v. tend·ed, tend·ing, tends
v.tr.
1. To have the care of; watch over; look after: tend a garden.
welcome to tend where you will find weekly thoughts and images from three gardeners. each growing in different soils and climates but who all share in the joy of tending a garden.
amber - mondays
annabelle- wednesdays
amy - fridays
please visit our resources page for more garden inspiration, tips, and ideas.
zone 7b
Media, Pennsylvania
With more than 15 years experience in organic agriculture, Amy's passion for farming began in college studying for a horticulture degree. She took a food crops class and instantly fell in love with the idea of growing food. After several years of agricultural internships she started Red Hill Farm, a 120-member CSA, where she worked as farm director growing food and community for nearly eight years. She has since moved on to Director of Agriculture for a non-profit dedicated to connecting communities through food, farms, and education. Amy does not live on a farm but rather in a small twin on the corner of Second and Edgemont with a postage stamp size backyard with her husband and two daughters. She decided a few years back to stop wishing for more space. Instead she started to embrace the challenge, get creative, and work with what she had. She manages to fit in vegetables, fruit, herbs, flowers, rain barrels, a living roof, chickens and a rabbit. She is still trying to figure out how to fit in a goat and a greenhouse.
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Zone 8b
Everett, Washington
Born and raised on the northern coast of California, Amber's love for gardening started young. But she didn't start developing her talents as a gardener until she moved to the Seattle, Washington area in 2001. She is now happily living in a 1930's cottage on a 1/4 acre lot with her husband, 2 young sons and three rescued dogs. In her garden, she enjoys a delightful mix of old growth, new growth, perennials, vegetables and all sorts of flora in between.
natalie
tend contributor 2011, 2012, 2013 & 2014
zone 7a (arkansas)
since sharing her gardening experience in this space, natalie has grown from a front yard gardener in mid missouri to starting a small farm in northwest arkansas. freckled hen farm is a happy little farm nestled in the hills of fayetteville, arkansas. natalie & her husband raise laying hens, tend to a small herd of goats, grow an organic garden & put up jars from the harvest.
tend contributor 2014
zone 8a (Memphis Tennessee)
Melissa is a potter, gardener, canner, neighborhood chicken-lady, and beekeeper who lives in a 1922 bungalow on 1/5 of an acre in an urban neighborhood with her husband and ten year-old son. She agreed to live in this particular house only because it came with the largest fig tree she'd ever seen in her life. The plants in the garden, chickens, and bees have all found their way into her pottery, and she's never happier than when it's fig season.
Zone 7b (Philadelphia, PA)
As a child in rural France, I have fond memories of my connections to nature. I spent my time playing with the family chickens and rabbits, picking fruits from my grandfather’s orchard, and running through the woods. I have lived most of my adult life in cities and have tried to bring those rural connections to my urban life. In Paris I grew vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers on the windows of my tiny flat. Since then, I’ve joined my husband in Philadelphia where we are fortunate to have a larger garden and small flock of chickens. In the last couple of years I have been adding fruit trees to our herbs, vegetables, and flowers.
tend contributor 2011 & 2012
zone 6b (Kansas)
Each spring when we plot our garden it seems bigger than the last. My husband digs and plants and I tend and weed. I simply like to watch things grow. Plus the flavor of homegrown veggies and fruit like green beans, edamame, okra and sun-warmed strawberries cannot be equaled. When I'm not working in the studio or teaching, you'll find me in the garden.
tend contributor 2011, 2012, 2013
zone 4 (vermont)
I grew up helping my grandfather in his large, southern garden, and it's one of my fondest memories. Now, I garden with my husband. We have two gardens actually: a small backyard garden and a larger, field garden with poor soil that has been a challenge. My favorite plant to grow is garlic. This year I'd love to grow more medicinal herbs and flowers.
julia
tend contributor 2011, 2012, 2013
zone 4 (minnesota)
growing up in new york city, there wasn't much opportunity for gardening. after a few years in vermont, and then berkeley, i settled in minneapolis in 2006. that spring, i planted my first vegetable garden in the community garden across the street from our apartment and i haven't looked back since. six years later, i still work in my plot at the community garden, even though i've moved a few blocks away, and now have a backyard garden as well. i love rising to the challenges of urban gardening, whether its the limited space or pulling my wagon full of supplies through a busy (and occasionally shady) intersection. i love gardening because it brings neighbors and friends together, over a shared love of watching seeds grow into plants, into food, and onto our plates.
tend contributor 2013
Zone 8b (Oregon)
My interest in plants started in my late teens, when I began studying medicinal herbs and the healing properties of whole foods. In the following years there were attempts at keeping tiny gardens with friends and house mates, but it wasn't until my partner and I settled into our own home that my enthusiasm and love for gardening was fully revealed. We tend a small and slowly expanding garden on the central Oregon Coast, where we grow food year round. We also make our best efforts to plant and maintain a landscape that focuses on herbs and edibles, and can withstand regular visits from the deer and other wild things we share our space with.
