Mission Gardens in Tucson

October 19, 2015 — chefs, Farm to Table, orchard, party, quince figs, Tucson Mission Garden, vegetables

Half Moon Beer

Mission Garden

gourd crop

adobe ramada

irrigation system

Regina Romero, City Council

historic crops

A Mountain

Missy the party cow

Bob dining in the garden

sunset dining in the garden

sunset dining in the garden

The Friends of Tucson’s Birthplace held a fine dinner party in the garden yesterday.  Our historic Mission Garden has been rebuilt in the original site close to the Santa Cruz River.  The agricultural heritage of the location is ancient.  The garden is being developed as a living museum preserving original species grown by the Spanish colonial conquistadors who built the San Augustin Mission.  The orchard of stone fruits, citrus, quince and figs is growing strong and bearing fruit.  Gardens of okra, corn, chiles and other native crops thrive within the walls of the preserved site.

Local chefs were invited to create specialties for the Farm to Table event.  We were excited to taste the food and also to get to tour the gardens.  Musicians were hired to play throughout the space, which added an artistic note to the already splendid surroundings. The city councilwoman from that ward spoke briefly about the importance of agricultural history and her own family’s collection of historic recipes.  All the food was over the top creative and fresh.  My partner Bob enjoyed the grass fed beef and the buffalo chile, but most of the dishes served were vegetarian.  Drinks were served with dinner,  but for an extra fee we enjoyed a specialty beer brewed from organic wheat grown from preserved species.  The beer tasted fantastic, and sold out quickly.

The event was a success for all involved.  The chefs, no doubt, won some new fans with their creative concoctions.  The garden certainly is a place we will plan to visit again in the future.  In fact we may go to the quince festival next weekend at which we would have chance to win a special antique Spanish heirloom variety quince tree.  The quince crop is ripe and abundant in the orchard, looking very pretty.  The beauty and history preserved in this spot is a great asset to the city, and will only improve with time.