It is hard for me to imagine that anybody who visits Esalen isn’t immediately struck by their gardens. They are, quite simply, spectacular. Of course, the location (on a hilltop overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Big Sur) doesn’t hurt. A year ago this week (just as we were getting ready to launch this site), I attended a workshop led by Shirley Ward, the Esalen garden and farm manager, and learned an amazing amount of things I could use both for GardenstoTables and in my community garden. Shirley is leading another workshop this coming week called “Timeless Spring: Groundwork in the Esalen Organic Farm and Garden” and, yep, I will be there. Her co-teachers are Amigo Bob Cantisano (who was a great guest speaker last year) and Wendy Johnston, who wrote “Gardening at the Dragon’s Gate.”

I hope to have a lot of new posts to share based on what I learned. If you have any questions you’d like me to ask while I’m up there, please let me know by sending me an e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

In the meantime, those of you who haven’t seen the Esalen gardens can take a glimpse in this three-part video the farm and garden team made recently:
Esalen Farm & Garden 2009, Part One, Growing Through the Seasons
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gd3zvcuQwSg
Esalen Farm & Garden 2009, Part Two
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-hI0So89E8&feature=related
Esalen Farm & Garden 2009, Part Three
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPMhdBwY9bM&feature=related