GardenWise Free

Learn exactly what to do in your Southern California garden, week by week.

Subscribe for weekly garden tasks, monthly notes from Nan, and Garden School news, straight to your inbox. No purchase necessary.

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What you'll receive

Three parts. All free. All designed specifically for Southern California.

Weekly garden task

One timely, actionable thing to do in your garden, written for our Mediterranean climate, every single week.

Nan's Notes

A personal note from Nan each month: what she's observing, thinking about, and growing in her own garden.

Garden School updates

Events, new classes, and programs you'll love, so you always know what's coming next.

Why GardenWise Free

Advice written for here. Not everywhere else.

  • Search the web and you get conflicting advice that doesn't work here. What works in the Midwest or the Pacific Northwest is often the wrong move in Southern California.

  • Our Mediterranean climate has dry summers, mild winters, and a rhythm that runs counter to nearly every gardening guide you'll find online.

  • GardenWise Free is written specifically for it, by someone who has spent her career working and gardening in this exact climate.

Nan Sterman
Botanist Horticulturist Garden designer Educator Author
Meet Nan

Hi, I'm Nan Sterman.

I've spent my career helping Southern Californians become confident, curious gardeners. As a botanist, horticulturist, garden designer, author, and educator, I've seen what happens when gardeners have the right information for their climate โ€” and what happens when they're working from advice that was never meant for here.

I created GardenWise Free because I wanted to give every Southern California gardener exactly what I'd tell a friend: the one thing to do this week, the seasonal context that makes sense of it, and the encouragement to trust what's right in front of them.

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Questions

A few things people often ask.

Yes. Always. GardenWise Free costs nothing now, and that won't change. No trial period, no credit card, no catch.
A weekly garden task every Thursday, a personal note from Nan once a month, and occasional Garden School updates about events and new classes.
Yes. After you subscribe, you can manage your email preferences any time using the link in any email you receive. You're in control of what stays in your inbox.
No. GardenWise Free is email-only and comes straight to your inbox.
GardenWise Free includes weekly garden tasks, Nan's Notes, and Garden School updates, but it's just the beginning. Paid adds the full monthly GardenWise guides of your choice with deeper, topic-specific content each month.
Yes. Every email includes a one-click unsubscribe link.