Eleanor LoNardo of Borrowed Garden
We spent an afternoon with industry darling and prolific gardener, Eleanor LoNardo, in her charming East Bay Garden. Nestled on an unassuming hilltop in Crockett, Eleanor is growing and sustaining a beautiful flower farm filled with treasures and unexpected varieties that grace the Marigold steps weekly during her harvesting season. Read on to learn about her passion for what she grows, her coveted tools, how she gets inspired, and her journey from creating a garden to farming at scale.
What’s your first garden memory?
I have a lovely memory of being very young, 3 or so, eating a sun-ripened tomato that my mom grew in our big garden in South Lake Tahoe.
What’s the meaning behind “Borrowed Garden?”
We rent our cute little house in Crockett and we farm quite a bit on our property, but I’m not sure we could run a business on that space alone. Our dreams became reality when we asked our neighbor if we could farm on her big, open lot right next door. It’s a right-of-way which means she could never build on it. It just sat there getting overrun with grass and weeds. It was kind of a win-win for us both. These two spaces unlocked so much potential, but the insecurity of planting in a space that isn’t yours, and that could potentially be taken away, is a little scary. We felt like we were just borrowing the land, and The Borrowed Garden was born. It can be kind of uncertain at times, but it really is an exercise about letting go, being stewards of the land and leaving something better than you found it.
Do you have a specific plant or scent that is nostalgic or memorable to you?
Growing up, there were always a few crops you could reliably count on being planted in our family garden; Cosmos, Sunflowers, Cantaloupe and Tomatoes. We moved around a lot and having a garden was a way of making it a home, I think. I don’t eat tomatoes now (my poor Italian dad) but I always grow them, every year, for him. Cosmos was the flower that unlocked my flower journey, so that is kind of special too.
“I have tiny obsessions with literally everything. Particularly hard-to-find varieties, labors of love, flowers that only support a single pollinator, flowers that have incredible scents, flowers with massive blooms or the tiniest sweetest little thing you’ve ever seen.”
Tell us about your journey to the garden and how has it evolved over the years?
I have been farming for about 5 years, and growing flowers for about 8 years. This was a real detour as my trajectory for as long as I could remember was photography. In 2014, my husband Ian and I moved from Seattle to Crockett, California. It was farther from the city than we wanted, but we liked this particular house because of its amazing backyard and incredible views. It had a small fenced-in space with a gate that closed, it was just begging for a garden. So we weeded a small area and dug some beds to prep. If my memory serves me correctly this was probably late May, which is entirely too late to start a spring garden here. Nonetheless, we threw in some kale seeds and some other spring veg. The heat came, the aphids came and everything got toasted. The one crop that flourished was a tiny planting of Cosmos. I was like, “Well, f**k this, I’m growing more flowers”. After that, I did a lot of research about flowers and floral design, our USDA zone, organic practices, literally everything I could get my hands on. Everything was so new to me. I was like a sponge. Meanwhile, I started working at The Ruth Bancroft Garden. I was assisting with, and eventually running, the nursery greenhouse and learning about propagating. I was really nerding out with it, with a specific admiration for Australian and South African natives. In 2016, Ian and I got engaged and I saw the opportunity to grow flowers, at scale, for our wedding- which was set for March 2017. Looking back on it, I would never suggest this feat as a first farming venture, but I learned a lot and had a few pretty buckets for the wedding. It wasn’t until we got back from our honeymoon in April before I saw the garden at its peak and something clicked. It’s been a real love affair ever since.
Describe your garden aesthetic.
Tamed chaos feels about right these days. Because we are trying to farm at scale, it is hard to make our space feel intimate. In the last few years I have really tried to create little pockets or vignettes of these more intimate spaces around the perimeter of the farm. Creating dramatic entrances, picking just a few colors or specific shades of greens. Having a few beds around a meandering path that is just for admiring and not for cutting (this is as hard as it is important). I really just want to create a lush space that is equally beautiful and giving.
What plant or flower makes you swoon?
I have tiny obsessions with literally everything. Particularly hard-to-find varieties, labors of love, flowers that only support a single pollinator, flowers that have incredible scents, flowers with massive blooms or the tiniest sweetest little thing you’ve ever seen. Today I discovered that my Cochliasanthus caracalla (Snail Vine) survived from last year, and has started blooming. It is the most incredibly scented, strangest looking cluster of blooms I’ve ever seen. The colors are just as fun as the shape, starting out creamy white, turning violet and then fading to antiqued yellow. Divine.
Who do you admire in the world of gardening? Do you have a mentor?
I love, love Piet Oudulf and would travel far and wide to see his gardens. His use of varieties, specifically for seasonal change and texture, are really stunning. His gardens almost dance. He has introduced so many beautiful flowers to me, Echinacea pallida ‘Hula Dancer’ a forever obsession, Sanguisorba and Aster 'Frikartii Monch’. I also have to give so much credit to the wonderful Clare Monica Day who taught me about Biodynamic/French Intensive gardening, the importance of good soil and fish fertilizer. She had a wonderful class that I took in 2016 that changed my life. And I would be remiss not to mention the amazing and wonderful women that started the Golden Coast Flower Collective with me this year.
What are your favorite garden related books you come back to time and again?
There are a few books that I think are absolutely must reads for any gardener or farmer. My short list is John Jeavons ‘How To Grow More Vegetables’ for the soil information alone. The Biointensive method is what we started with and I just can’t imagine doing anything different. Lisa Mason Ziegler has an amazing book called ‘Cool Flowers’ that is a great book to refer to. And, if you haven’t read ‘Braiding Sweetgrass' by Robin Wall Kimmerer, please add to your cart now. I think of this book more often than any, it is heartbreakingly beautiful and profound beyond measure.
What’s your favorite gardening hack?
I don’t know if this is necessarily a hack, but I think everyone should have a bird bath in their garden. I use those terra cotta plates that you put under planters and I have them all over the place.
Do you have any daily rituals around your garden routine? If so, what are they?
Can’t do anything without coffee.
Gardening tools you can’t live without?
My straight handed floral shovel, ARS snips, Flexzilla hoses and my Eley spray nozzle.
What do you find to be the biggest challenge of maintaining a garden?
Right now it’s the raccoons. Powdery mildew is also a total drag.
What are your favorite nurseries, plant shops, online garden resources, etc.
-Issima grows the coolest plants that I’ve never heard of; I wait for their newsletter like it’s Christmas. They don’t ship to California so there is a lot of weeping.
-Alexis Madrigal has the best garden newsletter.
-All of my favorite specimen trees have been grown by Aussie native Troy McGregor of Waltzing Matilija who starts most of his plants from seed.
-Hida tool in Berkeley, obviously.
-Hayefield Seeds (Nancy is the best, and has the best seeds).
-Low key obsessed with Garden Heir, even though I could never farm in a white smock.
What are you planting next in your garden?
So. Many. Bearded. Irises.
Any tips/tricks you’ve learned along the way that were game changers for you?
You think you’re watering enough. But you aren’t. And if a particular plant looks amazing, you have a leak in your irrigation.
Favorite Botanical Garden, Public Garden or Park?
The High Line in New York, Filoli in the Bay.
Where do you find inspiration?
The ease with which nature plays with color.
