A Trip to the Kendall-Jackson Gardens – Summer 2016 Edition

Hello K-J friends! It’s been a while since we last took you for a stroll through our gardens. So we thought, with summer officially upon us, there’s no better time to catch you up on all of the latest happenings and additions at the Kendall-Jackson gardens.

Kendall-Jackson Estate Gardens' Perennial BordersFlowers in the Kendall-Jackson gardens in summertime.

As you can see, Farmer T‘s garden is bursting with color in every direction. The garden truly does heighten all of your senses — the sounds of the birds and bees, the intense aromas of fresh flowers and specialty produce, the stunning colors of the perennial flowers…

Flowers in the Kendall-Jackson gardens in summertime._DSC0596Flowers in the Kendall-Jackson gardens in summertime.

As we toured the garden with Tucker, he pointed out one of our two, new demonstration beehives. The hive below is for Italian Honey Bees. Our other demonstration beehive is home to Native Honey Bees. Not only are the bees an integral part of the garden’s ecosystem, they also create delicious honey that our chefs will use in our kitchen.

Demonstration beehive in the Kendall-Jackson gardens.Demonstration beehive in the Kendall-Jackson gardens.Demonstration beehive in the Kendall-Jackson gardens.Demonstration beehive in the Kendall-Jackson gardens.

Tucker and his team have been busy selling our estate produce to Michelin Star restaurants in and around the San Francisco Bay Area. These chefs are always on the lookout for the best, hard to find, consistently high-quality produce they can get their hands on, and Jackson Family Gardens is happy to deliver. Some of the more popular items include: micro-greens, demi-greens, oyster leaf, petite bok choy and petite lettuce.

Specialty produce grown at the Kendall-Jackson gardens.Demi-greens from the Kendall-Jackson gardens.Micro-greens from the Kendall-Jackson gardens.

Another BIG focus for Tucker’s team is planning for our upcoming 20th Annual Kendall-Jackson Heirloom Tomato Festival. He’s growing nearly 7,000 heirloom tomato plants —over 125 different varietals — in our gardens in preparation for this amazing festival.

Heirloom Tomatoes

For our last stop on the tour, Farmer T. took us to the new chicken coop. It’s almost ready for our new bantam chicken friends to move in! The coop will have ample space for the chickens to graze in the shade under our black walnut tree, which is always the first to leaf out in spring time. Tucker and our team have appropriately named this tree, “The Chicken Tree.”

Farmer T showing off the new chicken coop at Kendall-Jackson gardens.The new chicken coop at Kendall-Jackson gardens.

If you’re ever in Sonoma County, come visit our Wine Estate and Gardens for daily, farm-to-table food and wine pairings, wine tastings and of course, garden tours. Give us a call at (707)571-7500 to schedule your tasting or tour today!