Southern SOIL
Editorial I think it’s safe to say that 2020 has been a tough year. A pandemic, a divisive election season, a rollercoaster economy have made it collectively challenging. Personal losses have compounded that struggle. I was heartbroken to learn this morning of the passing of Karen Smith, owner of Southern Native Plantings at Longwood Plantation. Karen was the kind of person that as soon as you met her, you just knew that she was even more beautiful on the inside than she was on the outside. She exuded a love for people and for plants. She simply glowed.
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Her loss will be felt for years to come in the local food community. But her influence will live on. Karen introduced me to the wonderful world of native flowering plants. She was a huge encouragement to me when I was first starting Southern Soil and when I asked her to sponsor our native plant feature, was more than happy to do so.
I know our community is full of similar stories reflecting both Karen’s kindness and her passion for plants and the wildlife they support. “As a whole, perfection in landscape is really unhealthy. You need to have some leaves that are chewed on …that’s what plants were intended to do - to feed wildlife, to feed insects.” I’d like to dedicate this issue to Karen’s memory. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this issue features a flower farm and that the native plant highlight is the Milkweed. I will be planting a collection of milkweeds and spicebush this spring in Karen’s honor and I invite you to do the same!
