LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
By Sissy N. Hearst
Welcome to Sissy’s Life and Garden! I’m so glad you dropped by. I hope you enjoy our stories. We look forward to hearing yours, too. That’s one of the wonderful things about the Internet: It’s interactive- a virtual version of talking over the fence or on the porch. Here, we can share stories about life in the South as no other website can do.
Southerners love to talk –even we talk a little slower than anywhere else on earth, I believe. (I wonder if a study has ever compared number of words per minute uttered by different languages/dialects. Do you know?) Conversations usually cover four basics of living in the South. One is family. Two, the weather. Third, what’s for dinner. And number four, the yard or garden.
When I was a child, I rolled my eyes at all this talk, which postponed playing outside with friends. Now that I’m older, I revel in them. I’ve heard lots. Not all were Southern, though. I have the benefit of comparison. I’ve lived in many regions of the U.S.A. I was born in Italy. I started first grade in Germany. My teacher’s name- I kid you not – was Miss Meany. (She was actually a sweetie.)
Each place had a strong identity, a fierce sense of pride and uniqueness that were unmistakable. To this day, I can close my eyes and vividly recall every one of them. Nowhere does that pride of place resound more vibrantly than in the South. It stimulates all the senses. Hear the summer symphony of crickets, katydids, and tree frogs at day’s end. Smell that fried chicken sizzling in the kitchen. See the little Tinkerbells of fireflies twinkling at night. Feel the rich, warm earth as you plant a daylily a neighbor gave you. As if you needed another daylily.
But that’s gardening in the South.
As Virgil Adams explains in his story, “Why I Garden,” it’s a calling that you just can’t refuse. Mark Stith’s story on “A Damsel in Distress” gives a personal recollection of the joy of discovering Barnsley Gardens, a fabulous historic garden, nearly lost from neglect, that was created
in the early 1800s in northwest Georgia.
Speaking of fabulous historic places, we also bring you a little slice of one of our favorite Southern cities, Charleston, South Carolina, in Melissa Bigner’s marvelously clever story, “Charleston on the Cheap.” This local girl shares her favorite Charleston shops, stops, and dining spots in this charming seaside city.
If you’re a long-time Southerner, I hope you resonate with the stories we tell. If you’re new around here, or just want to sample some Southern-ness, then come on in. Regardless, I think you’re going to enjoy this.
Botanical Anglophiles will no doubt pick up on my little “nom de bloom,” as I call my pen name. Yes, it’s a little play on what’s considered the Royal Standard of British gardening, Vita Sackville-West’s glorious design at Sissinghurst Castle in England. No disrespect was meant at all. Rather, it’s poking a little fun at what many consider the “other British Invasion.” That was the sudden and splendid appearance of many British gardening personalities, such as the late Rosemary Verey, Penelope Hobhouse, and many others. But along with their discovery came an exaltation of some of our own Southern gardening gurus, including the late Elizabeth Lawrence and Henry Wilson, to name a couple of my favorite gardeners and writers. Their legacy, I think, is continued with the likes of Steve Bender (Senior Editor at Southern Living), the great State of Mississippi’s Felder Rushing, South Carolina’s Jim Wilson, and Georgia’s Virgil Adams.
And perhaps, you too, tell us your story. We’re sharing ours. It’s the Southern thing to do.
Sincerely,
Sissy N. Hearst
