Bio Coming Soon!

Bio Coming Soon!

Bio Coming Soon!

Hyde and his wife Louise founded Well-Sweep Herb Farm in 1969 , when the family moved from suburban New Jersey to a 4.5-acre farm in Warren County , N.J. As a symbol of the farm's simple way of life , he chose the 19th century-style well-sweep , which he recalled from his childhood on the family farm. For inspiration and ideas, Well-Sweep remains unmatched. Nestled in the scenic hills of Warren County, the farm's pride and joy is its breathtaking formal half-acre display garden--the brick-pathed garden, created from scratch over the last 27 years boasts a wide array of herbs and perennials. And, amidst the scenic gardens you'll find 36 types of basils, 60 different lavenders, 80 varieties of thyme and over 100 scented-leaved geraniums. Well-Sweep also breeds and selects its own special varieties , such as the Well-Sweep miniature purple basil and the Alida Hyde prostrate rosemary.

Using organic methods , Hyde has transformed the poor , rocky , clay soil into a self-sustaining farm , complete with animals and a traditional red barn for drying herbs and flowers. He overwinters tender herbs and topiaries in cold frames and greenhouses. His love for formal gardens inspired him to design and plant Well-Sweep's one-half acre brick-lined, herb display garden.

Aside from his day job at a major pharmaceutical company, and working on his first book, Craig and his wife Susan spend a few Saturdays each spring at the North Carolina State Farmer's Market on Lake Wheeler Road in Raleigh, selling a unique (and ever-changing) selection of unusual vegetable seedlings. Craig and a Raleigh gardening friend, Lee, also organize an annual (and growing!) heirloom tomato tasting event in Raleigh called Tomatopalooza. Typically, 100 people appear from as faraway as Ohio and Florida. Everyone brings samples, with the opportunity to taste over 150 varieties of tomatoes! Craig's web site includes many digital photos of his tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant, as well as many images from his large seed catalog collection (http://nctomatoman.topcities.com).

Craig's latest adventure is co-leading an unusual tomato amateur breeding project with an Australian tomato enthusiast and numerous volunteers, the goal being a greatly expanded range of colors, shapes and sizes of tomatoes with a dwarf growth habit.

After birth, Michael played in the woods. Before 10 he had a hillside his mother said he could plant. So besides bringing turtles home he also brought Tiger Lilies, Yucca and other native plants. By high school, music and performing occupied most of Michaels time. He'd go out of his way for black orchid corsages for special dates that also took up most of his time. In the 1970's Michael fell into the "grow your own" movement. He built a yurt and set up a garden in his brother's back yard. Michael grew everything edible he could find. He wrote songs about it, he went to school about it, and as fate would have it, he started a mail order nursery about it: Edible Landscaping.

Rowena Morrel is publisher of In The Kitchen Magazine. She writes about the local food community revealing a deep affection for the preservation of the local food community. A southern cook for fifty-something years, she spends most of her time creating and refining recipes to take maximum advantage of the local food supply. The menus and recipes created for the Monthly Meal Planner, the popular centerfold of the publication, are her creations along with many other recipes found throughout the eight year old publication. Herbs play an important part in the creation of new recipes and modifications of old ones to keep the palette attentive and vibrant.

Bio Coming Soon!

Patricia is a Master Gardener specializing in organic gardening, compost, and sustainable soil management.

Felder is a 10th-generation Southern gardener, author of 15 garden books (including Passalong Plants, Tough Plants for Southern Gardens) syndicated columnist member of the American Horticulture Society, the national director of the Garden Writers Association, and a recently retired consumer horticulturist with his state's Extension Service. As a contributing editor for numerous horticulture and garden design magazines, Felder has had hundreds of articles and photographs in all major gardening publications including Landscape Architecture, Better Homes and Gardens, National Geographic, Country Living, Organic Gardening, and others. His cottage garden has been featured on HGTV and the Discovery Channel.

Marie Taylor is an Albemarle County Master Gardener, and a volunteer at Monticello's Tufton Farm. Her garden has been featured in the Historic Garden Week In Virginia tours.

A lifelong Virginia resident who currently resides in Charlottesville.  She is a returning student, pursing her bachelors degree at UVA.  In researching her thesis project on Community Foods she has had the opportunity to work for King Family Vineyards, Best of What's Around farm, and Feast! in the Main Street Market.  She is an instructor in the school gardening project at the Barrett Early Learning Center sponsored by the Quality Community Council of Charlottesville.

He is author of Fighting Old Nep: The Foodways of Enslaved Afro-Marylanders 1634-1864. His forthcoming books include, I'm Gwine To Leave You, drawing on the narratives left by formerly enslaved Marylanders from the antebellum era, and a volume on the foodways of Virginia's enslaved community. He will be at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival this summer interpreting a Virginia slave garden.

Ira and herbalist Hildegarde Ott present a guided herb workshop at Twin Oaks Community in Louisa. Each year Ira searches for additional perennial onions to trial and reintroduce to gardeners.

Dr. Barbara Ann Wiederkehr is a Central Virginia Master Gardener who lectures on native plants and beneficial insects. Her gardens are certified as National Wildlife Habitat. Oh, and she is also a clinical psychologist and a professional photographer.

Roger Winn is president of the Newberry Co SC Master Gardener Association and a bean seed collector extraordinaire. A lifelong gardener with a recently Certified Organic farm Rodger grows heirloom vegetable plants for retail and wholesale sales while maintaining a full time job at a local utility company. He comes from a family of seed savers and has a strong commitment to sustainable agriculture. Since 2000 Rodger has dedicated his garden to heirlooms with a focus is collecting and preserving these great varieties for others to enjoy.