Spring has arrived at the Goodstone Inn!

Goodstone Inn and Estate ~ Spring

Goodstone Inn & Estate ~ Veggies Welcome to the Goodstone Gardens!  I am so excited to be able to share with you my passion for gardening and all that it entails.  I began my adventure at the Goodstone Inn last January and have just completed my first full year cycle on the farm.  During that time much was created.  We now have an amazing vegetable garden that allows us to bring our guests the most fresh and natural herbs and produce available!  We have 55 chickens and collect our own fresh eggs every day.  We have a very new little orchard planted with apples, pears, cherries, peaches, edible crab apples and persimmon and watercress is harvested from our small streams.  

All of this fresh food is harvested and brought immediately to our kitchen where our Chef, Tarver King, in turn works his magic on these raw ingredients to create a dining experience unmatched by any other.  Any food that can not be grown or raised on our farm is acquired from other local farmers and gardeners who share our passion for responsible farming/gardening and local food. Visit Tarver's blog www.goodstoneblog.blogspot.com to get a taste of his adventures and creations.  Along with my passion for veggie and herb gardening is my love of perennial gardening! 

  The Goodstone Inn had a nice "woodsy" garden already started when I arrived.  Immediately I began to build upon that location to include and develop the surrounding areas as "woodsy"  or woodland gardens  by adding all my woodland favorites!  Ferns, Columbine, jack in the pulpit, native ginger, witch hazel, hellebore, Bird foot violets, bluebells, trillium, foam flower, blood root and sooooo much more! I will be building on this collection every spring and fall.  The goal is to have all of these amazing specimens naturalize in our woods.

  Last year every house on the farm, there are 5, along with the pool gardens and the hot tub garden began to get a horticultural make over! This process will continue on this year and many more !  The garden is never done !  I will be starting the "native plant trail" which involves reintroducing native plant species along our 3 1/2 mile hiking trail.  This will not only result in adding beauty and wonder to our hiking trail but add a lot of diversity, food and habitat to all of the important species and creatures that reside on our land and the areas surrounding.  

 Every fall we will be planting thousands of Daffodils, snow drops, allium, ornithogalum, wood hyacinth, crocus and other bulbs.  The evidence is abundant already!!!  Our Daffodil display is amazing this year!   I look forward to being able to catalogue and share our dreams, plans, practices, goals, achievements and adventures via this blog!  Happy spring and Happy gardening !!!!

Airynee~The Goodstone Gardener