Zone 9b · San Francisco Bay Area · California
A garden, a slow
pace, and a pen.
Home gardener, slow traveller, and lover of beautiful things — tending a corner of California one season at a time.
Zone 9 is my climate and my classroom. The long warm summers, mild winters, and extraordinary California light make it one of the finest places in the world to grow things.
I’ve been making the most of it for years — learning what thrives, what struggles, and what is genuinely worth seeking out. The garden teaches patience, attention, and the art of letting go of what isn’t working.
It turns out those lessons apply to most things in life.
Currently in bloom
- David Austin climbing roses
- Salvia guaranitica
- Mexican bush sage
- Echeveria
- Hot Lips salvia
- Cleveland sage
- Dahlia
- Zinnia
- Poppies
- Jasmine
On this site
What you’ll find here
Zone 9 Garden Guides
What to plant, when to plant it, and how to care for it through our particular California seasons — tested in my own garden, in real conditions.
Slow Travel
Beautiful California escapes for those who travel to linger, not rush — Carmel, Mendocino, Healdsburg, Calistoga, Point Reyes — with honest recommendations.
Slow Living
Botanical style, the tools and products I actually use, and the kind of life where a morning in the garden counts as a productive day.
About the garden
A little more about
the garden
I garden in USDA Zone 9b in a cottage and botanical style — stone retaining walls, drip irrigation, a mix of California natives and Mediterranean plants that thrive in our dry summers. Spring is my season. I’m also quietly devoted to fragrant, repeat-blooming roses and to the hummingbirds that find their way in every year.
From the shop
The Garden Scroll on Etsy
Botanical sweatshirts and mugs for the slow-living gardener — the kind of thing you actually want to wear on a cool morning in the garden.
→ Visit the Etsy shopTravel writing
The Travel Essentials Edit
When I’m not in the garden, I’m usually planning a slow escape nearby. California destinations for the unhurried traveller.
→ Read the travel blog“Thank you for being here.
Now go outside and see what’s blooming.”