Poetry & Gardening

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“Courtyards and boxwood and stonewalls and nepeta,

Agave and old barns and salvage antiqua

Formal and classic and playing with greens

These are a few of her favorite things.”

Mary Jasch

When I first read this poem I thought to myself…

These are a few of my favorite things & the poet must be a gardener as the two always seem to go hand in hand. 

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My intuition served me correctly…

Penned by freelance writer and photographer Mary Jasch, she is also the editor & publisher of DIG IT! magazine. 

Let me tell you that DIG IT! is more than just a garden full of pretty flowers.

 DIG IT! is a digital publication where avid gardeners delight in sharing their roots & gaining knowledge.  The contributing writers are horticulturists, conservationists, landscapers, artists, master & everyday gardeners!  It’s dog-eared with wonderful links – Also a newsletter & calendar of events for all of you gardening along the east coast. 

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Informative & resourceful yes!  Another appealing aspect is that it reads like a gardener’s journal as the magazine is enriched by and dedicated to the loving memories of Mary Jasch’s mother & grandmother. 

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At DIG IT! Mary also invites readers to put on their muck boots & join her at her blog where she tends to her own personal landscape. 

Whether it’s the gruesome task of pruning & plowing past a six-foot Rose of Sharon entwined in chain link or the sleepy-eyed luxury of picking early morning breakfast berries from her own backyard, she reflects in a melodious tone even while yanking a dead plant out of the soil! 

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The Grounds, a regular feature at DIG IT! is where I discovered that this writer, photographer, editor, publisher & gardener is also a poet!  In an article titled Her Favorite Things - Mary opens with her poem about designer & gardener Andrea Filippone is seen here at the entrance to her Orangerie. 

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The beautiful photographs you see throughout this story and the “Courtyards and boxwood” that she speaks of are in reference to the 19th-century homestead of Andrea Filippone & husband William Welch.  The “old barns and salvage antiqua” refer to their all-encompassing architecture, interior, and landscape design firm.  

Andrea Filippone & William Welch photographed by William Waldron for Elle Décor   

All beautifully settled together amongst the gentle hills of New Jersey horse country.

This is Tendenze Design.

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At the end of her poem,

Mary Jasch begins her narrative & leads readers on a prolific tour of the windswept estate.

“Walk through the archway of the barns, anchored with iron horse legs, and enter another world – beyond the threshold of Americana out front. A courtyard comes into view. Suddenly the barns morph into house with long stone steps across the front with rows of heuchera, boxwood and ivy rising, flanked with agave, elephant ears and hydrangea. This is a landscape to learn from.” Mary Jasch

 

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While writing this story a theme kept running through my mind. 

The woman who works with her hands is a laborer.  The woman who works with her head is a craftswoman.  The woman who works with her hands, her head, and her heart is an artist.

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Mary Jasch & Andrea Filippone are both hard-working & incredibly talented women, but it’s the way in which they weave their artistry not only into their own lives but the lives of others as well that inspires me to no end.

Thank you, ladies.

 

 

 

The May 2012 issue of Elle Décor featured a marvelous layout, photographed by William Waldron, on the bucolic country life of Andrea Filippone & William Welch.  

Burgundy to Portland

While looking for an escape from the heat yesterday, I found myself browsing through the vineyards of Burgundy.

 

A couple of photos caught my eye.

I clicked to learn more and found my way to Sauvie Island and the charming front porch of Wild Goose Farm.

  

  Sauvie Island is not in France, it’s located on the Columbia River 15 minutes north of Portland Oregon.

 

 

  Wild Goose Farm sits on five-acres of this agricultural heaven. Deep in lush island grass, the farm is surrounded by garden patches, beehives, chicken coops, a greenhouse & a big barn.  Can you say “sustainable?” 

 

 

   Wild Goose Farm is also home to Interior Designer Jessica Helgerson, her Eco-Architect husband Yianni Doulis and their two children.

“Tiny House” as it is often referred to, has been their home & Eco-experiment for the last several years.  Their goal was to restore its original 540 square feet using mostly reclaimed materials while creating a comfortable home for their growing family.

“As part of the remodel, the worn-out roof was replaced with a green roof, planted with moss and ferns gathered along the Columbia River Gorge. The green roof offers insulation as well as a playful visual counterpoint to the traditional white cottage.”  JHInteriorDesign

 

 

Clean & uncluttered best describes Jessica’s style. 

“For any project, her goal is to ensure that the fundamental design and the materials are classic, long-lasting, and appropriate to the building and its period. Then she likes to layer on fresh, contemporary elements—such as lighting, furniture, and art—that feel just right for the clients and for the moment.” JHInteriorDesign

Step inside the front door and find absolute charm, pure & simple.

 

 

You have to see more of this “Tiny House!”

I’ll let MARTHA STEWART LIVING  & photographer Lincoln Barbour take you on an up-close & personal tour.

Meet me back on the porch because I want to share with you a different kind of story about Wild Goose Farm.

 

Once a month Jessica & Yianni turn their farm into a kind of homestead. Long tables covered in white linen set the mood for evening dinners on the lawn to reflect their love of food, drink, and design.

 

Friends from LA, colleagues, French-speaking wine connoisseurs & families all come together for starlit evenings &  four courses of some of the best food to be found.

 

 

This feast is farm-picked & requires many helping hands. Even Jessica’s daughter does her part in cutting cucumbers fresh from their garden.

And thank goodness for the barn!

For these artisanal dinners, it becomes a regular gourmet kitchen complete with a three burner camp stove!  This beautiful barn also adds culinary charm & introduces Portlanders to talented newcomers and cooks not attached to traditional restaurants.  Wild Goose Farm began its 2011 series with chef Thomas Boyce (below, center) who spent 15 years at LA’s famed Spago restaurant under Wolfgang Puck!

 

Menu

Appetizers:

elegant oysters beneath finely grated radishes and a collection of wood-fired pizzas sporting porcinis, fava beans, and other seasonal surprises to match a honey-tinged crust. 

Course one:

Yianni Doulis’s chicken liver terrine (featuring his own chickens) to match Boyce’s rhubarb mustard and eye-popping spring salad, with each vegetable cut to reveal hidden beauty.

Course two:

breathtaking fresh pasta pinched into beautiful packets.

Course three:

expertly wood-oven-roasted salmon with skin as crispy as bacon.

 

The feast also included:

Yianni Doulis’s artisan cheese board accessorized by thoughtfulness, from wood-roasted cherries soaked in port and pinot noir.

And for dessert:

The chef's baker-star wife Kim Boyce prepared hand-folded rhubarb tartelettes! 

  Seated family-style & reflecting the bounty of the season, the feast begins.

   

Respect for the abundance and traditions of the region coupled with an appreciation of the playfulness and freshness of modern design prove that the landscape of Wild Goose Farm is just as important for creating a sense of place as is Jessica Helgerson’s Tiny House.

Visit Jessica Helgerson Interior Design to see her incredible portfolio & more of her family place in Burgundy.

Her firm does “Big Houses” too!

  

Photos & Additional Sources Courtesy of

 Lincoln Barbour Photo

 Portland Monthly Magazine - Eat Beat

 Portland Monthly Magazine – Wild Goose Farm – Sauvie Island

David L. Reamer Photography

Geronimo

 Photo Credit: © CORBIS

Nope, not that Geronimo.

This in Santa Fe!

   Located at 724 Canyon Road, the Historic Borrego House originally built in 1756 combines classic adobe style with early Territorial style architecture & lies in the heart of a historical district known to many as the "art and soul" of Santa Fe.

The importance of Canyon Road is known internationally, and the Historic Borrego House remains one of the crown jewels. 

Since 1990, it's been home to the world-renowned restaurant, Geronimo.  

Step inside and you are greeted by an enormous set of bleached and varnished moose antlers which are stunning against the creamy smooth adobe walls.

Being in an old home that pre-dates the United States, the restaurant is comprised of several intimate dining rooms with beamed ceilings, fireplaces, and cushioned bancos.  During the snowy winter months, dinners are also served by the fire in the very cozy bar.  That's where Nancy {mom} spotted Meryl Streep!   I swear, the woman sees "everyone" in Santa Fe.

 Moving on...all the dining areas are adjoined by a long narrow hall.

This is where I fell madly in love,

with the floors!

Old brick with layers and layers and layers of brown & black paint, wax, and a spilled cocktail or two!  That's what one of Geronimo's owner told me.  I would consider him to be a credible source.

Nancy {mom} claims she heard at a cocktail party from a very credible source that, "at one time the local mine comptroller lived there and was in a shoot-out with Geronimo & that's how the establishment got its name!"      

Her "source" tells her that he can walk into Geronimo and put his finger right into one of the bullet holes by the beehive fireplace in the bar!  Hmmm.....

So while {Nancy} was looking all over for the bullet hole, I was drooling all over the floors.

Did I mention that we were there before dinner was being served? 

Thank goodness!

If you go, let me know because as I mentioned in "Good Morning Santa Fe" Canyon Road is not only home to one of Santa Fe’s many artistic communities. It is an ancient neighborhood of historic adobe houses, manicured courtyard gardens, and hidden alleys, all interspersed with some of the country's finest art galleries, interesting people & dining experiences!

In my next post, I'll take you grocery shopping in Tesuque Village with Pocahontas and Ali McGraw!