If you find yourself perusing Priscilla Woolworth’s Instagram account, chances are very, very good that you’ll stumble upon something that will make your inner child squeal with delight. It’s peppered with images of pretty river rocks, alien-looking seedpods, artfully wilted flowers—the sort of bits and bobs that kids can’t resist gathering and hoarding.
When she’s not foraging for these little keepsakes, Priscilla’s at work on her Hudson Valley property, dubbed River’s Edge Farm, “a climate resilient, carbon neutral, zero waste, pollinator friendly organic farm…where I grow enough food and medicine for my family, as well as share a portion with my community.” She also makes artful, refreshingly naive objects (think ceramic toad houses and feather holders), many of which are available for purchase at her store, The Rabbit Hole. The shop sells “things I make, grow and find—all supporting nature or small brands that I like.”
Today, we’re thrilled to have Priscilla share her thoughts on gardening—including a tomato-growing tip we’ve never heard before! (And if you want more of her wisdom, consider signing up for her bi-monthly newsletter devoted to “inspiring, entertaining and, most of all, hopeful news about the environment and about the people doing amazing work to better the planet.”)
Photography courtesy of Priscilla Woolworth.
Above: “These 6 products are very special to me because they were either found, foraged or grown near my home,” Priscilla wrote on Instagram. The rocks in the rock puzzle were collected from the riverbank; the brush is made from the needles of a white pine tree she planted; the Christmas ornaments, from okra from her garden; the Calendula is also from her garden; the Jack in the Pulpit card is from a photograph she took; and the dried golden oysters are from the woodland on her property.
Your first garden memory:
The south of France, my grandparents’ garden in the spring, full of peach and apricot trees, freesias and daffodils, and a seating area amongst it all, to sit and enjoy the perfume and blossoms.
Garden-related book you return to time and again:
Natural Gardening for Birds by Julie Zickefoose; The Herbal Apothecary by Dr. J J Pursell; and Bringing Nature Home by Doug Tallamy on how you can sustain wildlife with native plants.
Instagram account that inspires you:
@Min_aeroe_koekkenhave. It’s a beautiful example of a small vegetable garden in Scandinavia—unpretentious, orderly, and attractive. I appreciate the sharing of imperfect situations, as I often find myself apologizing when anyone visits my garden! Naturally, I’m the only one who see’s the weed that just appeared or the nibbles on a plant.
Describe in three words your garden aesthetic.
Above: Last summer, Priscilla used fallen branches to build a simple extension to the pergola, in the hope that it will support a gourd vine that emerged from the pollinator garden.
Wildlife friendly, low-maintenance, and delightful.
Plant that makes you want to run the other way:
Poison ivy. I’m very allergic and give it a wide berth in the wilder parts near River’s Edge Farm, as wildlife depends on it for sustenance in the winter.
Favorite go-to plant:
Basil, because I can’t ever have enough!
Plant that makes you swoon:
Allium schubertii. It’s extraordinary looking in the garden as well as a stunning dried flower for the house.
Favorite way to bring the outdoors in:
Above: Currently for sale at The Rabbit Hole: Wall Nest-Branch Supports. “The small clay ‘sleeve’ has a hole in the back so that all you need is to put a nail in the wall.”
It’s constant—from abandoned wasp and birds nests, to rosemary and rose geranium cuttings started indoors over the winter and river willow in the early spring. Cut flowers all summer long.
Hardest gardening lesson you’ve learned:
Feeling over-confident that I had outsmarted the garden voles when my sugar snap vines seemed to be thriving, only to discover them nibbled at the base the following day.
Favorite gardening hack:
It’s an odd one but it really does work. When starting tomatoes from seed in the greenhouse, once they are 2 to 3 feet high, fan them with a hand fan, mimicking a breeze. This helps them to grow stronger stems.
Every garden needs a …
Above: Priscilla’s al fresco dining setup.
Table to sit at with friends. I put one above the river, at the bottom of the garden. It’s so wonderful having dinner there early summer when the fireflies are out and about.
Tool you can’t live without:
A handpick, which I use for so many tasks from starting a hole, to weeding or for prying a large rock out.
Go-to gardening outfit:
Ines de la Fressange cotton shirts for Uniqlo; white cotton doctor’s pants or Carhartt jeans; Agnes Baddoo belt sack—perfect for my phone and has a small back pocket for collecting seeds on the fly; and a straw hat.
Favorite nursery, plant shop, or seed company:
Fedco seeds in Maine; Phantom Gardener in Rhinebeck, NY; Catskill Native Plant nursery in Kerhonkson, NY; Hudson Valley Seed in Accord, NY; and Wild Seed Project in Maine.
Favorite hardscaping material:
Above: Pea gravel pathways in the fenced-in garden at River’s Edge Farm, “where 9o percent of the vegetables and flowers I grow are from seeds I saved from the previous year.”
Pea gravel because every time I walk on it, the sound memory reminds me of my childhood in the south of France.
On your wish list:
A sit-on electric mower strong enough to pull a utility cart.
Not to be missed public garden/park/botanical garden:
Hortus Botanical Garden in Stoneridge, NY; the garden at the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles; Chelsea Physic Garden in London, UK; Lotusland in Monetcito, Ca and Wethersfield near Pine Plains, NY.
The REAL reason you garden:
Above: Future projects? “I would like River’s Edge Farm to host tours and workshops this summer, including several on collecting and saving seeds. I’m working on a book project and also developing ceramics that support mason bees, which are important pollinators in our gardens.”
It’s essential to my well-being. I moved to the Hudson Valley 7 years ago, so that I could live deeper in nature, be the steward of a piece of land, learn to live increasingly off the land and grow my own organic food.
Thank you so much, Priscilla! (Follow her on Instagram @priscillawoolworth.)
For our full archive of Quick Takes, head here.
