Re: [Gardening] Introductions?

Great to meet you all! I've been gardening off and on since I was a kid, but I started gardening seriously when I moved to Raleigh 17 years ago -- and really seriously when my husband and I bought our first house in East Raleigh several years back. We're most interested in food gardening. We use organic techniques, avoid man-made chemical inputs, and are students of permaculture; as such we're increasingly emphasizing perennial and tree crops. There were already mulberry, pecan and walnut trees when we moved here, and our plantings include pears, plums, blueberries, serviceberries, hazelnuts, tea, muscadine grapes, pomegranate and figs. We also have an herb bed and a few raised beds for vegetables. However, our garden might give native-plant advocates conniptions, as there are quite a few naturalized non-natives that were already present on the property and that we've chosen to live with because of their functionality, including privet and Japanese honeysuckle. BTW, if anyone's interested in making honeysuckle sorbet -- recipe at http://n.pr/ioJD7y -- we have a bumper crop of flowers right now and are happy to share! Just stop by 2119 Millbank Street and pluck 'em off the fence. -- Sue Sturgis