Home/The Window Box

A monthly letter from the Guild

The Window Box

What to do this month in the Bay Area garden, the pieces from the site worth your time, what we're testing in the Workshop, and one plate worth a long look.

Free, on the first Monday of every month. Unsubscribe with one click.

The garden section is written for the Bay Area.

The Planters' GuildThe Bay Area

We never sell or share your address.

Inside every letter

The Planters' Guild

The same four sections every month, so you know where to look.

  1. This month in your garden

    What to do in the Bay Area garden now, in the order it matters.

    From Issue 03Start the houseplant move-in now. It takes about a month.

  2. From the Guild

    The pieces from the site worth your time, with a line on why.

    From Issue 03Six, from a hand lens test to why autumn is the time to plant natives.

  3. Workshop notes

    What's on the test bench, and what it showed.

    From Issue 03The 10× lens every pest guide recommends finished fourth of five.

  4. Plate of the month

    One image worth a long look, and what it's telling you.

    From Issue 03California sagebrush in September, the look that sends most gardeners for the hose.

Reply to any letter. I read every one.

The archive

Past letters

Every issue, as it went out.

  1. October 2026

    October in the Bay Area, when the job is choosing your natives and waiting for the rain to plant them. Plus the Apprenticeship opens with four modules, and the Pollinator Library's first two field-guide plates.

  2. September 2026

    September in the Bay Area, when the native plants look their worst and the real planting window is still ahead. Plus the hand lens verdict, and the 10× lens everyone recommends came in fourth.

  3. August 2026

    Late August in the Bay Area, when the summer garden peaks and the fall garden starts. Plus a twelve-entry native season closes out.

  4. July 2026

    Five things worth doing in the Bay Area garden in July, plus the Workshop opens with a hand lens test.

The Window Box is free and stays free. Members also get the Founder's note, a separate monthly letter on what we're building. Support the Guild →