In His Own Backyard
byEarlier in the spring, flower beds on Parker Andes’ property in Mills River were still bare. There was a lot of mud and manure,…
Outdoor Living
Petal by Petal
byRobert Myers is the past president of the Rowan Rose Society and Charlotte Rose Society and is currently vice president of both. He has…
Meadows Over Mowing
byIn Midcentury America, a manicured lawn was a suburban homeowner’s biggest point of pride. And according to HGTV.com, more than 75 percent of the…
Know Your Landscape
byWinter class prepares a new generation of “eco gardeners” No directions on a pack of seeds can tell you how to maximize environmental sustainability. Maintaining…
Danger, Drama, and Twisting Vines
byBlacksmith learns to bend with the journey Long before she fell to blacksmithing, Susan Hutchinson was going on dark journeys, her tools an obvious…
How Sweet It Is
byGrape grower’s cold-hardy muscadines defied the skeptics and flourished North Carolina’s official state fruit is the scuppernong, a variety of muscadine grape. But until…
In for a Pinch, in for a Pound
byArtisan’s multi-functional wares reflect her deeply DIY lifestyle “Shearing sheep is like wrestling a 120- to 200-pound toddler, while cutting its hair that grows…
Tools for Living
byCouple finds fulfillment making globally coveted gardening accessories By: Mike Schoeffel When Ashe County-based Wheeler Munroe started making and selling fine leather tool belts, she was hoping…
Homegrown for the Win
byToday’s “victory gardens” are about the triumph of self reliance Over the last decade, scores of suburban and urban dwellers have taken to small-space gardening…
Not Just for the Goth Garden
byBlack flowers. They sound too dramatic to be real — shades of a Dickensian garden or an arty horror movie come to mind. And…