Mignon Durham

A dear friend, yoga teacher and fellow gardener, recently invited me to meander with her through a very special garden in Asheville, NC. This garden is privately owned but with good behavior, visitors are allowed to drop by.

This spectacular 6 acre garden, with 1.5 miles of trails is in the very heart of the city, yet you might as well be in the wild. This garden was established over 60 years ago by Doan Ogden, who also designed the Asheville Botanical Gardens. It exemplifies the sustainability of mosses in the landscape as the green backdrop for many spectacular azaleas, rhododendrons and colorful flowers. The current owner has maintained the original integrity of the garden while enhancing it with incredible art sculptures by some of the nation’s finest sculptors. 

I am so grateful to have access to this garden and will definitely be back. I’m told the trillium are not to be missed.

It has been a struggle for me grieving my sweet dog Clancie, so when dear friends Sherri and Jason Miller invited me to join them at a cabin on the Virginia Creeper Trail for the weekend, I was more than delighted to have their company and a change of scenery.

Part of the preparation included figuring out if my new all electric vehicle, the 2022 Polestar 2, could successfully make the trip. I am so committed to fighting climate change that I added additional solar panels to my house, installed 3 Tesla Powerwall batteries to run my house, and leased an electric car that theoretically is charged by the sun at my house. On a trip, however, you need to recharge, so thankfully there was an Electrify America station in Bristol, Virginia, so the trip went without a hitch.

The sunrise above Whitetop Mountain was spectacular and we watched a flock of robins feeding on the berries of an American holly tree. This was definitely a lovely return to wild places!

Despite 18 degrees and high wind warnings, we decided to hike at Grayson Highlands State Park. Cabin Creek Trail was a perfect choice because we were protected somewhat from the wind and the ice bells and frozen sculptures along the creek thrilled us.

Then we decided to hike the Big Pinnacle Trail for the fantastic view. Alas, the snow and ice was just too dangerous to make it all the way.

We returned to our cabin for a hearty macaroni and cheese dinner, all the while watching the birds and the angles of the sunlight as nightfall approached.

I am a big fan of Maria Popova’s newsletter The Marginalian. This morning she shared these words by Rockwell Kent: “These are the times in life – when nothing happens – but in quietness the soul expands.” Well, I know a weekend with loving friends is not nothing, but our quiet hikes and just their presence definitely expanded my soul. Thank you.

I had to stay goodbye to my sweet Clancie on January 25, 14 years and 1 day after I rescued her. Really, she rescued me. The grief has been overwhelming, but the love and support from so many assures me that eventually the tears of sadness will be replaced with only fond memories of a very special dog.

We have had two January snows, one 10″ and this one from last night only 1″ at my house. Others around Asheville are reporting much more. But our high temperature will be in the mid 20s today. Gotta keep moving out there!

I live in a very rural cove where farmers keep goats, cows, donkeys, and even a llama or two. Alas, an HGTV developer from Minneapolis decided to apply for rezoning of 75 acres for R-2 designation. This by law would allow 12 units per acre! Oh, goodness…the entire cove has pulled together to dissuade the planning board and the county commissioners of this very terrible idea. Steep slopes with impervious surfaces will destroy Robinson Creek. The high traffic count on very curvy, mountain roads will be a traffic and safety nightmare. And on top of this, they have an additional 100 acres that could also be rezoned in the future. SAY NO TO REZONING PINNERS COVE prevailed at the planning board level with a no vote of 7-1. The county commissioners will hear the case on February 15, 2022. Neighbors who did not know each other have gotten out to meet, to put up signs, and to share ideas in zoom meetings. I love being reminded that besides living in my immediate community of Greenwood, I am also connected to all of Pinners Cove. Yes, life does go on and I must be a part of it, even in grief.

I know that keeping busy is a necessary part of healing. So of course I went out for a walk in the woods this morning. Bright blue skies, snow and Mother Nature are helping me heal.

Katherine May wrote a lovely book titled Wintering: How to Survive When Life is Frozen. In it she writes, “Life meanders like a path through the woods. We have seasons when we flourish and seasons when the leaves fall from us, revealing our bare bones. Given time, they grow again.” These words soothe my spirit and remind me that Clancie gave me one of the loveliest chapters in my life.

I have never been a new year’s kind of girl: parties too late, resolutions too unrealistic. Just setting myself up for disappointment, it seems. But this year is different: extreme sadness for the unnecessary loss of 824,000 Americans from covid and yet optimism in regaining my strength and endurance after two total hip replacement surgeries. It’s definitely been a year of highs and lows, but always filled with gratitude. I am vaccinated, boosted, masking, distancing and oh so careful. I can have a few friends over at a time who have behavior patterns similar to mine, but Mother Nature is always here to thrill me and teach me new lessons.

The holidays began with a Christmas cake to celebrate the publication of my book DEVOTION: Diary of an Appalachian Garden. My friend and editor Sue Wasserman commissioned the cake by a dear friend Simone Travisano. Oh what a work of art that tasted incredible! I shared the cake with as many people as I could and there are two pieces in the freezer waiting for some special moment. Coconut, lemon and raspberry are the most delightful combinations.

I set a personal goal to walk three miles unassisted by December 31. That did not come to pass and yet I am proud of every step, every minute on my stationary bicycle and even my return to gentle yoga with Hannah Levin on Facebook. I am seeing the promise even in the disappointment.

We have been in the 60’s for days on end. The plants at Devotion are about a month ahead of schedule. Tomorrow, 20 degree weather returns, so I trust Mother Nature will protect what she can. Here is my walk through Devotion this morning.

I wish for everyone time outdoors, whether walking or gardening. And I share Emily Dickinson’s poem as a reminder for us all:

“If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain; If I can ease one life the aching, Or cool one pain, Or help one fainting robin Unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain.”

Book business has wonderfully consumed my life. Meeting folks across the state is such a contrast to the isolation of the pandemic which afforded me the time to write DEVOTION: Diary of an Appalachian Garden. Now I am making new relationships that revolve around gardens, some of which I have not visited before.

Jill Goodrich welcomed me to Wing Haven Gardens to plan my participation in their Speakers’ Series in 2022. Nancy Duffy, founder of Muddy Boots Garden Design, and I will be in conversation on March 3, 2022 from 10AM – 11:30AM. The event will be both in person and zoom, so please don’t miss it. Registration through Wing Haven Gardens will be required and you can purchase my book here (I will donate 20% to Wing Haven Gardens if you simply send an email and tell me that you have registered.) You can also purchase the book at Park Road Books, Charlotte, NC.

Now let me whet your appetite if you don’t already know this gem of a garden. Wing Haven Garden & Bird Sanctuary has been a special part of Charlotte since its creation by Elizabeth and Edwin O. Clarkson in 1927. The garden, enclosed with brick walls all around, encompasses over three acres with an emphasis on plantings for birds and other wildlife that provide cover, nesting sites and food.

In 2008 Wing Haven Foundation purchased the Elizabeth Lawrence House and Garden next door to preserve and promote the legacy of internationally celebrated garden writer Elizabeth Lawrence and to celebrate the legacy of Southern horticulture. The garden is on the National Register of Historic Places and is protected by a conservation easement, which is held by the Garden Conservancy.

Here is a photo recap of this wonderful first visit. I will definitely return each season.

A dear friend and amazing artist left this world yesterday after a courageous battle with cancer. She will be missed by so many and today’s photo shoot is all about the autumn woods that she captured in hundreds of paintings. Rest, dear one.

I confess that the arrival of DEVOTION: Diary of an Appalachian Garden has kept me so very busy with less time in the garden than usual, but reconnecting with people following the long isolation of the pandemic is feeling so right, especially after getting my booster shot.

So here is a look at peak fall color at Devotion:

Now I switch gears mentally as I head to The Gardener’s Cottage, Biltmore Village, Asheville, NC for my first book signing…pure bliss.

I have never written a book before, but this has been such an amazing learning experience for me. And what pride I felt when I opened the first box! Thank you Stacy Wakefield Forte for holding my hand every step of the way.

Supply chain issues have delayed the delivery of my book DEVOTION: Diary of an Appalachian Garden. At least Estes Freight Company has all 2200 pounds of them, and they are headed to Asheville!

Instead of fretting, I do what I always do…go outside and let Mother Nature soothe me. Today was a Biltmore Estate morning. Chrysanthemums are in their glory and it was such a gentle stroll with my dog Clancie.

Well, this has nothing to do with my garden Devotion, but it has everything to do with appreciating all that western North Carolina has to offer. One hour and 15 minutes from my home is the Cataloochee Valley in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Elk were hunted to extinction in the area by the mid-1700s, but a successful 2001-2002 reintroduction of 52 elk brought them back to the park. Now the population exceeds 200.

During the rut in the fall, male elk bugle to attract females and to challenge other bulls. Because the elk are crepuscular, I chose to arrive as the moon was setting behind the mountains. It was a truly magical morning.

Rewilding is essential in letting nature take care of itself, repairing damaged ecosystems and restoring degraded landscapes. Through rewinding, wildlife’s natural rhythms create wilder, more biodiverse habitat.