This is the story of how it all started:
Originally, the site was GuerrillaGurlGardens.com and was focused on flowers and herbs, plants and seeds for Mediterranean gardens. With time I evolved and so too did the site. The new, more expansive “Earthy Delight” concept includes of course, the original flowers, herbs, plants & seeds with the additions of my own natural, herbal skin care products and my husband’s beautiful garden inspired ceramics.
Soon, the children will introduce their own mini-line of “Kids’ Favorites” seeds. They are very earnest little gardeners and have definite opinions about what is and is not worth the time and effort of a kid.
Here is the original statement for GuerrillaGurlGardens.com:
My philosophy in gardening has to do with making the most of what you have, and creating “sanctuary” with the least possible struggle and expense. For me, gardening is a beautiful, evolving, problem-solving adventure with beautiful “soulfood” the result!
Guerrilla Gurl Gardens is born of an idea that came to me while I was living in a beautiful little cottage in Big Sur, with a sweet little garden spot that had been let go. I began working on the place and each action of course lead to something else as the possibilities of the place began to unfold.
It was probably a quarter acre of garden with slopes and terraces; coast live oaks, California bays, redwoods and agave; naked ladies, Mexican sage and oakleaf pelargonia; acidic clay soil and binding it all togeher was the poison oak all around. The most beautiful, happy poison oak I’ve seen – it had formed a tree with a dangerously attractive chandelier of blossoms and berries. I loved that space but alas, as with all rentals, it was a fleeting relationship destined from the beginning, to end.
I got so inspired and energized and worked up that I wrote out “the Guerrilla Gurl manifesto”, of which I will spare you the details but the gist was that as long as we treat each place as a temporary situation, we never really live anywhere. We are never really rooted to any place. Especially in this consumer culture wherein we are groomed to believe that there is always something better to be had. Somewhere better to live if we just keep moving and paying more rent.
What I came to realize early on was that once you simply begin to tend a garden you become invested in that space and you yourself begin to take root. Suddenly the plants and the birds and the soil and the weeds are all really important. They represent what is right and wrong with the place, what can be improved and what you’ll have to accept.
I was struck by the socio-political significance of really living where you are. The intention to remain somewhere. To stop looking at the horizon and fix your gaze right in front of you.
Well, at a point I had to get real about the fact that working allowed me to live in this wonderful place and cut back some on the garden time – since after all I had no intention of moving anytime soon. The garden was still there nights and weekends so everything went along just fine.
Eventually I moved for the love of a good man. Now it’s a “we thing” and we are no longer renting, which changes everything. As do kids!
After living in Big Sur for ten years; we’ve settled in the Elkhorn Slough area of the Monterey Bay. The rugged beauty and wild open sun-soaked and wind-blasted Big Sur coast, continues to inspire my designs and my gardening. Big Sur taught me a lot about economy of energy and the futility of struggle – especially against nature! I also owe an awful lot to the incredible teachers in the Cabrillo College Horticulture department and to the Monterey Bay Master Gardeners.
We hope you enjoy the site and come back often. We’ve recently undertaken several improvements in an effort to make navigation easier and integrate content more thoroughly. We’ve also expanded our seed and plant offerings and added secure ordering and payment via PayPal.
Our plan is to continue to develop the site to include more projects and tips, some general gardening knowledge and how-to’s. We are working on developing some herbal bath and body products utilizing the great plants that we grow: calendula, lavendar, scented geraniums, and evening primrose. We’ll continue to expand the plant and seed selections as we continue to expand the gardens.
Peace,
Cynthia,
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Guerrilla Gurl Gardens,
February 2004
and again June 2006
and again May 2009
Grow Your Bliss 