Buzzard Roost Branch Estate

In the spirit of antiquity, I can imagine that Paris seeing Helen for the first time was much like our experience ordering dahlias.

“Ooohhh. That one’s beautiful. Let’s get it!”

Although we didn’t instigate the destruction of a socio-cultural paragon with our decision-making skills, the sheer volume of what we first bought, then grew, and finally had to dig up and process for the upcoming season was in short, overwhelming.

The winter here in Georgia has been wet to say the least, and the namesake clay of our feather-brained state is less than forgiving with even the most robust of root systems. As such, it’s boded as more of a portent for horrible weather in the coming months than anything else, so it makes a terrible time of working with tubers. If you’re not familiar with the process, it involves proper ventilation, diluted bleach, cinnamon, and plastic wrap.

To you, that may sound like Heisenberg fruit salad, but it’s the most articulate way to process the dormant roots.

We have, however, enjoyed it beyond all description.

For Mom, it’s all about the continuity, the fruitful hope in working the earth as its newest steward in a history spanning a century.

As for me, the community that’s been fostered as a result is priceless. Old friends, new friends, family, and strangers I’ll likely never see again. A bundle of sunflowers and a sack of tomatoes doesn’t seem like a lot, but I touched someone’s life, made their toddler smile, or just gave the simple kindness of saying hello.

When I’m out in the garden, picking up new gloves at the feed store, or lugging water around at the market, I often think about how what we sell takes up space in a person’s environment. Are we feeding their spirits along with their appetites? When they see that obnoxiously colorful array of zinnias on their kitchen table will they remember how Mom and I chattered on about our favorite varieties and how long the flowers will last? Is that memory, that nostalgia, comforting and supportive?

In simple terms we run a business.

But it is and always will be a business with a purpose. An agenda that transcends anything which may seek to compartmentalize us.

We are purveyors in kindness and wisdom and joy. And to sweeten the deal, we’ll make sure you leave us with something pretty to look at.