LIFE'S BETTER IN THE MOUNTAINS

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

The Annual Divide

Several weeks ago our community garden club held its fall Great Divide. The gardeners re-pot all the divided plants every fall and offer them to neighbors. In the past, the plants were free. Unfortunately too many people came early and took far too many than the allowed two per family. As a result there weren't many choices for those of us who came to the event at the proper time. This year the club decided to charge a small fee for each plant and you wouldn't believe how much difference that made. These "freeloaders" were reluctant to pay a few dollars for a 25-dollar plant! It almost makes me wonder whether they actually planted their freebies in the past. It makes me sad to think they didn't.

Plants that deer aren't supposed to like are always a high priority around here. The club had a nice selection of deer "resistant" plants, but made it clear there is no such thing as a deer proof plant. (We found that out last year when the deer stripped our rhododendron buds.)





All of the artists selling their wares actually live in our little community. Gourd art is a really big hobby here and I am always amazed at the results. (I wish I'd taken a close-up of the turkey in the upper left.)


One of my favorites was this cut-out of autumn leaves.


We have several artists who carve decoys.


And quite a number of talented painters.




The divide always has a section for free glass. Anyone can drop off or pick up a vase or two.



We bought several beautiful fall-blooming plants. The girls were quite interested in them.




Lucy is our "sight" dog and she doesn't miss a thing in sight. Ellie is our "scent" dog and she catches all the smells. She is totally absorbed in this plant. I hope she will like it as much when it is planted.


If there was an election in your area yesterday, I hope you got out and voted. Further, I hope your candidate won.

21 comments:

robin andrea said...

Love the art you have there, and yes especially that autumn leaf gourd. So beautifully done. We haven't yet explored our new local community art fests, but so looking forward to it.

No major game-changing elections in our neck of the woods. I'm glad about that.

Vicki Lane said...

Sounds like a fun event! And reminds me of all the stuff I have that needs dividing.

Anonymous said...

Never considered gourd work as an art form, but those pictures leave no doubt that it can be! I'm used to seeing The Gourd Lady with the wizardly gourd hat.

The leaf one is lovely! WOW!

The free glass is a fabulous idea. I have many vases from days when Hubby sent flowers. I convinced him I'd rather have live plants, but gee, there is nothing lovelier than a floral bouquet!

George said...

Your Great Divide sounds like a great event to attend. I really like the gourd art.

Cheryl said...

Some of the artwork is lovely. It must be great to buy something and know that it comes from local people. I try to do that here. I would much rather support the community that I live in.

The girls are just so fun. I love their inquisitive nature.
I must just tell you about something that happened today.
Nella my terrier will take on anything....fox, badger, etc etc...I of course always deter her. Today while on our daily walk along the lanes she 'took on' a six foot length of blue pipe workman had neglected to clear. I still am not sure what she thought it was ..... I so wished I had my camera.......

Busy Bee Suz said...

Oh my GOURD, those are wonderful pieces of art!!
I think it is funny that you can easily weed out the takers when they have to fork over a few bucks!!!
Well, deer eating my plants is one thing I don't have to worry about in my yard. :) Good luck to you and your new greenery.

Rae said...

Beautiful artwork. The plant sharing is a fantastic idea. It would be a shame if the freebies were not planted. Seems sort of sad not to repot a living thing allowing it to thrive and grow.

Jeannette StG said...

Your doggies are as always so beautiful. They each have their own personality, don't they? LOL

KB said...

You have some talented people in your community. It sounds like fun! I loved the autumn leaves gourd art. Wow.

Interesting how different the girls are about sight and scent. I hope that they both like the plants after they're planted!

Karin said...

Lovely crafts! What a great idea to have a free glass table! I'll have to tuck that into my memory for some of our sales at the nursing home. Love that leaf gourd!

100 Thoughts of Love said...

What a great way for a community to share...I was up in your neck of the woods 2 weeks ago...what a great area! We did a lot of leaf and waterfall sightseeing. I am in awe and ready to move. However as one lady said to me, please don't move here unless you have a job. Yeah well...someday.

Jayne said...

Such beautiful artistry!

Dog_geek said...

Wow - I am so envious of people with artistic ability! The gourd art is amazing - just think of all the things I could have done with our gourds! Hopefully someone put some of them to good use!

Coffee with Cathy said...

Wonderful selection of handmade art -- and I love your story of the Great Divide. It's amazing how actually having to pay for something will reduce your crowd to a manageable size!

Golden Samantha said...

What a cool thing to do - sorry the "free" divides idea got spoiled, but the show has some beautiful items - love the leaf gourd cut-out - wow. And as always, the girls look gorgeous!
Hugs xo
Sammie

KGMom said...

What a fun post. I love local festivals as you have described. And sharing is a great idea.
Yes, I voted. NO--once again I am on the losing side. I am a Democrat surrounded by Republicans--sigh.

Appalachian Lady said...

Virginia Tech Horticulture Dept. used to do the same thing--give away the last annuals but things got to be too much (gardens were trampled) so now they just have a plant sale.

I love the crafts--the gourds are wonderful.

I voted but all the Democrats lost in Virginia--mainly because the candidates were weak and they ran poor campaigns. Of course, I live in a very Republican county.

Leedra said...

The fall leave gourd is so pretty. I hear the deer love daylilies that if they start they eat them to the ground, but so far they have not eaten mine. And they have been within several ft of them. Love the photo of her smelling the plant.

NCmountainwoman said...

Thanks everyone! I feel so fortunate to live in a community with such talent. When we purchased our first piece of local art, we were surprised to find that the artist lived three doors away from us!

Robin - We hd no elections to vote in either. Only city elections and we are not in the city limits.

Marylee - The glassware that was left over was given to local nursing homes where people tend to bring flowers without vases.

Cheryl - Oh, don't you love it when the dogs mistake something for an enemy! Our Lucy barked at a jack-o-lantern our neighbors put near their mailbox.

BB Suz - I'm also amazed that we weeded out the free-loaders. And the prices were VERY low...nothing more than 5 dollars.

KB - Unfortunately, the girls have no respect for plants and will run right over them if we let them.

Donna - Oh, I hear you. Western NC is conservative Republican to the core. Our Representative is the first Democrat elected in years and he is actually a "Blue Dog" whose acts much more Republican then Democrat.

Twisted Fencepost said...

It is a shame that ones can't follow the rules so that everyone can enjoy the same. Some people are just so selfish!
Love that fall leaf gourd. I grow them here on the farm. This year didn't go too well but I have plans for next year. Just wish I was as creative as the ones whol made the ones you have pictured.

Dawn Fine said...

What a wonderful idea! Looks like lots of fun!