A couple weekends ago, we visited friends of ours in Sooke, a small community on the southern tip of Vancouver Island.
Sooke is known for a couple of things. For families and outdoorsy types, it’s all about the beaches and swimming at the Potholes, while the Sooke Harbour House is a must for the luxury travel set. Just guess which crowd I belong to.
Our friends, now married with a new baby, met years ago when they were both working at the Harbour House (he was the sommelier, she was a 14-year old bus girl – imagine!) so they were quite familiar with the luxury inn and its world-renowned restaurant. When they offered to take us there for a garden tour, we jumped at the chance.
Head gardener Byron Cook led us on a tour of the gardens, which overlook the ocean. The gardens completely surround the inn, providing a tranquil foreground to the backdrop of the Pacific. But the garden isn’t just there to admire from your private hot tub. It’s a working garden, supplying the restaurant, which focused on local food waaaay before it was hip (1979, to be precise).
The garden emphasizes herbs, salad greens, and edible flowers. Over 200 species of edible plants are grown on the grounds. One hundred percent of the gardens’ plants are edible, although not all of them are used regularly. (Take our native camas, for example. As Byron says, “it’s a survival food.”)
Although there are several raised beds, mainly devoted to the cultivation of salad greens, the majority of the garden is a mingling of herbs and flowers – a true edible landscape. Some of the flowers, such as borage or nasturtium, are quite familiar as edibles. Others, such as daylilies, were a surprise to me.
“Edible landscaping” has become quite the buzzword (buzz term?) over the last couple of years, but for all the talk, you never really see it done. Sooke Harbour House not only does it, but does it with style.
Sooke Harbour House: 1528 Whiffen Spit Rd, Sooke , BC, V9Z0T4, Tel: 250-642-3421, Toll Free: 800-889-9688. Garden tours daily at 10:30am.
Tatyana says
Thank you, Andrea, for this post! We’ve been to Vancouver island several times and passed Sooke but didn’t know it had such an interesting place. Next time, we’ll stop there for sure!
Linda says
We use to go there, ask Clarice (storybookwoods) about it. Some happy memories from there. The food was out of this world, but very expensive. It was an extra special treat for us. Linda
Jason van der Valk says
Great article and thank you for linking up to our Sooke Potholes page. Greatly appreciated.
Keep up the great work on this informative website!
nancy says
i’ve always imagined sooke harbor house as a romantic dinner retreat after driving through the enchanted winding roads of the coast.
the potholes used to be free to the public before they made it into a park. there used to be this half built mansion that stood on a cliff or the river and waterfall. it made for excellent photo ops. like something out of a fantastic novel. the potholes are gorgeous and if it’s warm enough you must go for a dip.
oh you are making me miss the island! now i really regret moving away. victoria and surrounding area has always been a step ahead as far as growing organic foodies. my friend had a city farm right in vic back in the late 80’s early 90’s (mason st. farm) equipped with working chickens, composting, and a huge edible garden. we once guerrilla gardened the mcdonalds that burned down the street, of course we let the chickens run loose through the plot..and into oncoming traffic…ooops!
we visited the island last month and the chickens are gone but the land has not been built up with condos! people were still growing veggies there. the earth is so rich on that land it would be a shame otherwise.
ahhh, sweetest memories, thank you for that andrea!!! :-)
Genevieve says
Ah yes, I too have been hearing the phrase “edible landscaping” more often now, not just in the radical punk zines I used to read. Edible landscaping is actually the kind of landscaping I’d like to do professionally, and luckily my first landscape client is allowing me to use a lot of edibles (hearty herbs mostly) and medicinals (purple coneflower!) in her design. I should mention too, that this client lives in the low Sonoran desert, which proves you can do this anywhere!
I do think it’s an important concept though, and hope that more landscapers pick up this trend of encouraging landscapes that are both nutritionally functional and aesthetically pleasing. If you haven’t already, you should check into the “Food not Lawns” group. There is a book by the same name, but I suggest seeking out the actual Portland-based group that strives to teach people how to turn their water-hogging sod lawns into verdant and nourishing paradises. Very cool.
Thanks for all the great posts!
Lou says
A visit to Sooke is in order! Our own garden is increasingly devoted to food plants and herbs…though I must admit a guilty pleasure to nurturing the purely ornamental.
Chicago Garden says
Nice article.
Edible landscaping is a huge buzzword right now and I wonder how many people getting into it actually eat most of what they plant. Here in Chicago I kind of got annoyed when the city planted greens to landscape, considering how many people right now in America are going without food.
Glad to see an edible landscape being put to use and not just there for show.
MrBrownThumb @ Chicago Garden
cindy says
so inspiring, so beautiful.
jackie connelly says
love this place. love.
germi says
GASP!!!
I WEEP!
I want these gardens so badly!!! I am SO jealous! Does Harbor House have no squirrels, rats, voles, possums, raccoons, or skunks? I have them all! I am feeding them all on carefully chosen organic vegetables nurtured with my homemade worm compost.
Sigh! Beautiful pics! I weep some more!
Helen says
Sooke Harbour House really is a jewel. We live in Victoria and you’ve reminded me with these beautiful photos that it’s time to go and visit this wonderful place again soon. Thank you!
JIVA says
i worked at the harbour house for this past may and i will always feel so fortunate to have experienced it. i was in the kitchen, one of the most creative i’ve been in thanks to the extraordinary garden full of unusual plants that serve as fodder for culinary imaginations! you can taste the ocean on the beautiful bronze fennel. they let the plants bolt to harvest the buds and blossoms, divine. i ate a tulip! truly beautiful! p.s. some gardens are protected from the voracious appetites of the local and numerous deer families by walls of mesh and net.
Miss Corinne says
So beautiful – and the photos are lovely! Yes, edible landscaping has muscled its way into the public eye…but I see nothing but good things coming from the publicity. I’m also glad the east coast as a whole is FINALLY catching up to you earthy west coasters! And another good book is Edible Estates by Fritz Haeg.