The hardest part of a kitchen garden is not the watering or the soil. It is deciding what to grow, when, and what follows it. When a garden feels like too much, the problem is almost always a missing plan, not a missing effort. Here is how I think about planning a season so the daily work mostly takes care of itself.
In Germany, where I grew up, gardening was a school subject. We learned how to grow food every year, right alongside math and reading. When I moved to Seattle, I realized most people never learned this basic skill. That's the reason I started Palatino Garden Adventures.
Most kitchen gardens don't fail from neglect. They fail because three decisions got made wrong before anything was planted. Not which seeds to buy or how often to water, but the decisions that determine whether your garden actually fits your kitchen, your schedule, and your climate. Get those right and everything else gets easier. Get them wrong and no amount of effort makes up for it. Here's what they are and how to get them right in the Pacific Northwest.
Most of the medicinal herbs worth growing in the Pacific Northwest are also beautiful, useful in the kitchen, and easy for bees. Here’s where to start if you’re adding this lane for the first time.
People think a medicinal garden is a summer thing. Big calendula blooms in July, lavender drying in August. The truth is it runs all year. Right now in April my calendula is in full bloom, the mint and lemon balm are ready to cut, and the bergamot is sending up new leaves. Here is what I am already harvesting from my Seattle medicinal garden, what is still waking up, and the one plant I am putting in the ground this week for a summer root harvest: Ashwagandha.
Ready to grow with intention this season? Join the Seasonal Planners Circle — a community for Pacific Northwest gardeners who want to plan smarter, harvest more, and never miss a planting window.
