The Winery at Iron Gate Farm

The Harrells turned their tired tobacco farm in to a thriving vineyard. Debbie and Gene Harrell purchased an old tobacco farm in Mebane North Carolina with the hopes of having a respectable winery. They wanted The Rock House Farm to be an inspiration to the community. And most certainly that is what has happened.

Come around for Halloween and you can compete in a pumpkin hurling contest. There’ll be more activities and plenty of good stories to swap. The Harrell’s land is beautiful but only cause they put out some back breaking effort to clear the undergrowth and expose the lake. Now the lake is a source of entertainment and social activities. Some folks get married there and others will have family reunions.

No two ways about it, starting a vineyard is scary and very labor intensive. Debbie says in her diary that she lost count of how many times they pulled some post out of the ground cause it wouldn’t square up correctly. When they planted the first vines in 2001, it dropped 20 degrees in a short time and then started snowing hard. There were many challenges in the NC clay soil and some spots just aren’t fit to hold life.

Debbie and Gene spoke to the farmer who had previously rented some areas on that land in which to plant crops. He told them that he knew all the good planting areas. Their first location turned out to be the hard grey clay that won’t hold nothing but water and then bake your roots in winter. It’s too costly to amed on such a large level. So they went on up their land and located a spot that is just right.

They are serious about protecting their grapes from marauding animals. The charged fences are high to keep deer out and secured to the ground to keep out raccoons. It’s also netted to keep the birds out. You can tell that each grape is a pride and joy. Debbie told me that her grapes had been picked and were up for the winter. She must be feeling that Autumn is going to be rainy and cold as most everyone is predicting.

I enjoyed my day nosing around the shop and peeking over the property. Debbie always wanted to live on The Rock House Farm. She passed every day on her way to work. So one day—she purchased it and has done a remarkable thing getting it in shape. It is her desire to maintain it as a working farm. The Harrells are conservative and good stewards of the land.

They enlisted the help of local and state environmental consultants to make sure they had done what was needed to be within storm water and farming guidelines for water quality control. The Harrells have gone above and beyond to help the land heal itself.

Debbie was most kind during my visit and I purchased some muscadine wine from her. It was her special mix and I’m going to use it for cooking and marinating. I hope you’ll stop by The Winery at Iron Gate Farm in Mebane, North Carolina. Tell them Flowergardengirl sent you.

Hanging heavy on the vine.

While traveling the back roads of North Carolina today, MrD and I visited some of the finest vineyards in the land. I’m just writing about that journey and came upon a photo, which is one of many, that is worthy of its own space. The muscadine above is called, ‘Noble’. NC grapes and muscadines are at or just past their peak.

It is a record crop for the mid NC area but a bit rough on some vineyards toward the western side NC. The West has had too much rain and cool weather. Grapes and muscadines like it hot and dry.

Muscadines are sour on the outside and sweet on the inside. It doesn’t feel like biting in to a grape but it will look somewhat similar on the inside. The texture is more thick and the flavor is sweet but full bodied. It’s make a fantastic wine.

I have much to write about our journey today. I’ll feature two vineyards from our trip and highlight one of the owners. She had a beautiful home with barns, cats, horses, goats, and so much character I could hardly steady the camera. There were photo ops everywhere. I must say that the Haw River Valley was especially pretty today.

So stay tuned. More to come!

Kitties make walkways more friendly

This street has it all. It has a brick sidewalk, attractive plantings, beautiful homes, and mature trees. You know this took several generations of people planning and caring about how it will/would be for them and those who pass on the street. I wish this sort of thing was mandatory. I don’t mean to make a person go beyond their money and means—but everyone can keep a welcome yard. I think a pathway is one of the most important features. Don’t you?

Straight or winding? The above brick paved walkway is winding—- which I think leads your eye from one side of the garden to the other. The owners made the walkway stand out by planting liriope down the sides. It makes a subtle contrast.

That walkway above is slightly off center. That’s clever cause the door is off center to the left. Nice balance.

With a curved path, you look to the end first and then work your way back.

This home is so confident that it can split the sidewalk and dare you to look beyond.

Mossy green paths with a bit of the basketweave showing is perfectly attractive.

Maybe we’d all be in shape if this was our choice of pathways.

Before modern plumbing, the well was a treasured functional part of the landscaping. It was important to show it off properly. Some folks didn’t have a well and would have to go to the town’s approved public well.

I love the curves, the interrupted mixed brick, and the size. Some would call this a patio but what gives it away as a wide path would be that it draws you around the center planting and invites you continue walking beyond the inner circle. See the walkways that come off the main square? I would imagine that those 4 little bushes were probably vegetables or herbs back in the 1800’s when this home was built.

There are lots of ways to build a path or walkway and you’ll have to decide what suits your personality, lifestyle, home architecture, and needs.

Now this straight path needs no other explanation.

Waving Your Colors

Flags hang patriotically on the streets of Old Salem, North Carolina.

Valle Crucis North Carolina and The Mast Farm Inn

I love North Carolina more than there are apple trees in one seed. Which means, it’s endless. As far back as my memory will take me, I’ve come to these mountains to celebrate the beauty in every season. You can see from the picture above that The Smoky Mountains are named appropriately. I’ve rarely seen my mountains on a clear day but rather it is the norm to see them cloaked in this magical misty presence. The picture was taken today about about 3pm. MrD and I drove up to Valle Crucis, Vale of the Cross, for the day. My destination was

The Mast General Store and The Mast Farm Inn.

Sunshine Lavender Farm

The Sunshine Lavender Farm in Hillsborough, North Carolina had an open house this weekend. The weather was perfect except for that humidity we are dealt on hot summer days. We try to ignore it best we can. The sky was ultra blue and a few wispy clouds offered some welcome shade ever so often. And the color lavender was everywhere.

I tried very hard to stay clean and presentable until Helen Yoest from Gardening With Confidence arrived. I was at the farm early and she came about two hours after I’d already laid on the ground shooting pictures of the lavender against the ultra blue sky. I had also walked all over the farm several times and participated in the hands on activities.

So when Helen got there, I was in a mess. So she took a picture right away. She’s going to post it on her blog soon. You’ll have to go check it out. Helen was fortunate to have Tina from In The Garden visit her in Chapel Hill and you can read about that visit HERE. It is loads of fun to meet fellow blogging buddies and I couldn’t wait to meet Helen.

I was so impressed with Helen and her children. Her 3 children are mature and engaging. Helen is a tall slender lady with a real Southern genteel personality. I expected her to be professional and she was. She’s in the know about everything and made my head spin as she caught me up to speed on who is who is the gardening world. You can follow her tweets @GWConfidence so you can be in the know too.

So we walked around the farm admiring the hens and rooster . We talked about her couple of next projects. She’s going to see Les @ A Tidewater Gardener. I want to go see Les too. So I was jealous when I found out. Look out Les, she’s going to pick your brain about woodies. What is a woodie? Should you be worried. Helen is obsessed with weepers so if you could find her a woodie weeper, she’ll talk about it for ages to come.

Here is a really funny story on Helen. You can tell she’s a true gardener. Not more than a few seconds after we met, she exclaimed there was a tick on her back. I said what? She said there is a tick on my back and she then proceeded to pull it off and squash it. I never in a million years would have expected this very proper well spoken lady to act like this was pulling lent out of a belly button—but she did. The she said—-oh good—it’s not a deer tick. I said Helen—you smashed it to pieces–how can you tell it’s not a deer tick. She just smiled and we looked to admire the Sunshine Lavender Farm homestead. Helen got out her camera and took pictures and we forgot all about the tick.

The homestead is a two story craftsman with big front porch and screened in back porch. The house is a buttery yellow with a most attractive red front door. The front looks very Americana with it’s flag and blue accents. I loved the two potted petunias planters on the front stoops.

Tents were set up around the farm with folks advertising and selling their goods. There was a lavender barn chock full of lavender stems to purchase, a gift shop that sold all things lavender, a little ice cream cart that sold vanilla lavender flavor, and so much more.

Helen and I stood by the chicken coop admiring how it was made. Helen made friends with two little boys who were tormenting the chickens with a stick. She was able to talk with them and guide them toward better behavior without them even knowing they had been corrected. It was a true show of her kind and loving approach to kids and nature. I loved that moment. I thought–she really is who she says she is.

We had the best time and I’m looking forward to visiting her some time in the not so distant future. She’s got a teasing twinkle in her eye that makes you think every visit will be one to remember. I stayed on at the farm a bit more. The lavender smelled really good and I was enjoying watching the ladies in their hats. It’s good to be around gardeners even if you don’t know a single one. There is something good and wholesome about that sort of atmosphere. I never tire of it.

More tomorrow!

Haint Blue Color Formula

The blue above is what I refer to as Haint Blue, a color that is traditionally used on porch celilings throughout the south and starting to catch on up North. I have finally tracked down an expert on this color. I hope this will help many of you who are trying to achieve the historical color.

Funcolors, a expert in her field of color consulting, has written an article on Haint Blue. You can read it HERE

She also has an article HERE

Sherwin Williams site has an article HERE on blue porch ceilings.

She has those color samples available and will help you figure out the right shade based on historical homes that have this Haint Blue. Haint Blue is more of a term that originated in the South when folks thought it drove away evil spirits called haints. There isn’t an official color called Haint Blue and Funcolors explains the reason. So don’t be fooled in to accepting a substitution—go over and visit Funcolor’s article so you can be as historically correct as possible.

The article by Funcolors gives an in depth look at the color and history behind it. She has provided examples and studied the color from their original sources. So if you are looking for a color consultant or just curious about the color Haint Blue, take a look at her article.

I also wrote a post about it and here is the LINK. I show Haint Blue on several porch ceilings. But here are a few for you to look at and notice the different shades of blue that have been used—anywhere from a true blue to an aqua.

Interesting what you get in to when choosing Haint Blue so be careful and be correct. All of these are beautiful but not all are the traditional Haint Blue. Your paint store will have a 100 different formulas for Haint Blue. It’s best you read Funcolor’s article.

You can find these houses on my sidebar under Impressive Entryways and Wilmington. Thanks for stopping by and please leave me a reply if this was helpful. I have so many people come by searching for Haint Blue since I did my first article. I wish you the best as I know it’s important to get it just the right color. You can also see my big porch on my sidebar under—A Craftsman Home.

In to the garden of Elizabeth Lawrence

Elizabeth Lawrence is my hero. She was a pioneer in her field. She was the first woman to graduate from North Carolina State University with a degree in landscape design. Please go with me and tour her gardens through the eyes and thoughts of Flowergardengirl.