What about us?  It’s pretty simple, really.  We got the old house bug in the ‘90s and spent a few years restoring our circa 1900 house on weekends and during vacations.  The house taught us a lot about craftsmanship and we loved filling it in vintage style.
When we decided to make the Sullivan Catskills our year round home, we knew that we wanted a way to combine our appreciation for old things, our admiration for fine craft, our belief in a fair and equitable global marketplace and our love for growing things.  An 1870’s building housing a shop carrying the things we love combined with a garden on a main drag was just the ticket.
While the garden is seasonal, the shop is open year round.  Keeping it full of interesting things is the kind of challenge that’s fun.  We never stop learning.  Finding an unusual curio or piece of furniture, seeing new work from local artists and keeping up with what’s new in the world of fair trade is never boring.

And then, there’s the garden.

This little ditty was written way back in 2006 when we were honored with a local award. It’s still true today.

A longtime love of plants and a desire to make gardening a more central part of our lives led to the opening of The Cutting Garden in 2004.  We tossed around ideas for years, and lit on the idea of a Cutting Garden. We reasoned that there are already many farmers doing wonderful things with produce, animals and value-added products here in Sullivan County.  What was missing was a “Pick Your Own” Flower Garden open to the public. 

 While flowers don’t provide the kind of sustenance that tomatoes, potatoes or chickens do, their beauty provides a different kind of benefit which is too often overlooked in our busy lives.  When customers wander the garden, seeing what’s available and deciding what to take home, they visibly slow down, and almost always leave with a smile on their faces along with the bouquet in their hands.  

 Home Gardeners pick up flowers to augment their own, and to keep their gardens full and beautiful for their guests.  Kids play hide and seek among the plants. Brides and their parents, friends and bridesmaids have an additional experience to remember after the wedding. 

 One of the most gratifying moments we’ve had was to overhear a customer airily explain to her friend that “beauty is necessary, too.”   We couldn’t agree more.

See you in Youngsville!

Anne & Fritz