Charlotte Hughes walks past the shelter and rows of crops at the Anathoth community garden in Cedar Grove, heads down a winding path into the woods and across a creek that forms the headwaters of the Eno River, and tends to the native plant garden she established earlier this year. With the soaring temperatures, even the hardiest plants need her help and the water she totes.

"Exploring creeks and woods has been a pleasure for me since childhood," she says. "The idea for this space came when I wandered the fringes of the area to see what might be growing. I remembered the times that Ms. Kathrine had shared her love and knowledge of wildflowers with me and thought it appropriate to honor those memories with a small area for native plants, a place removed from the busy work of food production. I thought that a quieter area that encouraged prayer, reflection, or meditation also seemed to fit with memories of Ms. Kathrine, my friend."

"Ms. Kathrine" McDade (1914-2001) was the daughter of S.F. Nicks, who was the pastor of a four-church charge that included the Cedar Grove United Methodist Church from 1934-1940. She graduated from Duke in 1935 with a masters in education and taught elementary school in Orange County for thirty-two years. She is said to have loved history, geneaology, art, wildflowers, and poetry. She taught Sunday school for many years, worked beside her husband Puckett (1910-1988) in the fields, raised two children, and "manged to have a full meal on the table when they returned home", says Hughes.

"Mother was unassuming but accomplished a lot," says her daughter Jo Westbrook, an Efland resident. "She would ask her friends to go on walks and take her classes into the woods. She'd keep notebooks full of information about birds, trees, and flowers, things she was eager to introduce to other folks. I still run into people who say that Mother taught them things they still value. My brother Mac McDade and I are so pleased that Charlotte proposed the plant garden in memory of her."

Pastor Grace Hackney of the Cedar Grove United Methodist Church, which administers Anathoth, describes its functions as many. "It is a place to gather; a place to receive good, healthy food; a place to dig in the dirt; a place to forge friendships with persons you may not have had a chance to cross paths with. It is holy ground and re-connects us in a very tangible way to the soil from which we came and to which we will return."

Charlotte Hughes agrees that with the preservation of native plants the garden fits well into the overall philosophy of Anathoth. "I hope that it will be a place where anyone can come for a short walk or a quiet rest on one of the benches. The vegetable volunteers  find refreshment in the cooler temperatures in the woods and some of the youth have shown interest in the folk history about some of the plants. The children have discovered the home of the 'world's largest crayfish' and a resident turtle with very orange front legs who is often the greeter near the bridge."

Hughes sought out Thomas Harville, the president of the N.C. Native Plant Society and an expert in "rescue plants", or those that are removed and replanted when threatened by development or other loss. "I hadn't known Charlotte but figured she was good folks. Our society promotes the enjoyment and conservation of native plants through education, protection, advocacy, and propagation. Every native garden holds part of our heritage, the green stuff we ran through as a kid, the plants our ancestors used before modern medicine. Maybe such a garden will keep some species alive. We can enjoy lush green retreats, enjoy a connection with nature, and enjoy the fleeting beauty of the spring ephemerals."

Hughes credits Harville with donations of rescue plants and with identification of those already growing there. She rescued ferns, pink lady slippers, and Jack in the pulpits from a pre-development site in Chapel Hill.  A cardinal flower, a favorite of Ms. Kathrine's, blooms at the garden entrance ( it's showy and bright and demands your attention", says Hughes). Jo Westbrook notes the "breathtaking" Spring Beauties, a natural plant growing at the site which formed a carpet-like cover of pink and white. Both she and Hughes appreciate that every month plants are in and out of bloom. They and other volunteers are figuring out what the site will offer in each season, such as fall plants that will develop a deeper root system to make it through the summer.

Hughes says that "bloodroot was easy to identify when I received a bag of roots and tubers from Tom Harville. If you break it there is a red/orange sticky liquid. I've heard it was used for face paint, insect repellant, and fabric dye but we won't dig the roots because we enjoy the fleeting white flowers and the interesting rounded leaves that pop throught the ground in a tightly curled position."

She says that "the peace that I find in the breezes that blow through the ferns as I have watered this summer have been especially refreshing. I love finding a gray tree frog enjoying the bench beside me and a red mushroom popping up beside the mayapples. One of the youth who took a break with me in the plant garden commented about how it felt like we were in a different time here- a quiet, peaceful time."

Jo Westbrook appreciates that the garden is the legacy of Kathrine McDade and her enthusiasm for nature and people. "I know Mother is looking down and feeling blessed and touched that this is here, that Charlotte has honored her for her gifts and love."

The Anathoth communithy garden is at the intersection of Lonesome and Mill Creek Roads in Cedar Grove. For more information or to visit the site, contact garden manager Fred Bahnson at 357-8107 or go to the website at www.anathothgarden.org.