Hidden Magnolias

Sad, sad, news today. The Hancock County, GA Courthouse burned. The Second Empire style building red brick exterior walls were still standing hours later, but the interior is burned out and the courthouse's majestic clock tower is gone. From today's news: What is looked like before: Why is this sad? One of the oldest standing Courthouses in GA. Built in 1883.  Listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Also, listed on the The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation's list of "Places in Peril"in 2013. Courthouses in more rural areas still signify much more than a place where legal proceedings are held.  It is the anchor of the town, and in many ways it represents “where we are from”. Sparta was once plantation country, a very wealthy area. Now it is all but abandoned; however, recent years have seen an exciting regeneration of Sparta. The courthouse is a testimony to the wealth that once exist...

Yesterday my husband and I spent a delightful day in Sparta, GA at the Not your Mama's Garden Tour. Robert and Susanne Currey (pictured above) bought and  lovingly restored the Harley Harris Rives House in downtown Sparta and turned 2 acres of the overgrown "formal" gardens into an organic treasure. They call it Elm Street Gardens. The gardens are located in the back of the house. They use a no-till organic process. Constant mulching and companion planting a a focus.  Beautiful bedded rows of fresh goodness. Here is my husband checking it all out -- row by row. I so wanted to snatch up one of these beautiful lettuces. Flowers are interspersed with the vegetables, making the garden a visual delight. There were several hoop houses to protect the tender plants from the hot Georgia sun. Inside one of them was a plant I had never seen before. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was an artichoke. They also k...