The Perennial Mother Garden
I recently sat down with Carissa Chiniaeff from Frey’s gardening crew, over a cup of warm elixirs, to discuss "The Perennial Mother Garden" on the Frey Ranch. The Perennial Mother Garden on Tomki Road was established after the fires of 2017 to act as a fresh, renewed concept space in the aftermath of the tragedy.
The vision started in 2019, as part of the rebuilding efforts, with the planting of many heirloom roses. These roses were purposefully chosen for their aromatherapeutic smell, excellent distillation properties, and other choice benefits. Many of these roses are ancient varieties, all renowned for different wonderful benefits. This initial “Sensory Garden” was the brainchild of the gardening team, our Sensory Evaluator Eva Marie Lind, and our CEO Katrina Frey (an avid, lifelong gardener). Eva Marie has been making rose syrups, flower essences, tinctures, and teas, and also drying the flowers for culinary adventures!
In the rose garden, there are nearly fifty plantings. At first, the roses established the foundation of the Sensory Garden efforts. Among the chosen roses are: 3 Reine Victoria Bourbon type, 6 Papa Meilard Fragrant (they’re long stemmed and a red hybrid tea rose), 12 Rosa de Rescht (a Portland rose which is a Damask Perpetual), 1 Gallica officinalis (the apothecary rose: the traditional rose used for medicine and perfumery), 10 Hansa rugosa (rugosa types are very fragrant, drought tolerant prolific, and produce large rosehips), 1 Louise Odier Bourbon type, 6 Glorie de Guilan Damascena/Damask roses, 6 Kazanlik damask, and 4 Madame Isaac Pierre Bourdon types!
Then, in 2022, a fence was installed around the garden area so that the team could expand and protect the garden and their vision for it. The site of the garden was formerly planted with grape vines. However, the groundwater was so immense in the area that the vines didn’t thrive there and were eventually removed. After the vines were finally pulled out, the site remained dormant (except for some weeds) while the Frey family dealt with the incredible task of starting over after losing all but a few buildings on the home ranch. However, with the fence in place, the gardening team was able to start envisioning bigger possibilities for the space.
Carolyn Brown, our head gardener, and her crew have been busy implementing full garden plans for both the new West Road Winery location and the Tomki spot over the last several years. You can read about the pollinator garden installations here. They still maintain the home ranch garden areas next to the old winery tasting room, but they have also added on some big projects since 2017! The fenced area at Tomki is a kind of mother garden, where plants can be propagated and divided for all the winery garden sites. They have been busy at work propagating seed plants to create a new foundation at West road. In this way, the sensory garden has grown to become the Perennial Mother Garden, providing a space for many different plants to be propagated for planting at the Frey home ranch, and the new West Road Winery.
Being the first organic and first biodynamic winery in the country, Frey has always been a huge supporter of organic and biodynamic agriculture. But what some folks might not know is that most of the Frey family is also full of avid home gardeners, who maintain their own personal gardens. Katrina Frey maintained an amazing garden and nursery project for many years. Luke Frey has been internationally renowned for his biodynamic preparations, handmade on the Frey ranch. Our winemaker Paul grew a surplus food garden for many years, donating fresh, local, organic produce to the local food bank and food security organizations. One of the 12 Frey siblings, Benjamin, married Kate Frey, who won gold at the Chelsea Garden show twice! The Frey family takes gardening seriously!
With the construction of a new, state-of-the-art green facility on West Road, the gardening crew took on the phenomenal task of simultaneously greening a new space and reviving the old home ranch garden space. Carolyn Brown, Carissa Chiniaeff, and Andy Hill are working hard as the Frey Vineyards gardening team to make amazing gardens at both locations. Their aim has been to especially focus on native plantings to support the indigenous eco-system. Carolyn has a background in beekeeping, and has been able to provide a wealth of information about how to create pollinator habitats, to support the insect population that we depend on!
In 2023, the crew set about to deeply mulch the area for weed suppression. Convolvulus and Bermuda grass are weeds with tenacity. To organically mitigate their abundant presence, Carolyn mulched the areas in question with thick sheets of cardboard, several layers thick, and then applied wood chips as a thick top dressing. This sustainable weed control has made an otherwise overrun space become plantable again. And so, this past Spring, the Sensory Rose garden was joined by rows and rows of cover crops featuring buckwheat, grape pumice (partially composted organic stems and seeds left over after crushing the grape juice), and also several gorgeous flowers. Dahlias, snapdragons, strawflowers, and other beauties were resplendent this Fall. The team has started to create new plantings in earnest as they reclaim the space as the Perennial Mother Garden.
Carissa also shared about her personal journey as “Grandiflora,” wanting to grow flowers. “The story of Grandiflora goes back many, many years to the moment when the tiny seed was planted in my heart in Santa Cruz, California. I was an apprentice at the Center for Agro-Ecology and Sustainable Food Systems in 2003. My internal field was tilled and ready to accept the variety of seeds being dispersed during this Farm experience. I came to find out I had planted an internal perennial garden rather than the annual type and stayed on at the farm to deepen and cultivate my desire to learn about food and Flowers alongside Christof Bernau. Like many before me and many after me, I left Santa Cruz in search of my forever field to carry out the directives of the magic. Like a seed being carried on the wind I landed and planted in many a field before a final descent in Willits, California, where I fell deep into the soil and my roots grew and grew. Alongside my dear friend and fellow apprentice, I grew vegetables, moved along to growing food for the Local Hospital, and was finally sparked by a greater interest in cut flowers. As I chased my pot of gold I was fortunate to find many a friendly farmer willing to let me grow flowers on their plot. A few years later on this path, I joined up with a beautiful friend and we grew stunning cut flowers together. After several years of cultivating together, we parted ways and I happily returned to my original living space where I now reside AND grow flowers. It has been a beautiful journey of learning and loving and of course, experimenting with seeds and soil and magic. I am so thrilled to be living and growing Flowers in the same place.”
Carissa still grows flowers outside of Frey Vineyards too. We are grateful to have her and her knowledge of cut flowers, on our gardening team. Carissa beamed as she discussed the potential for the future. The short-term garden planting implementation plan includes getting the space decked out and “glowing” for our matriarch, Beba Frey’s 100th birthday celebration in the summer of 2024. The Perennial Mother Garden and the matriarch are next-door neighbors: Beba's front door leads out to the garden across from her driveway.
The five-year plan includes creating structures like a gardening shed and a flower processing workstation so that workshops can be held in the garden to teach folks gardening, flower arranging, and sensory skills in situ. While a redwood tree and lavender hedgerow are already well established on the Northern border of the garden, Carissa mentioned plans to create another hedgerow for some shade on the Southern border. From rose beginnings, the garden is blooming with possibilities! Next Spring Carissa hopes to plant a three sisters patch, a melon patch, and a pumpkin patch in the mother garden as more areas are reclaimed from the weeds. Stay tuned in the months (and years) to come; we’ll keep posting updates as the garden continues to evolve, expand, and grow!
