ABOUT US

Our gardening experience collectively covers over 30 years. My husband Tim and I live in Sutter Creek, CA in the heart of the gold country. I began actively gardening in 1992 when we bought our first home together in West Point, CA. Prior to that, my then fiance Tim lived in Wilseyville, and I had marveled at his vegetable garden, the sweet peas covering his fence each spring, and the luffas he planted along the fence. I was amazed that he grew something I had seen in the bath section of Macy's! Cucumbers hung down from netting thrown over fence boards, and wire cages housed bountiful tomato plants. Pepper plants bore white flowers, and okra sported lovely purple blooms.

I discovered a passion that ran deep through the hearts of my family and had been passed down through several generations. My Papa gardened til he was well into his 90's; I remember gardening with my aunt Grace on Winding Way in Fair Oaks who had a wonderful acre of gardens with flowers, vegetables, herbs, berries, and fruit trees; my aunt Glorya preserved much of the fruit she grew, had beautiful orange trees, grapefruit trees, and even a banana plant in Fresno; my grandma Mary loved growing cut flowers and roses and lunched under an arbor covered in grapevines with long, slender green grapes hanging through the top slats; and my mom, who grew geraniums and Jasmine just outside her front door, adored Gardenias. She loved the scent of beauty. She loved all kinds of flowers! Especially when they were from her children.

Tim and I worked for three years on the grounds of our first home in West Point, turning barren, red clay soil under pine trees and oaks into a series of garden 'rooms'; I laid out where I wanted the gardens to be with a hose, and Tim did the digging, and added our homemade compost. We planted a huge vegetable garden together that first year that sustained us, our family and friends each successive year. Tim erected a mail-order greenhouse in which we grew seedlings we then sold Ridge Road Garden Center in Pine Grove; we also created a round-shaped herb garden where a tall pine tree used to stand and planted Lemon Balm, Oregano, Sage, Cilantro, Marjoram, Bay, and Thyme. This was surrounded by Coneflower, Heaths and Heathers, Nandina, Strawberries and Lavender. All on two of our five acres.

We had 2 Arabian mares, 2 Angus-Hereford mix cows, 24 chickens of 4 breeds, 4 rabbits (2 breeds), a Peacock who adopted us, a Sheltie dog, several cats, a pond of large colorful Koi, 18 geese, 2 white turkeys, and 24 ducks (IFawn and white runner, and Pekin). This was the good life. Share our gardening and farming experiences, and see our farm animals from 1993 at www.dunnfarm.com

After severe illnesses we each had over the next few years, in 2000 my husband and I decided we had to let go of our dream farm; it was too strenuous and he could no longer work the land as he once did as he had very low energy, and his hands were injured. I had knee and back problems and could barely walk, so, sadly, could not walk around my gardens any longer or tend them. Happily, we have had several gardens since then that have taught us new things, challenged us, and finally we are home once more on an acre of gardens in Sutter Hill living in an old Italian house. Tim does most of the work and this year we are again planting veggies in two raised beds, one for us and one for our church. We are still excited about gardening!

I have found new ways to satisfy my gardening needs--container gardening, water gardens, and also photographing these beauties that delight me so. I have put some photos up on the Gold Country Times website. Tim and I continue to plant new varieties of plants, and harvest vegetables he grows in two raised beds. We enjoy lemons from our little tree, and juicy peaches from our dwarf peach tree. I now use an electric scooter for distances, and on good days, he helps me walk around the gardens; we marvel at their colors, their beauty. I hold down a fulltime job where walking is minimal. I am very grateful in this economy to still have my job. The commute is long, but I always look forward to coming home, and mini vacations visiting family all over the state and in Oregon.

I am happy to share our gardening experiences and photos with you, along with garden tips and suggestions to get you started or give you new ideas for your existing gardens. Welcome to 'Over the Garden Gate'!  Photo Gallery

Eva Dunn

Hollyhocks are really pretty, all ruffles and so many blooms. They stand tall and are an asset to any garden. Give them full sunlight; they bloom every year.

Rosemary blooms profusely in late spring til well past frost in our Sutter Creek garden.

Our Ambrosia melon was delicious, sweet and fragrant; a huge garden success in 2008.