What 700 Pieces of Stone Taught Me About Growing Something That Heals
From the Gardener’s Journal
The Gardener’s Letter No. 01
Dearest friend of the Hollow,
I am writing this week with dirt under my fingernails, stone dust on practically everything we own, and a back that would very much like to discuss the decisions I have made recently.
We moved more than 700 pieces of stone this week.
Seven. Hundred.
I am 51 years old, and I have somehow decided that the sensible thing to do with this particular season of my life was to build a farm.
Not just a flower farm, mind you. That might have been too reasonable.
No, I also needed an herb garden.
And if we were going to have an herb garden, obviously it needed stone-edged beds, winding stone paths, and the most precious little water fountain you ever did see.
So that is where much of this week went.
But I am happy to report that underneath all the sore muscles and piles of rock, something I have been thinking about and sharing with many of you for a very long time has finally started looking like a garden.
The Herb Garden Is Taking Shape
Every bed is now laid out and edged in stone. We have been filling the pathways with stone as well, and the structure of the garden is finally visible.
There are seedlings waiting in the wings that are getting closer and closer to planting time.
And then there is the fountain. I am probably far too excited about this fountain.
I just love adding water features in a garden because I think when you add the sound and visual presence of water to a garden, something changes it. Even before the beds are filled with herbs, the sound of the water makes the space feel like somewhere you are supposed to linger for a long time.
That is what I want this garden to become.
Not simply rows of herbs with little labels beside them.
I want you to be able to walk through it. Rub a rosemary leaf between your fingers. Smell the lavender. Discover an herb you have never grown. Sit near the fountain for a few minutes. Learn which plants have traditionally been used in the kitchen, which have been tucked into teas and salves, and which have been grown by generations before us.
Eventually, I hope this becomes one of those places at Hickman Hollow where you find yourself staying longer than you intended.
Of course, first we have to finish moving the rocks.
The Flowers Are Being a Little Dramatic
Meanwhile, out in the flower fields, September has arrived.
If you grow flowers in South Carolina, you probably understand exactly what I mean when I say some of them are being a little dramatic right now.
It has been a long, dry, and hot summer.
We still have some dahlias and zinnias, but they are starting to complain. We have lots of gomphrena, marigolds, salvia, and cinnamon basil. Our ageratum is still coming up with new blooms, but the Aster right next to it has definitely said goodbye. Other plants like the eucalyptus are still growing really well, but the pasture grass is getting a bit out of control, which makes picking it a bit of a treasure hunt.
All of those blooms, along with a few other treasures, are doing their best to hang on, but the quantity and quality are both suffering a bit right now.
Which is also why we are doing something a little different for the next two weekends.
Our U Picks on September 5 and September 12 will be 50% off.
If you come this weekend or next, you will pay only $10 or $20, depending on which picking option you choose. Just know that the discount comes with fewer flowers to choose from while we begin turning over the fields for fall.
Some beds are finished for the season and are being allowed to rest until we plant cover crops in the next few weeks in preparation for winter. Other beds are still producing flowers. And tucked among all of that are fresh successions of cosmos and sunflowers that should begin blooming in another few weeks.
Did I mention we are not a botanical garden?
We are a real working farm, and if you have been here, you already know what I mean. We have weeds, pasture grass, plants that have fallen over, and plenty of other bits of mess.
But it is a beautiful mess that we have come to love.
So please enjoy the discounted picks for the next two weeks, and say a little prayer with us for rain, cooler days, and the fresh round of blooms growing quietly out in the fields.
Their Leaves Will Be for Healing
While I was working on the herb garden this week, I kept coming back to a verse from Ezekiel.
“Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.”
Ezekiel 47:12
It is those last words that stay with me.
Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.
We sometimes look at plants simply as decoration.
And goodness knows I love growing things simply because they are beautiful.
But plants have also healed the sick, fed people, clothed people, scented homes, colored fabric, filled tea cups and have been part of traditional herbal practices for generations.
That is one of the reasons this herb garden matters so much to me.
I want Hickman Hollow to be a place where we remember some of those old relationships with the things that grow around us.
Not because every plant is a cure for something, and certainly not because herbs should replace appropriate medical care, but because I think there is value in learning how people have traditionally used plants and in recognizing how much God has provided through the natural world.
Food from the fruit.
Useful plants from the leaves.
Beauty simply because He could have made the world without flowers and chose not to.
The more I grow, the more remarkable that feels.
The First Bottles Left the Farm
We had another tiny milestone this week.
The first bottles of After the Garden made their way into the Farm Store.
After the Garden is one of those products that came from an actual need around here. When you spend hours outside working in the garden, your skin sometimes comes inside looking every bit as tired as you feel.
It is a botanical spray I created with herbal-infused witch hazel as a simple way to refresh and soothe skin after spending time outdoors. I especially like it after long days in the garden when my skin has been exposed to sun, heat, sweat, dirt, and all the other little irritations that seem to find you when you spend your days digging around outside.
You can mist it onto your skin after gardening, working in the yard, or simply spending a hot afternoon outdoors. It is cool, refreshing and exactly the sort of thing I wanted to be able to reach for after coming in from the fields.
Hence the name…After the Garden.
And apparently I am not the only one who liked the idea.
We had not even properly gotten the bottles onto the Farm Store shelf before people started picking them up. I cannot tell you how happy that made me.
It was not simply because we sold a few bottles. After the Garden represents something much bigger that I have been dreaming about for Hickman Hollow.
There are seedlings sitting nearby right now waiting to be planted in our new herb garden. Someday, many of the herbs growing in those beds can be harvested, dried, and transformed into things we make right here on the farm.
Teas. Botanical sprays. Salves. Herbal preparations. Things for the home. Things for the garden.
The flowers will always be a huge part of Hickman Hollow, but I want this farm to remind people that plants can be useful as well as beautiful.
Maybe that is why seeing those first bottles leave the farm felt like such a big deal.
They were only a few little amber bottles sitting on a shelf.
But to me, they looked a whole lot like the beginning of something.
Thank You for Giving Us Room to Build
I also want to thank everyone who was patient with us while weekday picking was temporarily unavailable this week.
Building the herb garden meant stone, rock, tools and equipment were scattered through an area guests would normally be walking around. Rather than try to work around visitors, we decided it was safer to give ourselves the week to make progress.
And goodness, did we make progress.
More than 700 pieces of stone worth.
My back can provide references.
Having said that, we hope to see many of you this Saturday. You know I will have plenty of stories to tell you about this week.
One Little Favor for the Hollow
There is one thing I would especially love your help with this week.
The Post and Courier Pee Dee is holding its 2026 Reader’s Choice nominations, and we would be incredibly grateful if you would nominate Hickman Hollow Farms.
Our biggest priority is to be choice for best Farm (you can find it under the Services category), but if you have a minute after that, we would also love nominations for for best Outdoor Activity and Family Attraction (under Arts, Music, & Entertainment).
If Hickman Hollow Farms already appears in the category, simply select the nomination option beside our name. If you do not see us, write in Hickman Hollow Farms.
And if you know someone who has picked flowers here, wandered the farm, brought their children, followed our adventures online or simply believes in what we are trying to build, please send the contest their way too.
Winning would be wonderful.
But seeing this little farm recognized by the community we are trying so hard to create would mean even more.
Nominate Hickman Hollow Farms in the Pee Dee Reader’s Choice Contest
A Note from the Wrens
More than 700 pieces of stone disappeared into the herb garden this week. The Gardener claims this means the paths are nearly ready.
We remain cautiously optimistic.
Until we meet again.
