The Best Kept Secret:
CHERISH
MARKET GARDEN AND ORCHARD
Photos courtesy of Cherish Market Garden and Orchard BY VALERIE OWENS
S
ome of the best-kept secrets are those that are waiting to be discovered, a secret that embodies beauty, wellness, and tradition, blending time-honored family values with a modern-day approach. For Lynne Rodgers, Cherish Market Garden and Orchard is a dream established to cultivate a sustainable community. Located in the heart of the Oak Knoll district lies a tranquil haven down a quiet country lane. Hidden within Rodgers Vineyard is a clearing, home to Cherish Market Garden and Orchard. “The garden concept and design were intended as a place for quiet enjoyment and amusement to feed the body, soul, and explore the senses,” explained Rodgers, owner of Cherish Market Garden and Orchard. “The garden allows visitors to learn about food and what it takes to optimize quality and explore variety.” For 151 years, Rodgers Family Vineyards has practiced sustainable farming, committed to preserving the land with integrity while serving the community and environment.
Following in their footsteps, Lynne Rodgers has planted roots with the hope that she can spread the seeds of goodwill through love and nutrition. “The goals around the garden concept is to keep in motion the living legacy of the Rodgers family tradition of sustainability and the love of community,” said Rodgers. “The key objective is to continue the patterns of the old ways.” A Nurse Practitioner by training, Lynne came up with the concept of the garden during a challenging period in her life. Finding herself in a place of uncertainty, Lynne dedicated herself to creating beauty. A mindset that sparked a lifestyle devoted to one belief -love thy neighbor. “One day I told my fiancé, John Rodgers, now my husband, that if I could do anything in the world, I would build a garden. We create the world that we live in. We can open our lives up to holding each other. That is what sustainability means,” expressed Rodgers. “Being the incredible man that he is, John wrote me a check and said, ‘Lynne, go build your garden.’”
Founded in February of 2020, Cherish Market Garden and Orchard is a dream come true and features seasonal produce and high-quality eggs. It is also a benefactor of the Agape Program, a local food pantry benefiting families and neighbors during the COVID-19 pandemic. With a desire to create a better world by cherishing family and community, Lynne's lush, multi-acre garden will welcome the local community by appointment to experience the Rodgers Family farming legacy in 2021. Upon their visit, guests will enjoy a beautiful tea house, a Koi filled pond, friendly ducks and chickens, and a Zen garden with seasonal crops and flowers. “As the world and our community continue to change away from the agrarian model, the market garden and orchard allows us to hold down a place of our shared heritage that is still a stabilizer of our culture. It is a stewardship of the land, family legacy, and conservation of the local American Family Farmer tradition,” said Rodgers. FALL 2020
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