Garden Rx
Over the river and through the woods, eventually you will reach Pickity Place in Mason—and it is like stepping back in time. In the summer, flowerbeds are filled to overflowing and there are many themed gardens loaded with herbs. A brick-paved courtyard leads visitors to the dining room and Little Red Riding Hood Museum in the 1786 red Cape; the rustic gift shop is in the attached carriage shed.
Cultivating a Taste for Herbs For a very special farm-to-table
S
pice up your life by adding some new
the premises in Pickity’s extensive gardens.
culinary herbs to the menu. Parsley,
Owner and chef Keith Grimes plans his
sage, rosemary and thyme may have
menus six months in advance, coordinating
lunch and a
been something to sing about in the sixties,
with head gardener Carol Iodice to make sure
but now it is all about the basil, cilantro,
the necessary plants will be available. Along
lavender and mint. Have you tried summer
with the herbs used, every entrée gets an ed-
gardens, visit
savory, lemon verbena or salad burnet? And
ible flower garnish. “In summer, we probably
tour of beautiful Pickity Place in Mason.
then there are the edible flowers—many are
pick one thousand herbs and flowers a day,”
delicious as well as decorative! Calendula,
Iodice says. Things like lavender, lime balm
borage, violets, mallows and nasturtiums add
and mint are used to flavor drinks. Dill goes
pizzazz to your plate, elevating an everyday
into a dip, and salads may include lovage,
meal to gourmet status.
bronze fennel or frilly-leaved red basil.
The restaurant at Pickity Place in Mason is
Pickity Place opened as an herb farm in
known for its use of fresh herbs and edible
1976. The antique, red Cape dates from 1786
flowers in their five-course gourmet meals. It
and was the model for artist Elizabeth Orton
takes a bit of advance planning but most of
Jones’s illustrations in the Little Golden Book
these herbs and garnishes are grown right on
1948 edition of Little Red Riding Hood. In the
By Robin Sweetser | Photography by Nancy Belluscio 84 | New Hampshire Home
march/april 2020
