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Singing in the Garden: A Feast of Flowers

It’s summer, so let the feast of flowers begin. You read that right. Eating flowers is a thing. Go ahead. Sprinkle some petals on your plate and add a little variety and a great deal of color to your meal.

Guest Column, Will Griffin – Floyd, Virginia, and its Sense of Community

Will Griffin has served as the mayor of the small town of Floyd, Virginia, for 10 years. During that time Floyd has received national recognition from USA Today and Southern Living magazine as one of the best small towns in the South.

Smokies Plates: 20 Years, $15 Million

Drivers in North Carolina and Tennessee who buy the “Friends of the Smokies” specialty license plate have raised more than $15 million since the program started 20 years ago

Efficiency Eliminates Gas-Fired Plant Need

Thanks to a community-driven effort in Buncombe County, North Carolina to reduce energy use, Duke Energy said in April it would shelve a proposed new natural gas fired power plant at Lake Julian.

Open Every Day (For 35 Years Straight)

Poor Farmer’s Market is just off the Blue Ridge Parkway

Current Issue

A rose by any other name would taste just as sweet... —Ginny

Singing in the Garden: A Feast of Flowers

It’s summer, so let the feast of flowers begin. You read that right. Eating flowers is a thing. Go ahead. Sprinkle some petals on your plate and add a little variety and a great deal of color to your meal.
Will Griffin, second from left, with his mother, Gayle Griffin, son Reed, wife Misty and daughter Addie.

Guest Column, Will Griffin – Floyd, Virginia, and its Sense of Community

Will Griffin has served as the mayor of the small town of Floyd, Virginia, for 10 years. During that time Floyd has received national recognition from USA Today and Southern Living magazine as one of the best small towns in the South.
9a843126-96b2-11e9-81ad-12f1225286c6-SmokiesPlates

Smokies Plates: 20 Years, $15 Million

Drivers in North Carolina and Tennessee who buy the “Friends of the Smokies” specialty license plate have raised more than $15 million since the program started 20 years ago
cca142e4-96b1-11e9-925f-12f1225286c6-1200px-Duke_Energy_logo.svg

Efficiency Eliminates Gas-Fired Plant Need

Thanks to a community-driven effort in Buncombe County, North Carolina to reduce energy use, Duke Energy said in April it would shelve a proposed new natural gas fired power plant at Lake Julian.
Felecia Shelor has been at it for 35 years at Patrick County, Virginia’s Poor Farmer’s Market.

Open Every Day (For 35 Years Straight)

Poor Farmer’s Market is just off the Blue Ridge Parkway
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Coyote (Canis latrans) wandering out from the forest into the loop road on a summer late morning.
Country Roads

Critters Crossing! 

States across the Blue Ridge are investing in wildlife crossings to protect animals and improve roadway safety.

September 1, 2026

CALENDAR OF EVENTS