Books, blooms and edible possibilities draw crowds in Cornwall

CORNWALL — By all standards, the Books and Blooms weekend fundraiser to benefit the Cornwall Public Library was a huge success. Perfect weather on June 9 and 10 greeted the Friday lecture event at the library and the Saturday showcase garden tour focusing on vegetable gardens.

Vermont-based author Ellen Ecker Ogden spoke to a capacity audience at the library on  June 9, sharing stories of how she came to create the Cook’s Garden seed catalog and then expanded her interests to become a leader in food and garden writing. She publishes often and appears frequently on national broadcasts.

Tips on kitchen garden design and realization were the focus of Ogden’s library talk. Her enthusiasm was convincing as she shared her gardening knowledge with novices and experts alike. Her garden design work has spanned the past 10 years of her life. Newly married after college, she and her art-major husband made their way to Vermont, where they worked a small vegetable plot and eked out their living through their roadside farm stand, supplemented by her talents in sewing.

Attracted by the notion of importing unusual seeds from Europe, they learned that a minimum order for such seeds would be a 2-kilo bag. That was the start of the mail order seed business that led to the Cook’s Garden catalog (without pictures).  

Writing skills were honed, as Ogden needed to describe the particular flavors of the unusual vegetables and herbs to create customer interest in buying them. 

The next step was travel to European cooking schools to learn tips on cooking the produce. Particularly helpful was her study with culinary legend Marcella Hazan.

A life-changing trip found her in Ireland, where she encountered formal farm-to-table garden plots edged with boxwood in geometric designs. The same design elements could be used for vegetable or flower gardens.

Ogden said that the first kitchen gardens date back to 1500 BC, when they were called “Paradise Gardens.” Islamic gardens, even today, always have a water feature. Good examples of cottage gardens can be found at Colonial Williamsburg.

Today, Ogden recommends the 80-20 rule in the home garden, using 80 percent of the space for tried and true plantings, and 20 percent to try something new.

Ogden told her audience, “There are two things that money can’t buy: true love and a home-grown tomato.”

Ogden’s latest publication is “The Complete Kitchen Garden,” available at www.ellenogden.com.