A Culinary Banquet ....Up on the Roof at the Fairmont

Photos, Courtesy of the Fairmont Waterfront 

The Fairmont Waterfront

      Rooftop Garden

   Vancouver, B.C.

In 2007, while researching Vancouver gardens for my San Francisco Chronicle 'Garden Walks' column, I checked into the Fairmont Waterfront for the final day of an enlightening journey.

I had enjoyed trekking through public & private gardens, plant nurseries & garden shops.

Still, my itinerary included one more mission:  To see first-hand the rooftop garden at the Fairmont Waterfront.

I'd been reading about it for some time. And so, to top off my visit to beautiful Vancouver, I indulged in the luxury of a spacious, contemporary room with great views, and my favorite touch, a marble bath. Blissful!

The garden had been installed about a decade prior to my visit, and the plantings refreshed in April, 2006. 

Fifteen cubic yards of compost later, the garden boasts box hedging to effectively define the layout of the planting beds. Espaliered apples and bay trees add beauty and structure to the design.

Organic gardening practices are employed in these productive gardens, where the Fairmont chefs harvest such delicacies as alpine strawberries, rose blossoms, lovage and calendulas, for the tasty fare at Herons.

One tip revealed on my tour of the garden: Orange pekoe tea with a little bit of soap added is used at times for aphid control.

Executive Chef Patrick Dore at the garden gates of the Fairmont Waterfront, 

where organic herbs & produce are harvested for Herons Restaurant & Lounge

Bird's Eye View