A Simple Garden in Oakland, Chickens and Bees Included

We have a post today on Remodelista about store owner Jamie Kidson’s Mission Revival-style house in Oakland. Her garden deserves the same scrutiny.

Kidson’s house was custom built by a woman named Grace Bush who was a naturalist in her own right; tumbling precious stones and carefully tending to a Japanese-style garden. While Kidson preserved the integrity of the grounds, she recognized that for her, a mother of two and full-time shop owner of Atomic Garden, a high maintenance garden was unrealistic. “I liked the more rustic look, so I took some things out and brought it back to mostly a California hacienda style,” she says. In addition to her two dogs and four cats, Kidson has been raising chickens and bees for the past five years, but unfortunately her bees swarmed, rather than stay in the hive, and she’s planning to work to revive the hive in the future.

To see the inside of Kidson’s home, see our post on Remodelista: House of Spirits: Jamie Kidson’s Mission Revival in Oakland.

Photography by Mimi Giboin for Remodelista.

Above: A white potting shed where Kidson stores her beekeeping attire, tools, seeds, and gardening accessories.

Above: Stoneware crocks store soil and seeds next to a wire basket and folded burlap fabric.

Above: Green Hunter Boots ($135 from Zappos) and a white beekeeping helmut and mask in the potting shed. (N.B.: Have a favorite pair of gardening boots? See how they match up to “The Ultimate Gardening Boots.“)

Above: The beehive behind the shed is currently an empty shell as Kidson’s bees have been swamping since the hive overcrowded and queen bee left.

Above: At the moment, Kidson has four chickens in the coop.

N.B.: Looking for more? See 380 Garden Sheds in our Gallery of rooms and spaces.