Animal Totems

Mountain Gardens

Mountains Gardens is a beautiful Herbal Medicine farm nestled into the side of Mount Celo in Burnsville, NC. I spent a month there and learned so much! The guy who owns the place, Joe Hollis, is incredibly knowledgable. He's been cultivating and building this farm for at least 30 years. It is a very developed "forest garden" where the plants live in a more natural and sustainable ecosystem with fruit trees, large bushes, and low-dwelling plants intermingling, with acres of little paths leading through. The result is aesthetically stunning. It has a Garden of Eden feel, with the plants being so productive and bountiful, while still maintaining this feeling of wildness. Beyond the aesthetic and sustainable nature of this gardening style, it also requires much less work than a tradition row garden, because you're working with nature. Plants work together. As an example, planting certain varieties, such as marigold or garlic, near plants prone to suffer from insects eliminates the need for pesticides or crop loss because these plants repel certain insects. But it is all so very complicated, so it really makes me inspired by those who have a better grasp on what plants, animals, and soil qualities work best together. There is so much to learn!!!

I'm writing this in February, but I visited Mountain Gardens in November/December. Being so high up on this very tall mountain, it was very cold. We heated ourselves with wood stoves, which is wonderful, but the buildings themselves are old and held little heat. I was happy when I finally left (two days before Christmas!), but I really hope to be able to do a real apprenticeship with Joe in the summertime. They seem to be legendary, and he works you hard! Regardless, I've caught the herbal medicine bug, and have since made some tinctures (Echinecea, Ephedra, Kloss's Lineament), to take with me on future travels. Someday, somewhere, I'll continue my herbal studies.

Where in the world is Apollo Sunshine? He loved the wood-burning stove. He's laying across the stone tile beneath the stove that gets pretty warm. He'd lay there all evening, rolling in the ashes.