Madison’s wonders: Garden writer Edmund Taylor reports, “All of you sophisticates from the big city need to come to the hinterlands of Madison County to see what us yeoman, backwoodsmen and women can do with a pick and a few sticks of dynamite. Believe it or not, Madison has more to offer horticulturally than ramps, ginseng and cannabis.” To prove it, the League of Women Voters of Madison County is sponsoring a garden tour on Saturday, May 12. There are six gardens on the tour, covering styles including naturalistic, Japanese, rustic and esoteric.
For more information, call the Madison County Visitor’s Center at 680-9031, or visit www.MadisonCounty-NC.com for pictures and descriptions.
Orchard plan: Walt Hill, of Fairview’s Imladris Farm, sent along a recipe for a berry patch: “We fence in our old abandoned pastures (often 9 feet deep in blackberry brambles, poison ivy and multiflora rose) and turn in our goat herd for a couple of years to clear them out. The goats love that stuff, preferring it to ‘good’ green grass, so they spent the time converting all of that biomass into manure and meat – two things we love! What’s left is nice, clear, green pastures. After a few days of pulling old stumps, barb wire and dead saplings, we’re ready to till and begin planting.”
Hill will discuss “backyard berries” at Imladris on Saturday, April 28. For info or to register, call 628-9377 or e-mail imladrisfarm@bellsouth.net
