Garden to Table in Downtown Chattanooga
Located in prominent view on the corner of 4th Street and Veterans Bridge, the Bluff View Herb Garden has been a landmark in Downtown Chattanooga since 1998. Dr. Portera, founder of Bluff View Art District, began working the garden in order to help supply fresh herbs, seasonal vegetables and year-round flowers to the restaurants on site as well as for the pleasure of guests lodging in the Bluff View Inn.
The greenhouse is primarily used to house flowers during the colder seasons, as well as germinate seeds to seedlings that are eventually transplanted into the vast garden's landscape. With more than two dozen varieties of herbs, vegetables and flowers grown on the premises, the Bluff View Herb & Vegetable Garden allows the entities in the District to provide the freshest and highest quality ingredients to its guests and diners year round.
Of course, many of these herbs & vegetables help the District chefs create the famous sauces, breads, pastries, chocolate infusions and an array of culinary delights for which Bluff View is so well recognized. Over 1,000 pounds of basil, Bluff View's largest crop, is produced annually and used to make the creamy pesto used in pasta dishes at Tony’s Pasta Shop. Fresh rosemary from the garden is used in Bluff View Bakery’s Rosemary Olive Oil Sandwich loaves, one of our customers’ favorite breads. The talented pastry chefs at Rembrandt’s Coffee House use fruits grown in the garden including blueberries & blackberries to make fresh muffins, scones and more breakfast treats.
Other locally grown ingredients include: mint, tarragon, cilantro, chives, oregano, tomatoes, green, yellow and red peppers, grape vines, lavender, sage, cone flowers and a variety of wild flowers. The flowers are transplanted throughout the District's flower beds in addition to being used in arrangements for guest rooms and special events. Bluff View Herb & Vegetable Garden's natural beauty is enhanced by signature art pieces and sculptures that dot the landscaping. Artists include Jim Collins (metal cows and man sitting watching over the garden, known as "Herb") and Mary Lynn Portera (finials on outer fence posts), as well as historic reclamations from Chattanooga's Wheland Foundry.