secrets of Old Salem

Southern Living, Nov 2004 by Bender, Steve

This cluster of small gardens teaches as well as inspires. See for yourself this fall.

the keys to a successful garden have never changed. Nurture the soil. Keep good records. Plant the best selections. Rotate crops. And make everything pleasing to the eye. At the village of Old Salem in Winston-Salem, you can see these principles at work every day. Now is a great time to visit because the harvest season is in full swing.

Heirloom vegetables such as 'Tennis Ball' lettuce, 'Lacinato' kale, 'Savoy Perfection Drumhead' cabbage, and 'Rhubarb' Swiss chard decorate immaculately groomed beds with leaves of green, blue, and burgundy. Favorite flowers from days gone by, including scarlet-and-yellow Joseph's coat (Amaranthus tricolor) and the gaudy red crested cockscomb (Celosia argentea), complete the pastoral setting. Close your eyes for a second, and you'll swear you're back in your grandmother's garden-only it never looked quite this good.

A Little History

Old Salem (or just Salem, as it was initially called) began as a congregational town founded in 1766 by the Moravian Church-a Protestant sect that originally hailed from a province of what is today the Czech Republic. The orderly Moravians designed the village on a formal grid pattern with perpendicular streets and a town square in the center. Long, narrow residential lots, each about 67 feet wide and 197 feet deep, extend from the street in front to the one in back. Directly behind each house is a fenced yard containing such necessities as the chicken house, woodshed, barn, and privy. The garden, which supplied much of the family's food, lies just beyond the yard.

Today, 12 of these family gardens are meticulously restored and open to the public. They contain plants authentic to the period between 1768 and 1856. Because early settlers were more concerned with famine than flower arranging, the oldest gardens harbor only vegetables and field crops such as cotton. Newer gardens dating from the 183Os and 184Os abound with flowers because a prospering town could finally afford the luxury of cultivating beauty.

Awesome in Autumn

Although Old Salem's staff prepares the gardens for spring, summer, and fall, they readily agree that autumn is prime time. "Fall is the best gardening season because the segue into winter is very slow and drawn out, and the harvest is so long," says Keyes Williamson, former director of horticulture. As the glorious leaves of maple, hickory, and black gum shower down, cabbage, broccoli, Swiss chard, lettuce, kohlrabi, beets, carrots, rutabagas, cardoon, sunset hibiscus (Abelmoschus manihot), kale, and peas thrive in the November air. Sweetening with the frost, many crops last until Christmas. Home gardeners could take a cue here and plant their own fall vegetables.

This is but one of many lessons Old Salem imparts, the teaching made simpler by the gardens' modest, unintimidating scale. "The size of an average lot here is similar to that of a modern suburban lot," explains Keyes. "Duplicating an Old Salem garden is easy."

Touching the Past

If you want to know what makes Old Salem special, talk to Flora Ann Bynum, chairperson of Old Salem's Landscape Restoration Committee. She has resided here in the village since 1952,

"The unique thing about Old Salem is that it's a lived-in community with private residences mixed in with historic buildings," she states. Visitors sometimes mistake her for a character. "People will knock on my door and ask, 'Is this a real house? Are you a real person?'"

But such confusion is worth it every time Old Salem brings visitors in touch with their heritage. "I was sitting on my porch the other day," Flora Ann recalls. "The gate opened, and I heard a man telling his little child, 'Now, that's a lamb's ear. Feel the leaf. My granny used to grow that plant.'"

For more information: Call 1-888-653-7253, or visit www.oldsalem. org. Directions: Old Salem covers 14 city blocks within Winston-Salem. To get there from either direction on I-40, look for the brown Old Salem exit signs. Take Exit 193B onto U.S. 52 north. Then take Exit 108C (Stadium Drive). Turn right at the end of the exit ramp. Follow the signs to the Old Salem Visitor Center. Turn left at the next light onto Salem Avenue. Turn right at the next light onto Old Salem Road. Continue about 300 feet (you will pass under a covered bridge), and then turn left at the visitors center. Construction projects may be ongoing, so follow the detour signs, if necessary.

Pages 80-83: seeds for sunset hibiscus and red crested cockscomb may be hard to find, but other plants mentioned can be purchased from Heirloom Seeds, (412) 384-0852 or www.heirloomseeds.com (O); Landis Valley Museum Heirloom seed Project, (717) 569-0401 or www.landisvalley museum.org (O); Landreth Seed Company, 1 -800-654-2407 or www.landrethseeds.com (O); Seeds of Change, 1-888-762-7333 or www.seedsofchange.com (O); Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, (540) 894-9480 or www.southernexposure.com (O).