Herb Garden

What we call the Herb Garden combines the work of a nursery, a cut flower farm, and a culinary and medicinal herb garden. We additionally serve the Innisfree community by maintaining Pasture Fence, our community store. The Herb Garden cultivates approximately 1/3 acre. This includes two garden spaces as well as our greenhouse for nursery starts and a 20’ x 60’ hoop house/greenhouse which is used for both nursery plants and cut flower growing. These flowers are distributed to community members through early autumn. Gardeners work to harvest, package and deliver these bouquets from February-September.

When the weather warms to allow the gardeners outside to work we begin our herbal work in earnest. This takes us through until the frost drives us inside. Gardeners prepare beds, haul and build compost, weed, plant, and harvest the plants that are then dried in our attic to be turned into our own teas and spices for the community. While we are inside doing this work gardeners are also busy packaging bulk food, arranging our store shelves and keeping track of the needs of our community store. 

Herb Garden Workstation Heads

Trisha Costello

Trisha came to Innisfree in 1989 as a volunteer and began leading the vegetable gardens in those early years alongside many a generation of Innisfree friends, including her husband Cabell and their daughter Lucy. Interspersed with some years as Day Coworker Coordinator, Board Member and a variety of other Innisfree hats, Trisha is once again back in the gardens leading the Herb Garden alongside Leigh Thomas.

Trisha lives now with her family nearby between Blackwells Hollow and Boonesville. When she is not out watching Lucy play soccer, she enjoys walking her creek road with her dogs and exploring the flora, fauna and shade of the woods and mountains around her.

Leigh Thomas

Leigh grew up in Virginia , spending time in the hills ,valleys, and rivers that make this place special. While in college she enjoyed coaching special olympics swimming. After graduation she was drawn to work that combined working with people and being outdoors. She worked in a variety of outdoor education and recreation programs before discovering Innisfree. Immediately the sense of community and purpose stood out. Finally a place that celebrated and valued all of our different abilities.

Leigh worked as an intern in the herb and vegetable garden for 4 yrs.  In 2019, after time away learning from a variety of other organic farms , she returned to assist with the Innisfree Herb garden.

contact: herbgarden@innisfreevillage.org

Two people sitting at a table together. They are both smiling. They are sorting through herbs they picked in the garden.
A man in a red shirt working in a greenhouse, surrounded by herbs.
A woman processing herbs from the garden. She is wearing a purple shirt and smiling.
An herb garden in front of mountains. The sun is shining.
A woman measuring herbs into a jar on a scale. She is wearing a tie dye shirt.
A woman in a red hat is picking flower herbs in the garden in the sunlight.
A man in a sun hat collecting herbs from the garden. The sun is shining and there are mountains in the background.
A smiling woman in a pink sweatshirt is sorting through herbs collected from the garden.
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