What’s in my garden.

USDA Plant Hardiness Zone: 6b (but more accurately in a zone 5 microclimate)

Sunset Climate Zone: 1A

I live in the Central Oregon high desert, where the frost-free growing season miiiiight extend to 50 days, if I’m lucky! (Usually it’s more like 30 to 40 days).

Most of my plants are started from seed. (I usually save my own seeds or buy from my favorite seed catalogs each year). I gravitate toward growing unusual plants, sometimes at the expense of flavor—but I can’t resist “ugly” vegetables and odd-looking things with warts, scars, and cracks, what I see as interesting features but others may view as flaws.

I like growing vegetables that come in unconventional colors, especially purple (unless it’s eggplant—purple eggplant is boring 😁 and mine are always white, green, or striped). I love seeking out rare varieties and plants you’ve probably never heard of—and neither did I, until I started growing them.

I follow a few permaculture principles and teach lazy gardening techniques, so I grow lots of low-maintenance edible perennials and strive for a closed-loop, regenerative garden on our 1 ½ acres of land.

Some of the herbs and fruits below are not hardy to my climate, and that’s because they moved with me from Southern California and are now living happily inside our house or in the greenhouse.


Favorite plant 🌱


Purple tomatoes. I’ve grown dozens of varieties, but my all-time favorite (and the first one I ever grew) is Cherokee Purple.


Weirdest plant I’ve grown 🍃


Oyster leaf. The leaves of this perennial green tastes like fresh oysters and earthy seawater. (It’s better than it sounds.)

Check back here every season as I continually update this list!

Annual vegetables

Garlic (Music)

Pea (Austrian Winter)

Pea (Sugar Snap)

Perennial vegetables

Asparagus (Purple Passion)

Asparagus (Jersey Giant)

Garlic (Oregon Blue)

Horseradish

Jerusalem artichoke (Dwarf Sunray)

Onion (Egyptian Walking)

Onion (Potato)

Oyster leaf

Rhubarb

Rhubarb (Kangarhu)

Salad burnet

Sea kale

Sorrel (Bloody Dock)

Sorrel (Garden)

Sorrel (True French)

Perennial Herbs

Anise hyssop

Basil (African Blue)

Chives (Common)

Chives (Garlic)

Chives (Profusion)

Lemon balm

Lemongrass

Lovage

Mint (Banana)

Mint (Chocolate)

Mint (Mojito)

Mint (Moroccan)

Mint (Orange)

Mint (Peppermint)

Mint (Spanish)

Mitsuba (Purple)

Oregano (Golden)

Oregano (Italian)

Oregano (Zorba Red)

Rosemary (Arp)

Sage (Berggarten)

Sage (Variegated Tricolor)

Tarragon (French)

Thyme (Creeping)

Thyme (English)

Thyme (Nutmeg)

Thyme (Zambesi Lemon)

Winter savory

Edible flowers

Borage

Calendula (Playtime Mix)

Daylily

Dianthus (Clove Pink)

Dianthus (Sweet Pink)

Fruits

Apple (multi-grafted Braeburn, Fuji, Gala, Honeycrisp, McIntosh)

Apple (Honeycrisp)

Apple (Queen Cox)

Asian pear (multi-grafted 20th Century/Nijisseiki, Chojuro, Hosui, Shinseiki)

Asian pear (20th Century/Nijisseiki)

Asian pear (Shinseiki)

Avocado (Fantastic)

Avocado (Poncho)

Banana (Apple)

Blueberry

Gooseberry (Hinnomaki Yellow)

Gooseberry (Jahn’s Prairie)

Honeyberry (Blue Forest)

Honeyberry (Blue Sea)

Honeyberry (Honeybee)

Honeyberry (Tana)

Lime (Bearss)

Marionberry

Nectarine (Harko)

Orange (Moro Blood)

Peach (Contender)

Peach (Polly)

Peach (Vivid)

Pear (multi-grafted Bartlett, Comice, Red Barlett)

Pear (Summercrisp)

Raspberry (Killarney)

Raspberry (Nova)

Raspberry (Jewel)

Shipova (Dwarf Baby)

Strawberry, Everbearing (Albion)

Strawberry, Everbearing (Seascape)