Eastville Inn

On Friday a group of us visited Chatham Vineyards near Eastville and then had lunch in the Eastville Inn. The vinery was interesting, altho not as big or busy as others I have seen, but a wine tasting is always nice! We did get the chance to drive out into the vineyards to see the grapes up close and personal - ripening on the vine. While I did not taste any, those who did reported that they were very bitter – duh! they are mostly green still.

At the Eastville Inn there was a pretty little kitchen garden that I liked. It had some herbs, but mostly was locally native plants – Joe Pye weed, grasses, Russian sage, and daylilies. There was one plant that no one could identify. [There was am etymologist with us who said this was way outside her sphere of reference, but she did not know the plant either.] So here it is:

It was a shrub-like plant with very thorny trunk and stems and the red fruit you can see. The leaves were “wrinkled” looking and grew very close together. There was one ruffled bud (purple) that I did not get in a photo. We think it might have been a heritage rose of some sort – and those are the “hips” that are left on it. Anyone got an idea? [Written Saturday, uploaded Tuesday!]