Happy New Year - 2011!!

During our holiday break, I was so happy to be able to spend time walking in the woods and also working in the garden. As part of the reconstruction of my Secret Garden and big rose and vegetable garden, we are building several pergolas and trellises and privacy screens. I love having roses and other plants growing on pergolas and trellises! They are beautiful and also provide a nice shady spot during our hot summers. Our hardy kiwi are planted on three pergolas in our center garden bed and we have finally built our pond with waterfall!




I'm planning to use beautiful evergreen Camellia sasanqua to create garden "rooms" with paths to tie everything together. In Spring, we'll add water lilies and other plants to our little garden pond. Hopefully this summer the Hardy Kiwi will cover the new pergolas to give us a lush shade.



We've taken advantage of winter dormancy to transplant several roses and other plants to areas where they will be able to grow to their full potential. These winter projects are so much fun!

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But now it's great to be back to work after a nice, relaxing holiday with family and friends! I'm pleased to begin 2011 with a superb staff including Andy, Alden, Earl, Jean, Wanda and of course me. Everyone has been hard at work processing orders that came in over the break and most are completed.

On Sunday evening, the big winter storm of the southeast gave us 6 inches of gorgeous, fluffy snow! Here's a picture of little Rose Cottage here on the farm. Earl and Sally and I had fun playing outside and walking in the woods!




















It rarely snows in our area and I can't remember having as much as 6 inches in quite a long time. On Monday, the snow turned to sleet and we ended up with 1/2 inch of ice on top of the snow!

Snowy and icy weather will bring most things in the south to a halt - especially in rural areas. Since we aren't equipped to handle this much snow and ice, most schools and businesses simply close. Today is Wednesday and most schools and businesses are still closed. While the interstate is somewhat clear, it's still not really safe to drive. Several of our vendors in Atlanta and Charlotte were closed yesterday because employees could not get in to work.

Stoney Hill Farm is in a very rural area about 4 miles outside of a little town called Prosperity. The back roads in our neck of the woods will never see a snow plow so we have to do the best we can. As one might imagine, this storm has had an impact on our business as well. Earl and I have been working in the warehouse as usual, but other staff could not make it in on Monday. UPS couldn't make it out here either. On Tuesday, Andy and Wanda were able to make it in to work, but UPS still could not make it out to this area. We are hoping UPS will be able to make it out today which is Wednesday. So, this has delayed shipping for all orders that were placed since last Thursday. We are hoping to have our shipping be back on schedule by Thursday or Friday.

Stay Warm and I'll post more later!

Best Wishes for a Healthy, Happy and Prosperous New Year!

Angie