Leah Willow

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Leah Willow Northern California, Zone 9. Suburban Gardener, Plant Collector & Home Baker. I grow vegetables, flowers & all types of succulents.

Indoors itā€™s all about the jungle plants.

10/21/2026

Roasted Pumpkin Soup

- 1 small pumpkin or half a medium size
- 2 large carrots or 1 large sweet potato
- 1 large onion of your choice
- 1 whole garlic head
- 4 cups of stock of your choice. Add cream or water if needed
- 1/4 tsp clove powder
- 1.5 tsp of cinnamon powder
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 tbsp of olive oil for roasting
-salt and pepper by taste

Making roasted pumpkin soup is a favorite for this perfect time of year. Everything is just starting to cool down. We are experiencing cold mornings and warm afternoons. Making our way into the rainy seasons.

Today we actually had our first drizzle and thunderstorm at night. There is nothing better than cozying up to a warm bowl of soup, with this overcast weather.

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10/18/2026

Adding Some Pumpkins to the Garden.

This year I only grew two varieties of pumpkin. Now Iā€™m wishing I grew more. I just need to figure out how to trail the vines up new places. But what I was able to grow I was grateful for.

While I like Jarrahdale and Musquee de Provence, I wanted to grow Cinderella pumpkins as well. All are heirloom varieties perfectly for cooking.

My goal this year was to decorate with varieties I bought. But also to buy pumpkins I want to save seeds from to grow next year. The list has quite grown. They even include Japanese pumpkins.

But for now, at least I can decorate the garden patio with these fun varieties.

10/08/2026

Autumn Pumpkin Harvest šŸ‚āœØ

Last year I bought a Jarrahdale pumpkin and saved the seeds. This was my third time growing pumpkins. I was on a mission to find seeds for varieties I wanted to eat and decorate with. Not just ones I liked looking at. And I found out there were too many I liked. I settled for two varieties this year.

The Jarrahdale being an Australian variety. All of them came out sage green. Because they grew vertically they kept their shape nicely. The other variety I grew was a French one called Musquee de Provence. I have one more growing in the vine.

My sweet basil is getting close to its last leg. But Iā€™m waiting until I pull my tomatoes out to remove them as well. Enjoying fresh bunches from the garden. But soon Iā€™ll have to harvest all and just make pesto to share and freeze for the winter.

My peppers were definitely ready and waiting to be cut. There was a second flowering so more hot peppers are on the way. The ones I harvested Iā€™ll pickle.

10/05/2026

Itā€™s beginning to feel like Autumn.

We finally get mornings that seem cool. But here in Northern Californian, it takes time for it to really cool down and feel like autumn. That doesnā€™t stop me from wanting to be surrounded by pumpkins. My friend invited us to join her Bishop's Pumpkin Farm where the kids had a blast.

So far we decorated our dining area and our backyard with pumpkins. And I still have 4 pumpkins to harvest from our own small pumpkin patch.

So far we have made pumpkin muffins, roasted seeds. I need to process pumpkin and make some more fall recipes. Itā€™s hard wanting to cut them open. They really liven up the space.

This week Iā€™ll be harvesting three of our Jarrahdale pumpkins for a fun painting project with the kids.

10/01/2026

Gulf Fritillary šŸ›šŸ§”

About four years ago, my eldest and I hatched some Fritillaries. It inspired me to get cuttings of the plant that host them. And that would be passiflora or passion fruit. At the moment we are growing three varieties.

The Fritillary found our garden almost as quickly as I planted the passion fruit. It wasnā€™t long before we found caterpillars. We found a big box at our local Nursery, and started our project.

Learning up close about these little critters has been fun for the boys. Seeing the chrysalis hang. And waking up to a beautiful flying bug was their highlight.

They are considered a medium sized butterfly. The best part is, they leave the rest of my plants alone and only eat from the host plant. And they came into garden pretty regularly. If you want to try this out, getting a passionfruit vine is the way to go.

09/29/2026

Harvesting from our Vertical Pumpkin Patch.

I grew some pumpkin last year on the ground. And in a small suburban backyard, it practically took over. After some inspiration, I decided to try growing my pumpkin patch vertically this year in two spots. And it did not disappoint.

It was everyoneā€™s favorite part of the garden. My kids absolutely loved watching how fast it grew over the summer. The squash blossoms attract so many pollinators. Another plus.

It however is finally time for a harvest. I did have three recently take fruit ok the Jarrahdale variety. So I left three alone and decided to harvest only the 4 that were ready.

I also grew a Musquee de Provence. This whole time I thought I had only one. And just yesterday I found a basketball sized one hiding in my ivy. I hadnā€™t noticed it growing secretly in the back. So, more excitement to be shared. More pumpkin harvesting to come.

If you have no space but want pumpkins, vertical is the way to go. Just make sure to prune the side shoots when needed.

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09/25/2026

A little pumpkin shop. šŸ§”

My local Garden Nursery Green Acres Nursery & Supply has some of the cutest options for pumpkins. The boys were so excited to get to walk around and pick some pumpkins out to decorate our porch.

They have some of unique varieties that I couldnā€™t get my hands on. And so glad I did. Now I can harvest some seeds once we eat them.

My boys said it felt like being at a pumpkin patch, but with more pumpkins. Highly recommend checking out what is in stock.

09/24/2026

Enjoying the last of the summer flowers.

Even though a lot of the flowers are happy at the moment, cold days are slowly approaching. I waited what felt like all summer for the Dahlia. And they have been putting on a show lately.
They look perfect with the white cosmos.

The Dahlia is called cafe au lait - rose all day. Love this variety. Im curious to see how well theyā€™ll keep doing into autumn.

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6128 San Juan Avenue
Citrus Heights, CA
95610

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