Blog - Amanda's Blog

When we were growing up, part of the summer drill was two weeks at Sibmasse, my grandparent’s huge Victorian barn of a house in Saluda, NC. There was a joggling board, a dumb waiter, and a radio that got two stations. Oh, and a swing that had been hung by a mountain man named Brincus who climbed a massive chestnut oak to the lowest branch – probably twenty-five feet off the ground. Back in those days it was often cold in the morning, and Daddy would start a fire in the trash burner.

So what did we do to pass… READ MORE

Fall Musings

October 22, 2012

On a recent walk with my friend Ann Nolte on her husband’s family farm in Calhoun County, we were puzzled about the lack of beautyberry berries. Callicarpaamericana grows profusely throughout woodlands, and I have often cut branch after branch laden with gorgeous purple fruits on that very property. This year we passed typical expansive groves of plants with their distinctive leaves; turning yellow early in the fall. But search as we might, we found only a few berries.

Beautyberry is found in almost any open woods. It tends to be tall and sprawling with unbranched limbs.
Gardeners plant it in… READ MORE

Bespoke Versus Off-the-Rack

October 15, 2012

My husband Edward’s mother, born in 1901 and very old fashioned, was famously vague about matters not discussed in mixed company. When she had to have a hysterectomy, her niece, Tee, thought it best if Nonie at least had some idea of the territory involved and drew her a picture with pear shapes and connecting tubes to replicate the internal terrain. Nonie squinted slightly (she never wore glasses when other people were present), and then said, “Honey, I think I’d rather just not know.”

Well, I felt somewhat the same way when Making It Grow! Director Sean Flynn and… READ MORE

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South Carolina ETV

Fall Color

Fall Musings

Bespoke Versus Off-the-Rack