Go to the homepage for the Sylva Herald and Ruralite

Pressley is 'master of ceremonies' in her bountiful backyard garden

By Rose Hooper
Mary Pressley Herald photo by Rose Hooper

Mary Pressley shows her 2-year-old great-granddaughter Mallory Pressley how to pick the perfect beet. "This one is just the right size; if they get too big, they get hard in the middle," said Mary, who canned 13 jars of pickled beets later that afternoon. Mary and her husband, Cling, have two other great-grandchildren, Kelly and Jacob; five grandchildren; and three sons.

When Mary Pressley is out working in her garden, the family calls her "Master of Ceremonies." "That's her domain out there," said husband Cling, pointing to the expansive, gently-sloping hillside profuse with green, growing vegetation of assorted shapes and sizes. From a squinting distance, the row by row of terraced patterns resembles a neatly laid out patchwork quilt.

Watching her weed the onion rows, agilely bending and hoeing, no one would guess that this master Pressley Creek gardener is 82.

"Cling and I have been married 61 years, and I've been gardening all that time... actually since before that time because I gardened some when I was a little girl," said Mary, who learned to garden by herself.

Over those 60-plus years she has developed a never-fail technique.

"I plant by the signs," she said. "When it's the dark of the moon, I plant what grows underground like beets, potatoes and onions. When the moon is full, I plant what grows above the ground like beans and corn. That's always worked for me."

Praising Mary's growing ability, her husband said she's never had a garden fail to produce. "I can't tell you what that's meant to us over the years," he said. "When times were rough, Mary always made sure we had plenty to eat."

Sons Clarence, Ray and Phil agree there was always a bountiful harvest right in their own backyard. "There's nothing better that picking one of her Big Boy tomatoes off the vine and making a fresh tomato sandwich," said Clarence, who is also partial to his mom's fried okra.
Clarence's son Mike has been know to call his grandmother and ask, "Got any fried cabbage for dinner?"

Grandson Darren's favorite is "killed" lettuce where hot bacon grease is poured over fresh leaf lettuce and thinly-sliced spring onions, including the blades. His brother Brandon, better known as "B," likes his grandmother's Silver Queen corn on the cob best.

The master gardener herself prefers Kennebeck potatoes. "Out in the garden I like working the potatoes the best of any vegetable, and I like cooking and eating them better, too," she said.

Cling agrees with her. "Don't care if it's fried, stewed, mashed, scalloped, tater salad or however Mary fixes them, her potatoes are my favorite." 		Mary Pressley Herald photo by Rose Hooper

Using the cycles of the moon as her guide, Mary Pressley plants her Cullowhee garden, which produces a bounty of cabbage, onions, beans, corn, okra, tomatoes, beets, squash, cucumbers and lettuce.

Mary said her backyard bounty comes in handy "because you never know who you're cooking for. Sometimes it might just be two or three; then sometimes is six or 12. You can bet however many it is, they'll be hungry."

Instead of having to drive all the way from Cullowhee to the grocery store to buy enough for unexpected company, all Mary does is step out in her backyard and gather dinner. There's cabbage, onions, beans, corn, okra, tomatoes, squash, cucumber, beets and "worlds of lettuce." Mary believes this season she's had "enough lettuce to feed the whole county."

If it's wintertime, all she does is head for the packed-to-the-top freezer or can house lined with shelves of mason jars bulging with green beans, pickled beans, pickles of every variety, pickle beets, butter beets, kraut, tomatoes and homemade relishes.

Folks from near and far call on Mary to ask her advice on making kraut and pickled beans. "Our family aren't the only ones who think she's the best cook in the county," said Clarence.

Along with planting by the signs, Mary, who said she loves the feel of dirt running through her fingers, said another secret is having just the right soil. "You've got to get your ground ready first, till it, fertilize it with horse manure, then work it up real good. Even before you drop the first seed, you've got to have a good growing base."

Mary doesn't have to worry too much about pesky critters like ground hogs and rabbits raiding her garden. "We've got 18 beagles and their barking takes care of that. Plus, the garden is so close to the house and somebody's always coming or going."

Because the garden is so close to the house, Mary can slip out anytime and work in it. "Cling fusses at me for spending all my time out there."

He might fuss a bit, Cling agrees, "but I quit when I sit down to dinner and she serves me mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans and fresh green onions, slaw, corn on the cob, fried chicken strips and a big pan of hot cornbread.

"Every young woman needs to take a pattern of Mary and her garden," Cling believes.

Back to Archive: 06/22/00.