CityView Magazine

is number seven) grew up with a much more intimate knowing of the land. Af- ter meals Motsie would head to the fields with her father and the strongest of the children to each pick their share of cot- ton. For Motsie this usually amounted to 300 pounds a day. Every day. And cotton picking wasn't her only job. Motsie helped plant and maintain her mother's large vegetable garden — critical to the family's livelihood for both eating and trading with the "roll- ing store". This lumbering bus-like ve- hicle would come trolling through the countryside, offering locals the oppor- tunity to barter what they had for what they needed. "We never bought plants," Motsie said. "We either saved seeds or traded for them." It's an aspect of gardening Motsie deeply reveres to this day. In fact, much of her garden's plants — especially the "old timey" ones — have been given to her by fellow gardening friends. Her most cherished "pass-along" plants have come from her gardening mentor and oldest sister, Melba. "Every time I'd go home, Melba would have a plant or cut- ting from her garden waiting for me," remembered Motsie. "I always said, 'If Melba put her foot in the ground, it would root.'" Motsie lost Melba to colon cancer five years ago, but Melba's plants live strong in Motsie's garden. Other than her agrarian upbringing, Motsie is largely self-taught. Deeply in- spired by Colonial Williamsburg, Mot- sie snatches ideas every time she visits. She loves Southern Living magazine and has been known to take a page and rec- reate it in one of her yard's corners. Her favorite plants are heirloom varieties — those grown from open pollination and seed saving, rather than hybridi- zation or genetic modification. Motsie also has a deep abiding affection for all things Amish — their faith in God and love, respect and reverent use of the land. "Motsie has those same values," said her husband, "honest, hard-working and de- pendable." Motsie teases off his compli- ment. "I'm a workaholic," she laughed. But one turn through Motsie's gar- dens betrays her veracious pledge to the land that she's been given. Every section CityViewNC.com | 21

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