Total Sustainability just footsteps away from the Kitchen.

Here is my friend Lisa’s Garden in Santa Monica, CA.  She loves and lives to cook and just walk out side of  her kitchen door just a few feet away to her garden. Lisa  can just grab what she needs and whips up a meal. Just like that.

Breakfast this morning consisted of:

Tomatoes, Green Onions, garlic chives, jalapeno, Cilantro from the garden and Carrots, Egg whites and a little cheese from the market. Voil’a!!!!! A delectable frittata.

Lisa claims the garden is  not always easy, anything from Aphids to Snails or Fungus to Mold.

She is always fighting something but gets a real sense of accomplishment when she overcomes

these obstacles. Nothing worth having always comes easy.

Montrose Purple Vitex: Vitex agnus-castus verbenaceae

In the Verbena family, this pest free-sun loving tree goes by many names. Most commonly known as Vitex, this wonderful tree can also be known as Texas lilac, Indian spice, Hemp tree, Pepper tree and Monks pepper tree.

The fragrant flowers are bright lavender in color and full of nectar which makes this tree a great choice to attract Hummingbirds and Butterflies.

A fast growing deciduous tree that can grow to be 18′ tall and 10-15′ wide. Drought tolerant and given the name “Pepper Tree” during the Great Depression, the Vitex seeds were used as a pepper substitute.

This Purple Vitex is one of my favorites and makes for a wonderful focal point in any courtyard, patio or landscape design.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions you might have.
Happy Gardening!
Portia Leyendecker

Vivian is fascinated by the wonderful and prehistoric Rollie Pollie or Pill Bug. I think most 4 year olds are, see the link below:

Vivian and I had fun planting some Dyssodia or Dahlberg Daisy together. This is a great border plant with bright yellow flowers for full sun. Good in the late spring and through summer.

As you can see, Pepper the Black Pug wanted in on the fun.

Vivian and I posing in the garden together.

Tagetes Lemmonii:

Genus: tagetes (Tag-e-Teez)
Species :Lemmonii (Lem-on-eye)

This wonderfully fragrant perennial is hardy in zones 8-10 . A Fall bloomer that loves the sun and requires little water. A great choice for low maintenance “Zero-Scapes”, attracts butterflies and is well suited for hill country and habitat themed gardens.

Easy to sculpt if out of control, just make sure you trim it in the early spring so it has plenty of time to produce the fall blooms.

If you have an issue of Deer eating your plants, this one is considered a Deer Repellent. Copper Canyon Daisy is one of my favorites this time of year.