Spring at last

April arrived in Tryon bringing alternating cool and warm days that tempted the azaleas, dogwoods, and rhododendrons into full bloom this past weekend. Cemetery Hill and East Livingston Street have become filled with bright reds, pinks, whites, and yellows spilling out of every yard. The Eunice Waymon Birthplace and Garden is no different.

The garden is in full planting now with Carolina jasmine being added this past week in the rear east corner. The house received three test patches of whitewash this week using a formula of lime, water, and salt. We’d like to thank the U.S. General Services Administration for their historical preservation technical procedures on properties and uses of whitewash paint (09900-05), which assisted in the recipe.

It has become obvious from working the garden that natural cooling processes on the property are still at work which support Carrol Waymon’s memory of where he played as a child to keep cool in the summer. On a day that reached 80 degrees recently, the coolest corner of the house became the area just outside the front garden side window just beneath the “music corner.” Under the house at this spot is where Carrol played as a child to stay cool on hot days.

The warmest corner of the house is the SW corner outside the kitchen window. With a wood stove inside in 1933, this corner of the house must have been very hot during the spring and summer. By contrast, the garden side is moist, cool, and protected by the shade of the house during the hottest part of the day.