Homegrown Branching Out

A cross-country move to Washington's San Juan Islands prompted Audra Query Lawlor to begin preserving the region's heritage, one jam jar at a time

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When Audra Lawlor and her husband, Gerry, left New York City in 2011 for five acres on Washington's San Juan Islands, she wasn't sure how they were going to pay the mortgage. "But when I saw the property, with its raisedbed gardens and a stand of orchard trees, I just knew we needed to be here," says Audra.

The first summer, just one tree alone-a shiro plum-yielded 150 pounds of fruit. Audra bought a copper pot and started making jam infused with the garden's abundant mint. Friends urged her to sell it, but she resisted until she learned a key bit of history: In the late-1800s, the islands were a major fruit-producing region.