Evening temps are in the 50s and crisp fall days are coming. That means, crisp fall lettuces need planting! As you make room in your summer garden for fall plants, keep these things in mind and then hit the nursery for gorgeous fall transplants and fun new seeds. Four tips for planting those cool season veggies: 1. Plant Strategically: Right now, your larger summer plants (tomatoes, squash, cucumbers) are taking up most of the space in your garden. When you plant your fall plants, try and place them in the understory of your summer veggies. This will help them to establish themselves without ..read more

With the hot temperatures this past week, we’re seeing a lot of our spring planted lettuces and spinach going to seed. Don’t know what I mean? See the picture below for the first sign of “bolting.” Bolting is defined as the production of a flowering stem on crops before the crop is harvested, in a natural attempt to produce seeds and reproduce. We see this often when the temperatures get too hot/sunny too quickly, or when a plant is nearing the end of its lifecycle. Many folks snip off the bolting parts of plants in an effort to slow down the end of the plant’s season, but I’m partial to a di ..read more

The news this week has been heavy, as it has for a while. The news of the shooting at an elementary school in Texas brought up so many familiar emotions. 10 years ago, as I packed up my college apartment, I watched the news unfold about the shooting at Sandy Hook. I'll never forget the way that felt. I had just finished my journalism degree about to walk across a stage and get my diploma, and I felt enraged. I cried angry tears for the kids who would never get to do what I was about to because of senseless violence. I cried resentful tears for the legislators who cherry picked freedoms for cam ..read more

Looking out my window over the past week, I’ve seen an eclectic collection of weather events. Wind, snow, rain, sleet, hail, frost and falling branches. My sunshades were torn down and my irrigation system turned off. Spring certainly sprung in the strangest ways. Not unlike a captive chimpanzee, it’s sunshine one minute, torn limbs the next. We’re well into May, past Mother’s Day, which usually is a reliable indicator that tomato plants can go in the ground. So what gives? and what should we do?  Now, I don’t have a crystal ball, but I do have a weather app that  suggests that dayt ..read more

May snow brings … June grow(th)? Most folks in Boise woke up today to a winter wonderland. While around Christmas time, this was a welcome sight, the day after Mother’s Day incited an audible groan from everyone. Everyone, that is, except some of the gardeners. The snow was wet, heavy and unexpected. In our neighborhood, many limbs fell down, snapping power lines on their way and some homes were even crushed by whole or parts of trees. Luckily, most of us people will come out of this late spring snowstorm safe and sound, but only time will tell how many plants suffered or survived. Most of Bo ..read more

It’s the first Monday of February, and for us at GFG, this month marks the start to our spring season. We’ll start installing the gardens we designed over the fall/winter months, and we’ll be exploring new backyards throughout Boise to bring you even more gardens in 2022. That’s why this week, we wanted to give you a peek behind the scenes to show you what it’s like to work with us. You’ve heard us say that every garden starts with a single seed, so we’ll outline our process with garden metaphors (of course). Here’s how it goes: Seeding Stage: Consultation Every garden starts with a consulta ..read more

I’m always looking for opportunities to learn in the garden, and while it’s not quite warm enough outside for me to start planting (it will be soon!), I love to get one or two trays of seeds growing indoors while I wait. There’s nothing quite like taking a break from computer work to check on your little baby seedlings. Walking into a guest room, underused closet or even your kitchen counter to trays of green sprouts really lifts your mood as we head into February. Anyone with any kind of space can start their own seeds. Seed starting is also a great way to start playing in your garden, as yo ..read more

To seed or not to seed, that is the question we’re covering today. I’ll admit, I’m not great at starting seeds. Each seed tray has 72 cells, and those are all individual plant babies that need light, water, nutrients - aka daily attention. Y’all know that I’m on team automated-water, so hand-watering 72 little seed babies is a practice I often don’t perform at 100-percent. I do try to start at least one tray of seeds per year, though, just to find more ways to improve my gardening skills, especially in the winter. This year, I’m planning to set a daily alarm for watering while I have my coffee ..read more

Did you start planning your 2022 garden last week? I’ll admit, I got a slow start, but I did it! I wrote down all the things we eat and categorized them for when they grow. Here’s what I’m growing in my 72 square foot garden this year: From here, we need to determine how much space our plants require in raised bed that’s laid out with intensive planting in mind. Small plants are ones that grow swiftly and don’t take up much space (e.g. the parsley, arugula and radish on my cool season list - I can fit 9-16 plants per square foot). Large plants are ones that take up more space and take a long ..read more

The blog might look a bit different to you today, as I spent last week updating this website to better serve you in 20222. I really enjoyed sorting through the thousands of photos I took of gardens last year. It really got me in the mood to start planning my 2022 garden. This photo of one of our client’s gardens has been keeping me warm all winter! I know it’s not just me. After New Years, everybody starts looking for something green in their life. Maybe it’s because we’re taking down Christmas trees or just tired of all the gray slushy stuff on the streets. I’ve been experiencing an uptick i ..read more