An Organic Kitchen Garden

Created by landscape designer Mick Kopetsky, this kitchen garden in Northern California’s Sonoma County was inspired by 17th-century French parterres. It includes a bounty of seed-grown edibles, including ‘Paris Market’ carrots, ‘Rosa Biaca’ eggplant, and heirloom tomatoes and corn. Marking the axes are exclamation points of cypress trees.

Near the edibles garden, a labyrinth of boxwood adds a meditative element, which homeowner Bieke Burwell feels nourishes the spirit. The view from above also shows off its decorative quality.

Guests at the Burwell house often work up an appetite by walking the fifth-of-a-mile path through the labyrinth before dinner.

Steps chiseled from slabs of Lueders limestone traverse the hillside through plantings of drought-resistant grasses, perennials and shrubs.

Walking through the gardens below the house affords beautiful views of the hills along Dry Creek Valley.

A commanding view of the Dry Creek Valley and its sea of vineyards from the hilltop home.

Syrah grapes in the Burwells’ small vineyard ripen in anticipation of the September crush.

A leaf of Swiss chard backlit by the sun. The kitchen garden has been so fruitful that Kopetsky markets the extra harvest to local restaurants.

Local chefs line up for the squash blossoms on the potager’s zucchini for use in their recipes.

Espaliered Comice pears line the border of the kitchen garden.

A grove of oaks and pines gives the Burwells’ swimming pool a treetop feel, with glimpses of Dry Creek Valley vineyards in the distance.

Summer gatherings often move outdoors to the terrace off the living room in the shade of a native oak tree.

Teak chairs and zinc tables on the terrace off the kitchen stand ready for dining al fresco on warm summer evenings.

The fruit from three types of quince trees (Cydonia oblonga) are used by Burwell to make chutneys and galettes. Planted below them, herbs like thyme create a groundcover tapestry.

Frequent helpings of organic matter, including grape pomace, are the secret behind the potager’s bumper crops of summer squash and tomatoes.

Stands of heirloom corn flank a gateway in the fence, built to keep out hungry pests.

Syrah grapes grow on the hillside above the potager.

This view from the house takes in the two-thirds-acre potager and labyrinth nestled at the foot of a vineyard.

Perfectly situated for relaxing on the pea gravel terrace near the guesthouse, soft curves meet weather-resistant materials in a pair of concrete chairs designed by Willy Guhl, circa 1954.

Boxwoods and grasses planted beneath native oaks line the concrete stairs leading from the house to the pool terrace.

The rustic fence surrounding the potager was painted to match the Manzanita trunks on the property.

In keeping with their French heritage, sweet, juicy Comice pears are grown in espaliered fashion by the potager.

Stone steps winding through the hilltop property offer myriad stops for taking in the Dry Creek Valley view.

A mix of grasses and pines echoes the native landscape on the hillside.