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Cultivating Delicious

Articles: Cultivating Delicious
Flowers, herbs, vegetables, and berries in a beautiful landscape. Photo: Homestead Design Collective, David Fenton
Flowers, herbs, vegetables, and berries in a beautiful landscape. Photo: Homestead Design Collective, David Fenton

Late last month I got together with Stefani Bittner of Homestead Design Collective and Alethea Harampolis, also of Homestead Design Collective and owner of Studio Choo West. We met at Cornerstone Gardens where the push was on to complete finishing details and plant the design Homestead has created for the brand new, public (!) Sunset Test Gardens. (More on that below.)

It was a very, very, wet day; wonderful conditions for the green Sonoma hills and all the new plantings, but a bit soggy for outdoor garden gazing. So after an abbreviated tour of the site, we dried off and chatted over coffee.

Homestead Design Collective believes gardens should be beautiful and productive. Photo: Homestead Design Collective, David Fenton
Homestead Design Collective believes gardens should be beautiful and productive. Photo: Homestead Design Collective, David Fenton

Homestead Design Collective creates beautiful gardens that provide a harvest—times three. Every project they undertake produces:

  • Landscapes that are an extension of your living space and a personal reflection of you and where you live.
  • A productive yield that goes beyond annual vegetables in the kitchen garden to include harvestable plants throughout the entire landscape, like fruits and herbs for the table as well as blooms for crafting beautiful floral arrangements.
  • And the opportunity to learn and implement organic gardening practices and principles along with a growing concern for the natural world.
Luscious blossoms in the landscape become beautiful interior arrangements. Photo: Homestead Design Collective, David Fenton
Luscious blossoms in the landscape become beautiful interior arrangements. Photo: Homestead Design Collective, David Fenton

Beauty, food, and awareness. As Stefani said, “Make this happen, and all kinds of amazing things follow.” Seasonal blossoms in the organic garden yield beauty, an edible harvest, and are necessary to attract beneficial insects and pollinators, which in turn benefit everything that’s growing. And flowers grown and cut for homemade bouquets, salads, and garnishes are the same as those favored by pollinators and beneficial insects.

Planting for pollinators is a thoughtful consideration in every Homestead project. Photo: Homestead Design Collective, David Fenton
Planting for pollinators is a thoughtful consideration in every Homestead project. Photo: Homestead Design Collective, David Fenton

We’re so excited that Stefani and Alethea are featured presenters at Garden Life, our upcoming event co-sponsored by Marin Art & Garden Center (MAGC) and Pacific Horticulture next month. Stefani will share how to beautifully integrate edibles throughout your landscape, and Alethea will demonstrate how to create stunning seasonal arrangements with backyard blooms.


Harvesting herbs and edible flowers. Photo: Homestead Design Collective, David Fenton
Harvesting herbs and edible flowers. Photo: Homestead Design Collective, David Fenton

Garden Life: Art, Flowers, and Food
Saturday June 18, 2016 Marin Art & Garden Center
Ross, California


Sign up today for Garden Life – a complete day of lectures and workshops held on the beautiful grounds at MAGC. From now through May 15th take advantage of early bird pricing and reduced rates for Mom and other special guests. Visit our event page for complete program details, information about our other featured presenters, and special registration pricing. We hope to see you there!

Hot peppers and Thai basil lend color and flavor to the late season garden. Photo: Homestead Design Collective, David Fenton
Hot peppers and Thai basil lend color and flavor to the late season garden. Photo: Homestead Design Collective, David Fenton

And you can catch the public unveiling of the new beautiful and inspiring Sunset Test Gardens at Cornerstone Gardens during Sunset Celebration Weekend, May 14-15, 2016. Details here.

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