A BEAUTIFUL VEGETABLE GARDEN

Welcome.

Thanks for stopping in.

Today is a very special day because it is the day I gave birth to my son Taylor 23 years ago.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAYLOR!

So today, on Taylor’s Birthday, I thought I’d take you back for another visit to The Inn At Little Washington.  I know I’ve been spending a lot of time blogging about my visit there, but hey, there are just so many special things about the place that I still wish to share.

On the afternoon of our arrival we took a guided tour of the inn.  Our tour guide gave a brief overview of the property and then encouraged us to explore and to make ourselves at home.  As I mentioned previously, they really emphasize wanting you to feel as if you were a guest in a private home. We were invited to tour the vegetable garden and were told to feel free to pick and sample the produce, which provides much of the fresh ingredients served in the dining room.

We started our stroll around the grounds with a visit to The Tavern Shops, located in this building.  Here they sell a lot of beautiful items which include such things as the dinnerware and serveware used in the restaurant and the homemade preserves, made from fruit and produce grown on the property.

Behind The Tavern Shops lies a wide expanse of beautifully landscaped property…

with lovely views stretching off to the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance.

Down what they call The Perimeter Path, you come upon a beautiful vegetable garden.

It is tended by Farmer in Residence, Jenna Brownell, who grows over 130 different types of produce here.  Everything is grown organically.  The outdoor gardens produce from the end of March through December, depending on the weather.

As I understand it, Brownell oversees all the farming operations at the Inn, which includes tending to multiple vegetable gardens, a greenhouse and a flower cutting garden.  The greenhouse allows The Inn At Little Washington to harvest virtually all year long.  During the cold winter months, Farmer Brownell grows micro greens and herbs in the greenhouse.  She also tends to a dwarf cherry tree orchard that produces about 225 pounds of Montmorency cherries each year.  The cherries are used by the kitchen team in tarts, pies, sorbets, ice creams and jams.  Some are even pickled for use in savory dishes.

The garden is also overseen by this scarecrow, dressed in Chef/Proprietor Patrick O’Connell’s signature dalmatian print overall.

See the plants growing along the fence?  Those are tomatoes, the vines of which are being trained up along the fence.

I thought it was a very ingenious way to grow tomatoes, which need support as they grow.

Tomatoes of every type and description lined the perimeter of the garden.

They grow over 20 different varieties of tomatoes.  And notice how herbs are planted just below the tomato vines.  They grow 50 different kinds of herbs here. Just look at all that basil and cilantro!

Another side of the fence that surrounds the vegetable garden supports the growth of pole beans, the very beans we would eat later on that evening in the restaurant.

The garden also employs the use of these cleverly designed wooden boxes to house potato plants.  I understand it makes them easier to harvest.

Notice the painted rock in the bottom right corner of the photo below.

These painted rocks could be found all throughout the vegetable garden and are used to identify the plants.

I love this idea and plan to incorporate painted rocks in my own garden one day.

Last year The Inn At Little Washington harvested over 8,000 pounds of fruit and vegetables from this garden.  What they didn’t use fresh they used in the canning of over 350 quarts of pickled vegetables, including pickles, beets, tomatoes, peppers, okra, garlic, onions and green beans. Boy, am I jealous! But, I must say, I was also very inspired to do a better job with my own vegetable garden in the future.

Finally exiting the vegetable garden…

we continued our walk along the 3/4 mile loop trail.

It meanders past the 20 resident Clun Forest Sheep…

who graze and roam in this lovely green pasture. Clun Forest Sheep are considered to be an “heirloom” breed that originated in the Clun Forest of Shropshire, England.  Because of their beauty, they are called the “Arabian Horse” of sheep.

The sheep are watched over by their guardian llama, Francesca.  Llamas are very social animals and like to live as part of a herd.  They are incredibly alert and are always on the lookout.

Resident Farmer, Jenna Brownell, also tends to the flock of sheep and llamas on what they call the property’s “Field of Dreams.” As I understand it, she really is a “resident” farmer and lives in what they call the Game Keeper’s Cottage here.  As my husband would say, “Nice work if you can get it!”

It is also not such a bad gig to be a resident chicken at The Inn At Little Washington.  They live here in this lovely little abode which, as I understand it, has a crystal chandelier inside.  And their only job is to produce delicious eggs for use in the kitchen.  Just as the resident sheep are not butchered for use in the kitchen, the resident chickens cannot be found on the dinner table either.

Alongside the chicken coop we found a bevy of berries ripe for the picking and decided to pick some for a before dinner snack.  They were delicious!

So there you have it: A Beautiful Vegetable Garden.

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