Home & Garden

Nativity Scenes Throughout Appalachia

Becky Rogers — Sun, 06 Dec 2015 22:11:44 +0000

Past and present views of living Christmas displays

There’s an old joke about a couple driving through Appalachia. They stopped in a quaint mountain town, with a central green plaza. In the green, the couple noticed a life-sized nativity scene. Along with the baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the three kings and all the animals, the couple spotted a modern fireman.

Nature’s Way of Feeding

Ray Access — Fri, 16 Oct 2015 17:30:09 +0000

Fallen leaves provide natural fertilizer for your lawn and gardens.

One day, they’re brightening the horizon with their brilliant yellow, orange and red hues. The next day, they are covering your lawn in a crunchy brown carpet. Perhaps that’s why it’s called the “fall.” By mid-November, the leaves are mostly all on the ground, leaving the landscape barren, sleeping until its spring revival.

Kentucky Cabin Décor

Ray Access — Fri, 11 Sep 2015 21:05:44 +0000

Rustic furnishings to imaginative accessories Kentucky didn’t invent the log cabin, but the state may have perfected it. And it’s not due to millions of Kentuckians living in log cabins with no indoor plumbing well into the twentieth century like hillbillies lost in time. It’s because Kentuckians appreciate the simple things in life — and then enjoy crafting luxuries out of those simple things. The bourbon industry makes a fine analogy. What started as an outlaw venture making illicit liquor has become an international success story, as Kentucky bourbon is now a much-sought-after beverage. The same can be said of Kentucky cabin décor.

The Beauty of Moss

Ray Access — Wed, 01 Jul 2015 06:20:00 +0000

The Appalachian Mountains provide a home to one of the most diverse eco-systems in the world. There actually are more than 10,000 different animal and plant species residing here. Organisms such as fungi and salamanders are most diverse in Appalachia. Mosses represent another diverse species that thrive in the area. Moss is a small flowerless green plant that doesn’t have any roots. It grows in long, low carpets or rounded cushions in damp habitats found all throughout the Appalachian Mountain range. Moss reproduces by releasing spores from stalked capsules.

Protecting Your Garden

Ray Access — Wed, 01 Jul 2015 05:50:00 +0000

Early Appalachian settlers lived off the land, planting crops on mountainsides that were anything but flat. To ensure the family’s survival, though, folks in the mountains relied on agriculture. They knew that if you wanted to eat, you had to protect your garden. Since it took a lot of time and effort to build a garden fence, they often looked for other ways to keep hungry critters out.

Traditional Tactics

Appalachian School of Holistic Herbs

Ray Access — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 18:30:00 +0000

Fact: Herbs have been used for thousands of years for healing practices. Fact: The Appalachian Mountain region is one of the most botanically diverse areas in the country. Combine these facts with decades of hands-on practical teaching experience, and you have a perfect recipe for a successful school that teaches the value of herbs.

Composting

Ray Access — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 18:25:00 +0000

How to use composting to improve your garden Mountain settlers had to make due with what they had. They couldn’t ride into town every time they needed something for their homes or land. For one thing, they were subsistence farmers with very little money. For another, they lived off the land gratefully; it was the lifestyle of choice. People who gravitate to the mountains to farm the land generally enjoy solitude.

Chasing the Rhododendron Blooms

Ray Access — Fri, 01 May 2015 18:56:51 +0000

A stunning visual display on the run Rhododendrons bloom in the spring, but exactly when the best time to find them depends on the weather, temperature, elevation and soil conditions. In other words, the flowers rarely appear at the same time every year. This variability has given birth to the phrase “chasing the bloom,” in which flower enthusiasts and floral tourists track the flower as it first appears in different parts of the mountains.

Mingle Events and Rentals

Ray Access — Fri, 01 May 2015 18:42:15 +0000

Events and weddings and more, oh my! If you have to pull a big event together, but don’t know where to start, an event planner may be just the savior you need. If you feel overwhelmed at the prospect of planning a whole wedding, a wedding planner takes the weight of worry off your shoulders. And on the day of the event, you can relax and enjoy yourself knowing that someone is watching every detail.

Appalachian Barn Weddings

Ray Access — Mon, 16 Mar 2015 17:03:42 +0000

For the right couples, this is the ultimate experience

Weddings today are family affairs. The bride’s family meets the groom’s family, with a few assorted friends of both sprinkled into the mix. They can be big or small, indoors or outdoors, catered or pot luck, but they always celebrate the joining of two people.

Sow True Seeds

Becky Rogers — Sat, 28 Feb 2015 17:04:10 +0000

Farmers going back to the future for natural planting techniques.

Some Seedy History

Agriculture in the early American reaches of Appalachia kept families alive. They grew what they could, hunted when they could and gathered whatever they could find. No matter what they planted — tomatoes, corn, beans or beets — they always saved some seeds for replanting the following year. It was the only way to maintain a crop year after year.

Attain the Perfect Yard with Naturescapes

Ray Access — Tue, 17 Feb 2015 20:20:13 +0000

Attain the Perfect Yard with Naturescapes

A new way to look at an old problem.

Winter Gardening

Ray Access — Fri, 30 Jan 2015 22:40:48 +0000

As soon as the dirt is loose enough to work, about six weeks before you expect a final frost in your Appalachian garden, you can get your garden started by planting early, hearty green vegetables.

Chop Wood, Carry Water

Ray Access — Thu, 01 Jan 2015 23:10:43 +0000

Zen masters tell their students: “Before enlightenment: chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment: chop wood, carry water.” Chopping and stacking wood, as well as carrying water, are acts that are at once both art and science.

Central Appalachian Christmas Tree Farms

Ray Access — Wed, 24 Dec 2014 21:17:29 +0000

All tree farms are not alike!