If you find yourself perusing Priscilla Woolworth’s Instagram account, chances are very, very good that you’ll stumble upon something that will make your inner child squeal with delight. It’s peppered with images of pretty river rocks, alien-looking seedpods, artfully wilted flowers—the sort of bits and bobs that kids can’t resist gathering and hoarding.

When she’s not foraging for these little keepsakes, Priscilla’s at work on her Hudson Valley property, dubbed River’s Edge Farm, “a climate resilient, carbon neutral, zero waste, pollinator friendly organic farm…where I grow enough food and medicine for my family, as well as share a portion with my community.” She also makes artful, refreshingly naive objects (think ceramic toad houses and feather holders), many of which are available for purchase at her store, The Rabbit Hole. The shop sells “things I make, grow and find—all supporting nature or small brands that I like.”

Today, we’re thrilled to share a Quick Takes cross-pollination from over on Gardenista, featuring Priscilla’s insights on bringing the outdoors in. (And if you want more of her wisdom, consider signing up for her bi-monthly newsletter devoted to “inspiring, entertaining and, most of all, hopeful news about the environment and about the people doing amazing work to better the planet.”)

Photography courtesy of Priscilla Woolworth.

Your first garden memory:

The south of France, my grandparents’ garden in the spring, full of peach and apricot trees, freesias and daffodils, and a seating area amongst it all, to sit and enjoy the perfume and blossoms.

Garden-related book you return to time and again:

Natural Gardening for Birds by Julie Zickefoose; The Herbal Apothecary by Dr. J J Pursell; and Bringing Nature Home by Doug Tallamy on how you can sustain wildlife with native plants.

Instagram account that inspires you:

@Min_aeroe_koekkenhave. It’s a beautiful example of a small vegetable garden in Scandinavia—unpretentious, orderly, and attractive. I appreciate the sharing of imperfect situations, as I often find myself apologizing when anyone visits my garden! Naturally, I’m the only one who see’s the weed that just appeared or the nibbles on a plant.

Describe in three words your garden aesthetic.

Wildlife friendly, low-maintenance, and delightful.

Plant that makes you want to run the other way:

Poison ivy. I’m very allergic and give it a wide berth in the wilder parts near River’s Edge Farm, as wildlife depends on it for sustenance in the winter.

Favorite go-to plant:

Basil, because I can’t ever have enough!

Favorite way to bring the outdoors in:

It’s constant—from abandoned wasp and birds nests, to rosemary and rose geranium cuttings started indoors over the winter and river willow in the early spring. Cut flowers all summer long.

Favorite gardening hack:

It’s an odd one but it really does work. When starting tomatoes from seed in the greenhouse, once they are 2 to 3 inches high, fan them with a hand fan, mimicking a breeze. This helps them to grow stronger stems.

Every garden needs a…

Table to sit at with friends. I put one above the river, at the bottom of the garden. It’s so wonderful having dinner there early summer when the fireflies are out and about.

Go-to gardening outfit:

Ines de la Fressange cotton shirts for Uniqlo; white cotton doctor’s pants or Carhartt jeans; Agnes Baddoo belt sack—perfect for my phone and has a small back pocket for collecting seeds on the fly; and a straw hat.

Favorite nursery, plant shop, or seed company:

Fedco seeds in Maine; Phantom Gardener in Rhinebeck, NY; Catskill Native Plant nursery in Kerhonkson, NY; Hudson Valley Seed in Accord, NY; and Wild Seed Project in Maine.

Favorite hardscaping material:

Pea gravel because every time I walk on it, the sound memory reminds me of my childhood in the south of France.

Not to be missed public garden/park/botanical garden:

Hortus Botanical Garden in Stoneridge, NY; the garden at the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles; Chelsea Physic Garden in London, UK; Lotusland in Montecito, Ca and Wethersfield near Pine Plains, NY.

The REAL reason you garden:

It’s essential to my well-being. I moved to the Hudson Valley 7 years ago, so that I could live deeper in nature, be the steward of a piece of land, learn to live increasingly off the land and grow my own organic food.

Thank you so much, Priscilla! (Follow her on Instagram @priscillawoolworth.)