A Year in the Edible Gardens

COPIA's Permanent Living Exhibitions—Edible Gardens are the living source of the creativity behind our investigation of wine, food, art and culture. The seeds planted and tended each season produce a diverse bounty that inspires our chefs' culinary arts. Visitors are touched by the gardens' aesthetic beauty—their color and texture combinations and the display of the food plants that sustain us.

What's in Season?

Each season in the Edible Gardens has its own special beauty, featuring an assortment of edible and ornamental plants that provide a unique snapshot never to be exactly repeated again.

Spring
March, April, May
Spring is a busy and exciting time here, as evidenced by freshly turned beds and newly planted annuals. Signs of new life abound as fresh green leaves, shoots and blossoms appear throughout the gardens. As you explore, you’re likely to find artichokes, beets, fennel, leafy greens, peas and radishes.

Summer
June, July, August
The gardens are at their peak of production. Summer produce is abundant, with bumper crops of beans, carrots, corn, melon and tomatoes. The thrumming buzz of insect life will guide you towards the ripening fruit, a lush collection of apples, apricots, peaches, plums and pluots.

Fall
September, October, November
Fall marks the end of annuals and tender perennials, and many plants are in the final stages of their life cycle. Fall produce is brightly colored, so you can’t help but notice chiles, pumpkins and sweet peppers. This is the season when we gather olives to press into olive oil, harvest grapes to make table wine and collect the last of the seeds for preservation. During harvest (and indeed, all year), plant waste is sent to our composting facility, allowing nutrients to be recycled into the soil.

Winter
December, January, February
As you spy the ground coverings that provide frost protection for vulnerable plants during this cold season, you might think that the gardens are dormant, but that isn’t so. Keep your eyes peeled for broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and turnips. And don’t forget to look up: citrus fruits ripen during the winter, providing us with grapefruits, lemons, limes and tangerines.

Recommended reading: The Edible Garden series by Rosalind Creasy (Periplus Editions)