have to be put in the ground either this or next year. I rescued these from the ditch of a farm my partner was selling. I am always rescueing plants... in fact appart from the basil (which I bought), and the cactus (inherited from a previous relationship), I do believe I rescued every other plant I am taking care of! Only yesterday I rescued my friends tomatoes from her encrouching nasturtiums, and supported them up with bamboos. I also watered another friend's tomatoes before they withered up last week. Yes. Im a roaming rescue gardener. :)

We have apple trees, raspberry bushes, Saskatoon bushes, corn, pototoes, tomatoes, carrots, peas, onions, zucchini, rhubarb, cucumbers, lettuce, different types of herbs and a few others. We wanted our yard to be productive not just pretty.

I love to garden - my neighbour once asked my husband "What is your wife doing out in the yard digging like a Badger?" - well that is me - always out in my yard working away at something - it is my happy place to go out and play in the dirt -

am inland and up enough in elevation to make things a bit more difficult to grow.. very hot when it's hot, colder in the winter, and more often more snow than in nanaimo... have raised beds and mostly veggies and herbs, some fruit trees and raspberries, strawberries, a couple of marion berry experiments and a couple of grapevines..

After many years of growing things in various places I finally have my own garden! It's a total wreck in desperate need of being totally dug up cleared out re-soiled and fertilised but it will be done!

i'm working fulltime but like gardening in my spare time, me& my husband just moved into this area last july and we just started cultivating our backyard last month as it was so bare and boring...

I am a single parent of a wonderful boy, and live on the sunny East Coast of the North Island New Zealand. I have a diploma in Herbal Medicine, certificate of Horticulture and a Diploma in Occupational Therapy, all of which are valuable tools to my current work and passion. I am interested in helping people return to the soil and begin a garden, for the health benefits of fresh, nutrient filled produce for their families, for the physical and spiritual health involved in gardening, and to help heal the planet. the more we grow, the less produce needs to be carted around the world by carbon emitting trucks. I focus on heirloom (non hybrid) varieties of vegetables, Herbs, medicinal and culinary, and a couple of plants that are important. Stevia, for the healthy alternative to sugar, and Chia, a highly nutritious grain with many life giving and healing properties. For more information, visit chiahowto.com. I sell my seeds through trade me, a New Zealand online store. I am an author and have 2 ebooks which I sell worldwide. Chia the Super Grain which can be found on chiahowto.com and How to Start a Vegetable Garden and Master the Art of Year Round Harvest. I don;t have a website to make this available yet, but anyone interested can email me at broomstik@callsouth.net.nz I am very happy to be here, connecting with other gardeners around the world. Thanks to the creators of this wonderful space. Blessings to everyone Carol

I was a reluctant gardener until about four years ago, when I decided to "re-do" the existing garden, which was wildly overgrown. I ripped out most of the bushes and started landscaping with a water feature, pathway, edging, splitting existing plants and replanting, created sitting space and generally cleaning up. It has been a work in progress ever since, with making new beds, building a better entertainment area, outdoor barbecue area and so on. It was fun.

I'm a born gardener and love to be in the fresh air tending to everything green. We inherited our garden 19 years ago and have not really had the opportunity to make too many structural changes BUT have revamped beds and plant material over & over again in the 19 years. Each day in the garden is different & this makes for much variety in the life of the garden and gardener. Veggies & herbs are my latest favorite, being able to put on the table fresh from the garden is just so rewarding & even more so is being able to supply friends with home grown produce!!! May we become self sufficient soon, soon. One of my loves is being able to nurture & grow something unusual and this I have found in Clematis and Peonie which have been rewarding +++ and relatively easy without much fuss. I just wish I could find the winning formula for my orchids??? They won't flower. Anybody with a winning tip - please pass on.

Have lived and worked in this Kloof garden bordering the Krantzkloof Nature Reserve since 1997, when it was a 'blank canvas', apart from all the invasive alien species which were growing rampantly. So cut these down, left the trunks in place to provide shelter for the small wildlife, and started planting, first the trees and then the soft shrubs and understorey. The idea was to 'bring the reserve into the garden', and so we have about 600 plant species, most are locally indigenous, and some indigenous to SA. The only exotics are some herbs and veggies in the tiny back garden. The garden is a valued respite for our day work - Cecily works in funding rural education, and I work in a printing factory, making labels. This is the first garden we've both taken seriously, and is testament to our love for life, nature and each other. If we ever get hit by crime, which is not impossible in this country (!) the garden is the one thing that can't be taken away from us. A lot of plants we've put in have powerful spiritual and medicinal properties, which act as a deterrent. We're at the stage were all the hard work has been done, and we just have to tweak things here and there. a lot of the plants are 'rescue' plants, abandoned by callous (and, probably, callused) owners. We're also involved two local conservancies, and a passion of Mark is to plant up the local motorway with aloes in the "Adopt a Highway" project. Cecily is arranging music groups for the 2010 Kloof Open Gardens.

I just moved to Baha California Sur and I would like information on the types of plants that will thrive in a desert area on the Pacific coast.

I am renting a section of the 14th Century Castle of Galeazza, near Bologna. I don't get paid for gardening, but spend most hours of most days working outside. When I arrived here in the spring of 2003 I found an overgrown jungle. Nothing had been cared for, planted, or pruned in over 20 years. For me gardening here was first just a necessity - I had to cut back bushes and vines just to get in through the gates and doors which were literally "grown shut". Then it became a pleasure as I saw improvements and ate my first home-grown herbs and vegetables. Now it is a passion as I learn more about the soil and climate here and try to grow species from around the world. By visiting and studying gardens in other countries and by working continously on the castle grounds, I hope to make up for my lack of academic knowledge of botany. I also hope to develop my own style and tastes. I would love to create a garden reflecting my interests - a collection of plants that is varied but still harmonious. Many friends who come to the castle for holidays help in the garden. People from many countries have donated seeds, bulbs, and plants. Some neighbours are supportive and full of encouragement; they share their experiences, ideas, and memories of the place as it used to be. Working in a 600 year-old garden is humbling as it reminds me that I'm just a short page in the long history of the Castle of Galeazza. Please come visit one day if you find yourself near Bologna! Clark

Hmmm.... I have been gardening for as long as I can remember. It all started with my Mother's Eden. My current garden which I inherited 6mths ago has Apple and Lemon trees and many, many roses. I have already added to that my herb collection (54 varieties and growing) and commenced a nice big veggie garden. The veggie garden currently has potatoes,onions, peas,lettuce, tomatoe, beetroot, spinach, silverbeet, carrot, cauli's, broccoli,brussel sprouts and corn. Oh,and Celery.....think that's all. Also,have a growing collection of berry fruits.....

Decided to join GJ today but not totally prepared, so will have to add 'garden photos' later after retriving them from a different file, not available at the moment.

My husband I moved to Panamá in October of 2007. Being an avid gardener in NY State made gardening in Panamá, Central America...a real challenge. We have learned so much about gardening in the last two years and just love adding new plants to our gardens!!

have yet to add photo to this page ~

I am working towards self sustainability. I have solar heated water, solar power, rocket shower, and energy free water pump or ram pump, organic veggie garden and all of this in one of thÉ most beautiful places in the world. That is for sure! I am siyuated in Goso Forest, Gwexintaba, Lusikisiki. It is not on the maps of GardenJot so far away. It is about half way between Durban and East Londen. Food being grown success full in my village before i came here: Corn, pumpkin, beans, sweet patato, potato, and dumbi. Veggies: 4x Beans, Cherry Tomato, 4x Pumpkin, Butternut, Gemsquash, Carrot, Onion, Kale, Eggplant, Beetroot, Green Peper, Herbs: Thyme, 2x mint, basil, red sorrel, 2x wild garlic, coriander, 2x lavender, origanum, ginger, Special: Comfrey, MaryGold, Nasturtiums, Worm Wood, Trees: Moringa, Lemon, Orange, Banana, Fig, Pawpaw, Avocado, Cherrie guava, Garlic tree. Fruit: Melon, Watermelon, Gooseberry, Strawberry and Ghogie berry. (not sure of this spelling) Challenges! Goso Forest and all the insects in there!! Seems like we have more here! Sjoe. 20km or 1 hour from Lusikisiki which doesnt have many shops. No electricity and constant water. visit us at www.jointventures.co.za

My garden which is all south facing is seperated at the moment into 4 different plots The first plot is the smallest plot and is situated directly in front of the house and would be lovely to dress more as a flower garden with the exception of herbs, i am hoping for plot 2 to have climbing plants as well as vines,plot 3 will be allocated to the animals and plot 4 is to be the main vegetable area. The gardens at present have plum, peach, apple and walnut trees.

Tony & I moved out to Spain in 2004 we set about transforming the concrete landscape of our back yard into a greener space. We've had a variety of successes and some not so successful. With 4 cats and 2 dogs it's not always the weather or growing conditions that scupper our plans. As well as shrubs and flowing plants we grow some of our own veggies and fruit - Tomatoes, Peppers, aubergines, Cucumbers, Gooseberries, Lemons and a variety of herbs to name a few of our crops. This year we're trying our first crop of runner beans- 'Vamos a ver' as we say here!

My friends are amazing gardeners and have beautiful landscapes. They helped, and taught me a few things and now I am hooked. I have been doing this for about eight years now. My inside walls is the living area, so it's mostly a tropical theme, with a mixture of Aesthetic plants, and also plants used for food such as herbs, fruit trees, and flowers for tea. The outside wall contains mostly drought tolerant plants.

I need green around me. I have a mix of edibles, aromatic vines, flowers, herbs and tropicals in my private oasis in the dessert. I am working on a master gardener certificate at DBG, focusing on our soil type, effective water usage, composting and collecting rain water. I use intensive and companion planting to create micro climates in the garden working with the amount of sun and moisture in each area. Water conservation is important in the dessert so making use of every drop is essential. With our short growing seasons timing is everything for a successful harvest. You need to use varieties of vegetables that mature quickly and enrich the soil on a regular basis. One trick to working in this high PH soil is to add vinegar to reduce the acid and balance the PH. My garden is organic in that I don't use pesticides, fungicides or commercial fertilizer. I spray regularly with a mixture of peppermint soap, hydrogen peroxide and vinegar in a tea of steer manure. I do hang fly strips by the compost and around the yard. It really helps keep the flies down without using poisons. I would love to talk to other gardeners in the area so let's get together and make this dessert an Oasis. Marion Shaw

I am 63 years old and live in North East England. I moved into this house just over 1 year ago. The garden is huge compared to what I have beenused to. When I moved in it was very overgrown with far too many holly trees and far too much ivy growing everywhere. The 'bushes' were unkempt and resembled trees. I had lot of work to do thinning things out last year. Much of what was cut back I have used as chippings. The rest of the trunks and branches I have spread about the garden. This gives it a very rustic feel. My intention is to grow edible things out the back and have flowers in the front. I have got a lot of tomatoe trees off friends and have grown some myself from seed. Am trying to grow herbs, pease/beans, salad stuff, sprouts (yummy), cauliflower, broccli, cabbage, carrots. Too late this year for potatoes but there is always tomorrow. I recently added a pond and hope to attract some wildlife. You are welcome to look and comment on anything.

2010 will be my first year gardening in Winnipeg. I don't do flowers. Yes, they're beautiful, but not useful. I prefer to grow veggies, fruit and herbs. My garden will be a work in progress for the next couple of years.

I am originally from Morgantown, WV, USA and grew up on an 80 acre farm. My Dad has always had a 1/4 acre plot for vegetables and herbs. As a teen I hated weeding the garden, but as I grew *ahem* older, I began missing digging in the dirt and tending to plants. I was so glad when my husband and I found this house. Not just so my little one would have space to run around in, but also because there was ample space for me to garden in. Mt biggest learning curve is the climate. I'm used to a very cold Winter, and here in the province of Buenos Aires, it almost never snows so you can garden year round. I'm excited about the possibilities! I'm starting small with 4 raised beds and if that goes well, I will add 4 more. The house has practically no landscaping, so in the future I want to plant lemon and lime trees as well as a blue berry bush.