The students have found a sense of pride and accomplishment, and the garden has become a gathering place, an outdoor classroom, and a place of quiet refuge. Our garden is small, and the first harvest was modest, but we love it.

Edgar Anderson (1897-1969) was the kind of teacher I wish I’d had at least once. He liked to help students surprise themselves with what they could learn about botany and science by simple observation--of just a potato. If you want to try this challenge skip the next paragraph.

Join us on Wed, Nov 17 for YourGardenShow.com's gardening segment of Andy Schneider’s "Backyard Poultry with the Chicken Whisperer", a nationally broadcast internet radio show all about keeping backyard poultry and living a self-sufficient lifestyle.

Although the 19th-century American poet and transcendentalist, Henry David Thoreau, only published two books in his short lifetime, he managed to write 47 volumes of handwritten journals. Each is jam-packed with his daily observations of weather, plants and animal life in and around Concord, Massachusetts and the world-famous Walden Pond.

As we get close to the release of the "2.0" version of YourGardenShow.com, here's a sneak peek of what's in store.

For every third bite you eat, thank the bees!

We were exhibiting at the Green Festivals in San Francisco over the weekend, and were recruiting 'bee counters' for one of the citizen science initiatives we are supporting, The Great Sunflower Project.  People got a nice seed packet, with a "QR" code (smart phones take a photo of the code and a video and/or updates of the bee counting project appears).  They also put their flag on the maps around the booth. We got counters from everywhere, including South Korea!  Anyone interested in The Great Sunflower Project can sign up.

The best of all was when storyteller Nancy Schimmel stopped by our booth at on Saturday and then returned Sunday to bring us this original composition:  she wrote the words (*copyright 1996) and the music (copyright 2004) is by Judy Fjell. She asks that we share -- so enjoy!

01- Every Third Bite

Tell the story about bees.

We are excited to announce that YourGardenShow will be hosting a bi-weekly internet radio show starting this Wednesday, Nov 3. Our show will be the gardening segment of Andy Schneider’s "Backyard Poultry with the Chicken Whisperer," a nationally broadcast radio show all about keeping backyard poultry and living a self-sufficient lifestyle.

There seems to be a bumper crop of blood-red Hawthorn berries this autumn. Although there are several native species that are very beautiful, it is the Azarole (Crategeus azarolus), a Mediterranean transplant, that brightens my heart. Literally.

Photos courtesy of the Harvard University Herbaria and the Gray Herbarium Archives

With over 5 millions plant species dried and mounted, pickled and preserved and precisely catalogued, the Harvard University Herbaria are among the largest in the world. For much of this collection, we have Victorian era botanists and explorers to thank – especially Asa Gray.

New in 2008, UC Davis Grounds and Landscape Services sought to develop, design and maintain an ever-changing edible landscape that would reflect the academic research and programs held within the surrounding Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science.

I want a volkstuin. That’s Dutch for “people’s garden” – and it is as socialistic as it sounds. They started in Holland back in the 15th century when people created “kool” (as in cole slaw) gardens – so workers could grow staples like cabbage in vacant areas at the edges of cities.

Photo courtesy of Missouri Botanical Garden

Video screen grab courtesy of EatTheWeeds

There is treasure in the hills... and in urban forests, too, it turns out. We love these tales of appreciation of common space resources. So, inside the garden or outside the gate, the harvest is rich if you know what you're looking for!

People know that beer is made from hops and that wine is made from grapes, but there are a surprising number of drinks that are made from much more inconspicuous plants. What plant will you be drinking this weekend? Could it be this one?

Can anyone help with gophers?

Michaela surveys the gopher damage in her Napa Valley garden.

Curt Ellis and Ian Cheney have started conversations everywhere by putting a farm on the back of a pickup truck -- that's right! a moveable farm!