Luchi and I go through a couple of cords of hardwood every winter. That produces about 60LBS of ash per season. Instead of carting it off to the dump a great place to use it is in the garden. While most of the nitrogen gets burned off during the fire, the ashes are high in phosphorus (3%), potassium (4%) and calcium (20%) making it an ideal soil amendment. It’s great around deciduous trees, fruit trees, perennials and root vegetables (the exception being potatoes as it m

Like everybody else in this business Sweetbay has an extensive library of design books. I tend to take them off the shelf whenever I feel stuck or uninspired. Throughout the year I'll share some of our favorite sources with you. Some of these books are available from bookstores or your on-line retailer but others you will find only at used book stores or garage sales. A book that we have been absolutely mesmerized by is Zen Gardens: The complete works of Shunmyo Masuno by Mir