At Hedgebrook retreat, an organic garden nourishes women writers body and soul

HEDGEBROOK IS a women writers' retreat on Whidbey Island with a mission to nurture its residents nutritionally as well as creatively. An organic food garden has been part of the Hedgebrook mystique since its founding by local philanthropist Nancy Skinner Nordhoff in 1988.

Along with the most famous writer-in residence, Gloria Steinem, poets, playwrights, memoirists and novelists find community around the dinner table of chef Denise Barr. The serene, remote beauty of the place not only gives writers privacy, time and a room of their own, but also delicious, produce-inspired meals fresh from the garden.

When years ago I had the pleasure of spending 10 delectable days at Hedgebrook, I was told firmly that there were only two rules: Never knock on another resident's door during working hours (for once, women are not to be disturbed), and always be on time for dinner out of respect for the cook. Right off, you realize in what esteem the cook is held, and how important dinner is to the day's rhythms. While I loved my time at Hedgebrook for many reasons, nothing beat the sheer luxury of being generously and skillfully fed from the orchard and garden, right outside the dining room.

"The purpose of the garden is the kitchen, as well as the environment it creates for the writers," says gardener Cathy Bruemmer. She and chef Barr select seeds and starts for foods that are delicious, perishable and expensive,, or all three. This year that collaboration resulted in plantings of spinach, beets, arugula, pole beans, asparagus, strawberries, raspberries, lettuces, leeks and bok choy, along with plenty of herbs and flowers. Barr's determination to cook from the land even includes putting nettles into the ricotta layer of her lasagnas.

Organic methods are taken seriously at Hedgebrook. Kitchen waste is composted in small tumblers, while big concrete bays hold leaves and garden clippings. "We make enough compost right here to improve the soil in all the beds," says Bruemmer. And this is no small task because the garden holds 20 raised beds, each one 4 by 8 feet, as well as an area for corn, squash and beans, plus the orchard.

In winter, Bruemmer plants a cover crop ("the soil-builder seed blend of rye, clover and vetch") in all the emptied beds, and in spring she mixes in a complete organic fertilizer that includes a little lime to sweeten the soil. Bruemmer sometimes hitches a trailer to the John Deere mower and picks up some llama manure from adjacent fields to give the intensively planted beds a little boost.

New to the garden this year is celeriac and long, skinny asparagus beans. Edible flowers like borage, calendula and nasturtiums brighten the beds and garnish the plates of the seven writers in residence at any time. The writers all have a pair of clippers and a vase for their cottages, and are encouraged to cut flowers, snack on raspberries and hang out among the vegetables and buzzing bees.

"The writers get in there and harvest," says Bruemmer with a laugh. "Recently I thought a rabbit was foraging in the garden, but it was a playwright."

Valerie Easton is a Seattle freelance writer and author of "A Pattern Garden." Check out her blog at www.valeaston.com. Benjamin Benschneider is a Pacific Northwest magazine staff photographer.

Seasonal Fruit Cake

This simple cake is made with fruit fresh from the garden; rhubarb in spring, blueberries or raspberries from summer into autumn.

½ cup butter

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 ½ cups unbleached flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 ½ cups rhubarb (about 4 stalks), chopped into 1-inch pieces, or

2 ½ cups blueberries or raspberries

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9-by-9- or 7-by-11-inch baking dish.

2. Use an electric mixer to cream the butter and sugar until light. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well.

3. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, combine the milk and vanilla, mixing well. Alternate adding the wet and dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Spread half the batter into the buttered and floured baking dish. Sprinkle on the rhubarb or berries, being careful not to press down. Top the fruit with the rest of the batter.

4. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

— Courtesy of Hedgebrook chef Denise Barr