Full time gardener Jessica Baron harvests rare herbs for Oenotri's in Napa.
The Napa Chefs' Garden
Creativity in Bloom
by judith m. wilson
photos by stuart lirette
T
he pumpkins are turning bright orange on the vine.
Wine, Food and the Arts, which opened with substantial finan-
Day by day, the pale green quinces are growing larger,
cial backing and great fanfare across the river from downtown
and the towering sunflowers slowly turn their faces
Napa in November 2001. The organic garden served the center's
to seek the warmth and light of the late-summer sun.
restaurant, Julia's Kitchen, and was open for tours and hands-on
Fall is approaching in the Napa Chefs' Cooperative Garden, and
learning. Copia never really caught on though, and after filing for
the four-acre site on the bank of the Napa River is lush with crops
bankruptcy protection, it closed in November 2008, leaving the
ready for harvest.
building empty and the garden untended. By 2009, the weeds had
It's a marked contrast to the scene several years ago. The original garden was a highlight of Copia: the American Center for
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FLOURISH • FALL 2013
run riot, and the garden was an eyesore.
Then Cassandra Walker, who was the City of Napa's economic
