Contributed by Amanda Thibodeau

Now that spring is here, many folks in this area are starting to think about planting a garden.  Our climate in the foothills of the Sierras is a little challenging to work in, but luckily we have a host of resources for the gardener and farmer alike.  Today, the focus of the blog is on Sierra Seed Cooperative.  Boasting over 100 varieties from 8 local farms, Sierra Seed Co-op is our very own local seed source.  They also do workshops and are working with The Felix Gillet Insitute to provide heritage fruit trees.  They have been working for several years on regionally adapted heritage seed varieties that do well in our area, which is so important in this time of changing climate and unpredictable weather.  There are a myriad of reasons to choose locally adapted seeds- community relisiency, independence- and of course … Read More »

Spring is coming, the daffodils are popping out of the ground, the flowers are blooming.  I can feel that spring is in the air.  I’m always captivated by the beauty of every day life, today’s blog post features a couple local Instagram photos of spring flowers.  Thanks to Lynette, Becky and Amber for sharing some of their recent photos, for my feed click here.  And the winner from last week’s Elixart giveaway is Ruth Chase.

Spring flowers by Lynette Bulick

© 2013 InnSide Nevada City, Photos by Erin Thiem, Lynette Bulick, Becky Boman and Amber Hill

The ultimate Nevada City giveaway… I’ve decided that I’ve had so much fun on the blog this year, that why not end the year by going big.  We live in the an amazing community and I have thoroughly enjoyed sharing a slice of our world, so I wanted to give one big huge thanks to all the folks who I’ve promoted, plugged, photographed and gotten to know over the last year.  My basket started with a few left over goodies from previous giveaways and took on a life of its own…  It’s now turned into the ultimate Nevada City weekend.  I’ve got photos of all the goodies in the baskets below, but here’s a breakdown of what’s included.

One night stay at the Outside Inn
$30 gift certificate to Ike’s Quarter Cafe
$40 gift certificate to South Pine Cafe
$20 … Read More »

Fall is coming to Nevada City, here’s a few photos from around downtown and the Outside Inn.  Follow me on instagram (username outsideinn) for other fun photos or flickr (or FB or twitter, since we all know I walk around taking photos at every opportunity).   I’ve had a few questions about the Sierra Club Run through the Colors (which I blogged about last year), and I’m sorry to say that the event is not hapenning this year.  If you want to participate in a fun run/walk this month check out the Falling Leaves on October 27th put on by the Nevada City Schools Foundation.  For those of you sad to say goodbye to the Run through the Colors you can meet me at the Pioneer Park starting point at 8am on Sunday, the 21st for a commerative … Read More »

4th of July flowers from The Magickal Florist arrived at my doorstep today.  Karin Tintle, the owner of The Magickal Florist brought over the festive arrangement and a genuine and heartfelt thanks for sending business her way.  Want to win over a girl’s heart?  Give her flowers.

Every year the Nevada County Farm Bureau organizes a tour to showcase some of the local agriculture in our community.  This year the tour included Forster Herb Garden, Cone & Hill Christmas Tree Farm and Naggiar Vineyards and special guest speaker Nevada County Free Range Beef’s Jim Gates.  Everyone agreeed that supporting our local farmers is benefical on many different levels, from fire prevention, quality of food to creating jobs.  While all the farmers agreed that it is extremely difficult to be a farmer, Jim Gates sumed it up well when he said he loves his job “every day is a new adventure.”  Support your local farmers, either by shopping at a farmer’s market, subscribing to a CSA or buying locally grown products at Briar Patch, California Organics or SPD.  You can access the Nevada County Farm … Read More »

This year’s Soroptimist International Garden Tour was a amazing collection of special outdoor spaces through out Nevada County.  The gardens ranged from natural no watering flower beds to beautifully manicured lawns and bushes that have matured over the past 50 years.  Most featured waterfalls, ponds, or small pools.  Some had spectacular yard art and others let the brilliant rhododendrons do the talking.  What a treat to be able to see so many different areas of the county and how special each one was.  Hat’s off to the organizers of the Soroptimist International Garden Tour for picking such unique places to visit and a special thanks to the homeowners who participated and did so much work for all of us to see.

And the winner of the fabulous gardening goodies from Peaceful Valley Farm & Garden Supply goes to Veronica Flores. … Read More »

The Soroptimist Garden Tour will be taking place this coming weekend (May 19th and 20th) throughout Nevada County, for a map click here.  Take a tour of some amazing gardens either Saturday or Sunday between 10am and 4pm and help support the non-profit Soroptimist International organization.  Tickets available at the garden gates or stop by one of the many local vendors and save $5 when you purchase your ticket in advance.  Peaceful Valley Farm & Garden Supply is not only selling tickets, but they have generously donated an amazing giveaway basket for one lucky Outside Inn blog reader.  To be entered in the draw please post a comment on this blog post telling us your favorite thing about gardening.  The prize package is worth just over $90 and includes:

Containers are the Veggie Bed System (produce bags … Read More »

Spring is in bloom at the Outside Inn, all of these beautiful flowers were found around the property, come on by and smell the flowers.

© 2012 InnSide Nevada City

Want to learn how to make cheese?  Prune trees?  Buy a wine making kit?  Peaceful Valley Farm & Garden Supply in Grass Valley offers organic seeds, supplies, classes and more.  Check out their comprehensive website groworganic.com for tutorials and ideas for any number of gardening projects.  Peaceful Valley has been in business since 1976 and is committed to helping Nevada County with their sustainable agriculture, check out their Freshman Farmer blog for an inside look farms, including local farms Four Frog Farm and Willow Springs Farm.

© 2012 InnSide Nevada City