Contents
MARCH 2021
Events
Features
11
SPRING’S AWAKENING
Azaleas, opera,and art; all in the sunshine
6 8
VO LU M E 3 8 // I SS U E 3
REFLECTIONS
by Jordan LaHaye Fontenot
NEWS & NOTEWORTHIES: KID’S KORNER!
30 34 37
Publisher
THE QUEEN OF WINTER The art and history of camellia cultivation in Louisiana by Kristy Christiansen
WE BITE The speakeasy carnivorous plant shop of St. Roch by Beth D’Addono
James Fox-Smith
Associate Publisher
Ashley Fox-Smith
Managing Editor
Jordan LaHaye Fontenot
Arts & Entertainment Editor
Alexandra Kennon
THE HUMBLE OYSTER The tumultuous world of farming the Gulf by Jason Vowell
Creative Director
Kourtney Zimmerman
Contributors:
Kristy Christiansen, Paul Christiansen, Ed Cullen, Beth D’Addono, C.C. Lockwood, Paul Kieu, Jonathan Olivier, Jason Vowell
On the Cover
Cover Artist
OUTDOORS & GARDENING
Paul Kieu
Advertising
Cover by Paul Kieu
In his story, “Yard to Table,” (page 44) Jonathan Olivier quotes the agrarian philosopher Wendell Berry, who described the act of eating food grown by the work of one’s own hands as “the profoundest enactment of our connection with the world.” In interviewing two families who enjoy the fruits of a thriving backyard garden, Olivier expresses hope for a future in which more people will pursue the fulfillment found in growing things. It’s a sentiment we celebrate each March with our Outdoors & Gardening issue, our chance to dig into our region’s fertile soils—where we find not only verdure but also the roots beneath so much of our region’s culture: our livelihoods, our cuisine, our history. In this issue, find stories of a rice-crawfish-farmturned-distillery, of the tribulations of oyster farming in the Gulf, of a tiny carnivorous plant shop in St. Roch, and of Louisiana’s winter jewel: the camellia. In these pages, verdant with the beauty of an emerging spring, we hope you find inspiration—as we have—to get your hands dirty, to re-enact your own your connection with our world.
Cuisine
40
43
THE VERSATILE SOILS OF FRUGÉ FARMS A history of rice, a culture of crawfish, and now—vodka by Lucie Monk Carter
RECIPE Crawfish Pie
by Lucie Monk Carter
Culture
44 25
YARD TO TABLE A renewed interest in home gardens fosters hope for a more agrarian future.
4
48
by Jonathan Olivier
STOP & SMELL THE ROSES Five historic gardens worth visiting this spring by James Fox-Smith
23
Escapes
Outdoors & Gardening M A R 2 1 // C O U N T R Y R O A D S M A G . C O M
A GUIDE TO LOUISIANA HIKING TRAILS Rugged hills and stunning vistas await by Jonathan Olivier
50 54
CYCLE, CAMP, REPEAT Bikepacking in the Bayou State by Ed Cullen
PERSPECTIVES Lilly Potter: Dr. Lillian Bridwell-Bowles and her goddesses by Jordan LaHaye Fontenot
SALES@COUNTRYROADSMAG.COM
Sales Team
Heather Gammill & Heather Gibbons
Custom Content Coordinator
Lauren Heffker
Advertising Coordinator
Kathryn Kearney
President
Dorcas Woods Brown
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