Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 64
singing in
sIngIng
In the garden
gaRDen
It's a Dirty Rotten Job
To rot is to live...
-Thorpe Moeckel
Text and art by Ginny Neil
I didn't grow up with a vegetable garden or
extensive flower garden in my backyard. My mother is an artist and,
while she grows a beautiful herb
garden, her interest in flowers has
been centered more on the painting of them. If I could grow flowers as
beautiful as those she splashes skillfully
on her watercolor pad, I'd be happy.
My Nana and Papa were the gardeners. I spent summers with them, snapping beans, thumping melons,
plucking strawberries and snipping zinnias. My Papa
grew up on and inherited a farm called Rosebower, and
my grandmother embraced it when she married him.
Their vegetable and flower gardens remain vividly productive in my memory.
When I married My Own Farmer, I knew what a beau64 BlueRidgeCountry.com
tiful garden should look like, but I had years to go and
lots of failures to learn from before mine came close to
resembling the ones at Rosebower. One of the tricks I am
working on mastering is the art of composting.
When I stayed with them, Nana always sent me out
in the evenings to dig a small trench in the garden where
I deposited the peelings, rinds and cores of the day's
meals. The trench didn't have to be too deep, so I would
scrape it out with a trowel, lay the scraps to rest and bury
them, stomping on them for good measure.
I can't make trench compost at my house because my
dog is an epicure. He digs the trenches up. Luke loves
corn and melons and green beans, so a trench full of
scraps is like a vegetarian cafeteria line for him. In deference to this, I built two bins out of discarded pallets and
started composting in them.
My first attempt was to make what's called a hot pile.
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Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017
Features
Romance, Reunions and Family Fun for Summer
Mountain Summer: A Photo Essay
When Asheville Took over the 1970s’ Paper Dress Fad
Bateaux along the James River
On the Appalachian Trail, the Easy Way
BBQ!
Departments
Letters / Worth a Click
Contributors
From the Editor
Mill Creek Stories
Creature Feature
Mountain Report
The Good Walk
Country Roads
Singing in the Garden
Festivals & Events
Guest Column
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - Intro
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - Cover1
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - Cover2
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 3
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 4
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 5
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - Letters / Worth a Click
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - Contributors
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 8
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 9
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - From the Editor
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 11
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - Mill Creek Stories
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 13
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 14
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 15
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - Creature Feature
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 17
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 18
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 19
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - Mountain Report
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 21
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - The Good Walk
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 23
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - Country Roads
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 25
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 26
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 27
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - Romance, Reunions and Family Fun for Summer
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 29
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 30
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 31
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 32
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 33
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 34
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 35
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - Mountain Summer: A Photo Essay
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 37
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 38
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 39
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - When Asheville Took over the 1970s’ Paper Dress Fad
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 41
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 42
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 43
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - Bateaux along the James River
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 45
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - On the Appalachian Trail, the Easy Way
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 47
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 48
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 49
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 50
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 51
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 52
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 53
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - BBQ!
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 55
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 56
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 57
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - Singing in the Garden
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - Festivals & Events
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 60
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 61
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 62
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 63
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 64
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - 65
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - Guest Column
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - Cover3
Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2017 - Cover4
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