Red, White and...Blue Sky

If you've not already voted, please go vote!

I voted early on October 20th at my Chatham County, North Carolina polling place.

We had a beautiful fall weekend here with temperatures in the 70s and the fall colors contrasting with a beautiful blue sky. Here in our neighborhood, we don't have a club house and swimming pool. We have the original dairy barn and a pond left over from the days when this property was an operating farm. After I took the photo of the barn silo against the sky, I realized that the red metal roof, white silo and beautiful blue sky created quite the patriotic color scheme.

The sunlight came through our own Japanese Maple. I am very fond of this little cutleaf. It is glorious all year, even in the winter when the shape of the tree provides sculpture in the cottage garden. In spring, the tree is a vibrant deep red and lightens up during the summer sun, only to turn back to the vibrant red again in the fall. My "deer friends" are trying to get in my photos lately.



With such a beautiful weekend, we took a drive around the countryside as well. The gold, red and green colors of the trees form a patchwork quilt of random design. Enjoy our North Carolina fall colors!

Fainting Goats and Flowers at Fearrington

By Freda Cameron  

If you ask me what to do in North Carolina, I'll tell you that there's always another garden to visit!

Between Chapel Hill and Pittsboro there is a village that was created in the early 1970s by RB and Jenny Fitch. Fearrington Village was built on the 1500 acre site of an historic farm. The Fitch family converted the home into the Fearrington House Inn & Restaurant. The barn and outbuildings were converted into shops, conference and wedding facilities and smaller restaurants. A community of homes was built around the village, but you still feel like you're visiting a farm as fenced pastures line the country lane leading to the village.



The symbol of Fearrington Village is the Belted Galloway Cow. The cows are a rare breed of Scottish cows. RB Fitch started the herd with five cows in the 1980s and there are now about thirty in the herd. These cows are strictly pets according to all of the Fearrington restaurants. The cows have cute, fluffy tufts on the ears. Three donkeys reside in the pastures to protect the cows from predators. I think the predators must be roving dogs as I've never seen a "beware of donkeys" sign anywhere!

In the last few years, Fearrington has added Tennessee Fainting Goats to color coordinate with the white-belted Galloways. When startled, the muscles on these goats stiffen and they fall over. I enjoyed petting the sweet little goats, and I hope that visitors never test the fainting theory.

There are gardens all over Fearrington Village:

• Jenny's fragrant white garden
• Perennial border garden
• Herb garden
• Inn's English courtyard and knot garden
• Wildflower garden
• Southern garden at the Old Granary Restaurant & Bar

My favorite is the fragrant white garden. I've been visiting there for years, and I never get tired of walking in the shade of the three long arms that make the U-shaped arbor. At the two corners, there are built-in benches that certainly feel Southern and romantic. In the center of the configuration is a shallow pool with a modern sculptured fountain that echos the white-belt of the Galloways. The plantings are soft in silver and green foliage and white-blooming flowers. I was there on October 31st and the fall garden was still quite beautiful.



The perennial borders were still full of colorful blooms for the fall. Since I was there on Halloween, there was a display of elaborately carved pumpkins among the gardens. Gaillardia, mums and camellias were among the blooming plants. Shrubs, ornamental grasses and groundcovers are abundant while white-painted fences, arbors, and other features give you the feeling of walking among a village of cottage gardens.

On a sunny day in any season, a visit to Fearrington to see the gardens and the animals is worth the trip. While you're there, you might as well have brunch or lunch at the Granary, browse the shops and check to see if there are any author events at the bookstore.

 

 

Photos by Freda Cameron

A Gardener's View of Blogging

It’s easier to get up early in the morning when you’re gardening instead of going to the office. In fact, if I sleep too late, I feel like I've missed the best part of the day. Being outside, whether in the garden, on a hike or riding a bike, is important to me. With cold weather coming and the garden chores being less, I see an opportunity to explore more new topics. Exercising my mind through writing is very rewarding to me.

Blogging has given me a new perspective. I see the world through a different set of eyes by looking at the details while appreciating the big picture. Whenever I meet an interesting person or see something interesting to gardeners, I get so excited about the idea of sharing these stories here in the blog.

Beyond my own blog, there are many wonderful gardeners and garden-bloggers that I've "met" through this venue and through garden forums. With the Web, the world is really flat. We can visit each other's gardens via the Web. It's great fun to have time to visit the other bloggers to see what's happening in their gardens and lives. I enjoy the interaction in the comments that are posted on my blog as well as leaving comments on the other blogs.

Retirement has given me time to slow down and take notice of things that have been right in front of me all these years. Or, time to experience new places. There is much to see and do here in the Chapel Hill area as well as the rest of North Carolina. Many of these gardens, sights and events are free.

Through my gardening and blogging, I now associate so much more with gardening -- native plants growing wild; farms and vineyards growing crops; backyard vegetable patches or potagers; beekeeping; butterflies and birds.

Inspiration comes from many others, so bringing guest gardeners, writers, artists, farmers, wildlife enthusiasts and environment supporters to my blog seems natural. You've already seen the featured Garden Inspirations from other gardeners as well as a book review by guest garden writer, Helen Yoest. Coming soon is a series to feature North Carolina artists whose beautiful work is inspired by gardens. I enjoy highlighting the work of others.

Enjoy the journey as we continue to meet new people and visit new places among all the wonderful gardening blogs.