Anyone who has ever purchased peaches from a grocery store might be forgiven if they think, to paraphrase Gertrude Stein, that a peach, is a peach, is a peach.&bsp; Yet, walk into the Certified Roadside Market owned by the Hyder Family called, appropriately, Peach Country, and youll learn the opposite is true.

Sun Brite, Cary-Mac, Flaming Fury, O-Henry, Georgia Belle and my absolute favorite peach, Fire Prince, are just a few of the tantalizing names that make up the 32 different varieties of peaches the Hyder family grow along Hwy 11 just outside Gowensville. &bsp;

Their 200 acres frames the corridor between Gownesville and Campobello. Twenty acres are devoted to peach orchards which display shell pink blossoms during spring, sun drenched peaches in summer and leaves of flame in fall.

You may even see Nathan, on his dually John Deere Tractor, working other parts of the land he leases from the Hyders to grow food for his dairy herd. Even after ten years it is still to me a stunning vista of nature not to be taken for granted.

Wayne Hyders great grandfather came here from Rutherford County around 1909 and began purchasing land to farm cotton.&bsp; It was his grandson, T. A. Hyder, who planted the first family peach orchard on Hwy 11 in 1939. &bsp;

At the time T.A. was looking for something to grow other than cotton and peaches did very well in this area.&bsp; Selling his peaches via Farmers Markets in Asheville, Knoxville and other areas allowed T.A. to expand his orchards and in 1955 a packing house was added.

In the nineties as small local peach farmers began to face increasing competition from the mega-farms of California, the traditional markets for their peaches began to disappear. They were simply not able to compete with the prices these factory farms offered.

In 1994, the Hyders closed the packing house and suddenly faced an uncertain future with their peach orchards and their land.

By this time Wayne and taken over the business. One thing he and his wife, Linda, did know was they did not want to turn over their land to developers. &bsp;

I couldnt stand the thought of all those houses along that pretty stretch of road remarks Wayne. There had to be a way to continue with peaches.

With the increasing tourist traffic, the Hyder family decided to go back to what Waynes Father T.A. had done, which was to sell their peaches directly to the consumer.

Instead of going to farmers markets they would build a stand and sell freshly picked peaches directly from their orchards.

And so on the corner of Hwy 11 and New Cut Road Peach Country was born.

One of the things we discovered by selling peaches picked that morning was we could grow lots of different kinds of peaches, Wayne points out. Peaches that are packed and shipped need to be able to travel. Many kinds dont travel well so people dont grow them.&bsp; Besides wanting to try them myself I figured folks would love to taste peaches theyd never heard of. &bsp;

To advertise, Wayne and Linda publish a ripening list of their varieties. Its simply a list of the different varieties they grow with the dates they expect them to ripen and be ready. &bsp;

For Pam and I, that list is the start of summer, Wayne says. When it comes out, I go down, get one, and pin it to our refrigerator.&bsp; As we eat as many varieties as we can, we check them off the list. Our goal has always been to eat one of each variety in a season but so far weve never made it. But not for lack of trying!

Ask Wayne Hyder the simple question, Why do you keep going when you could cash out and sell the land? and you get an equally simple yet more eloquent response. Because I love farming peaches.

That love for what he does and his unwavering commitment to the land above financial gain should be reason enough for anyone reading this article to drive down to Peach Country, visit the Hyders and sample a just picked peach.

Youll understand what I mean when I say its like taking a bite of Carolina Sunshine.

You want another reason? Circle June 30 on your calendar. The list pinned to our refrigerator says thats when the Fire Princes will be ripening. &bsp;

By the way, Ill be the one with the juice of one dripping off my chin.

Columnist Paul Zimmerman loves to cook, enjoys good wine and readily admits to having a self interest in sourcing local area foods.&bsp; Zimmerman says our local farmers are among our best conservationists.&bsp; By purchasing some of your everyday groceries from them you help conserve the land, their lifestyle and our rural community.&bsp; He plants to periodically feature some of our local farmers who sell directly to the consumer from their farms or at Farmers Markets.&bsp; He encourages you to support them and start to regularly use some of the freshest foods you will ever find.