This beautiful organic garden is located 50 miles outside of New York City, in Garrison, New York, sitting on four rolling acres in the Hudson River Valley. The homeowner and avid organic gardener, Katherine Whiteside, has a passion for decorating with nature, especially gourds, and has a book out entitled “The Way We Garden Now: 41 Pick-and-Choose Projects for Planting Your Paradise Large or Small.
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Katherine has been an organic gardener for over 25 years, and her love for nature has carried over into her home. She has painted her walls a soft, warm sunrise/sunset hue because she loves the color of the sky at those times. She is always bringing something from the gardens to display in her home as a reminder of how beautiful nature is in all seasons, even in winter.
Katherine’s favorite season is autumn, when she plans her garden to be an overabundance of flowers and vegetables. The Hudson River provides an incredible backdrop for her late-season perennials, second-flush roses, and unusual annuals that keep springing up until Thanksgiving. Crazy about gourds, her favorite is the birdhouse gourd, which is mildew-resistant and has a beautiful mottled color.
When the frost hits, the foliage dies, yet the gourds remain, and as they dry, they are ready for the spring season, when she picks them to use as decorative items throughout her home.
During walks in the forest surrounding her home, Katherine collects interesting nature finds, such as fungus, rocks, and bark.
Dried gourds become mini-sculptures when paired with old glassware and cloches.
Katherine likes to keep her tools at hand, leaving them out under the garage eaves year-round.
To protect a patch of peonies from being backed over by cars, she surrounds them with skinny posts topped with gourds.
This is the site of Katherine’s office, across the field from her house. In the winter, she puts things in a backpack and will cross-country ski over.
This old mailbox is used to store some of Katherine’s pertinent tools.
Every year, Katherine designs a new scarecrow to stand watch over her vegetable garden. This particular one is called “Sheryl Scare-Crow.”
The big apple tree has two picnic tables where you can sit and watch wildlife.
This beautiful, handmade bench was crafted by two teenage brothers as a gift for Katherine. The wood used to make it was collected from a nearby forest.
An old metal table in the small kitchen with the turquoise floors displays the day’s produce.
Fresh from the garden: yams, Brussels sprouts, Swiss chard, lettuce, carrots, and tomatoes. Katherine lays out all the fresh vegetables from the day and plans the meal around them, using everything.
Source: Country Home
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