ROAD TRIP......

    

 In college the words “Road Trip’ would send a thrill through us.  It meant dropping whatever you were doing, grab a change of clothes, a toothbrush and a few dollars and hit the road.  Maybe heading to a nearby campus to crash on the floor at a friend’s dorm or borrow the house of someone’s parents who just left for a cruise (all participants, to this day, will remain nameless), but no matter the destination, it was always an adventure.

     So a road trip to a Botanical Garden can still be an adventure, in a different sort of way.  Maybe not as spontaneous; having to work around kids’ sporting events and dentist appointments can be difficult.  There may not be a stop at the first package store for beer, but there will be a stop at Starbucks for some lattes.  And maybe there isn’t the same amount of freedom; after all, dinner has to be on the table at a decent time. 

Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens

     If you are looking for a Garden Road Trip, there are some wonderful places a short drive away.  Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens in Belmont is only an hour’s drive.  Besides the glorious gardens, they offer classes and events at different times of the year.  

Sarah P. Duke Gardens

The Sarah P. Duke Gardens, located near Duke University is considered one of the premier public gardens in the United States. The JC Raulston Arboretum located at NC State University has one of the largest collections of plant material for the Southeast.  Wandering these beautiful gardens will both, inspire and relax you.  Take a camera to snap some pictures for possible ideas for your own garden.

JC Raulston Arboretum

    Any of the above mentioned gardens would make a memorable road trip and would not require a call to your parents explaining the reason they could not reach you all weekend was because you were at the “library”.

And The Award Goes To....

     

I love old movies and movies about old things.  Often, as I sit and watch these wonderful classics, usually alone, because no one else in my family has good taste in movies, I find myself noticing the landscape and the gardens used as settings.  There are some great movies worth watching for the gardens alone.  ‘Secret Garden’ goes without saying, whether you watch the original or any of the remakes, it is beautiful.  ‘Edward Scissorhands’ is one movie I can watch and hardly notice Johnny Depp.  ‘Grey Gardens’ shows what happens when gardens go bad. 

 ‘Marie Antoinette’ shows the splendor of Versailles.  ‘Pride and Prejudice’ or any Jane Austin book made into a movie will have fantastic scenery and along the same lines is any version of ‘Jane Eyre’.  Then there is the vegetable garden in the movie ‘It’s Complicated’…they wired the tomatoes onto the plants to make it look so good.  

 And let’s not forget ‘Being There’ filmed on the breathtaking grounds of the Biltmore House.  The list can go on and on: ‘The Great Gatsby’, ‘Room with a View’, ‘Atonement’, ‘Under The Tuscan Sun’ and even ‘The Godfather’ for its grapevines.

   

 I can honestly say I have never watched the Academy Awards, but I might start if they ever give an Oscar for the best garden.

Welcome To My Garden, Atticus Finch

    Atticus Finch, in the classic novel To Kill A Mockingbird said, “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy . . . but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” Well, Atticus Finch has not walked through my garden during nesting season. Those melodious warbles turn to raucous squawks and graceful glides turn to perilous dive-bombs.



My son has a cat named, Trout (don’t ask). This cat was a semi-feral kitten when we got her and after seven years of attention and regular meals, she is still irritatingly skittish. One day, in the garden, she surprised me by doing loving, figure eights around my ankles. My joy at this unexpected show of affection quickly evaporated when I noticed the pair of mocking birds swooping nearby….the cat was using me as a human-shield.
  

       
 There is a lovely Crape Myrtle outside our bedroom window, which is a favorite place for a pair of mockingbirds to build their nest every spring. It is also near the porch where we feed the cats. At six o’clock, every morning, Trout and our other cat, Millie, sit on the porch, waiting to be fed. They do not have too long of a wait during the week, but on weekends, well, they just have to wait. These patient cats drive the territorial mocking birds into a frenzy, thus, waking me up and since I am up, I feed the cats; I’m angry because I wanted to sleep in and the mocking birds are still squawking, but the cats are happy. Short of cutting down the tree, I see no end to this cycle.

I’m keeping the tree and will live with the mockingbirds. I’ll just hope they earn their keep by eating all the insects this mild winter did not kill.

Spring Peepers and Marshmallow Peeps mean Spring

      
To many, spring means the arrival of the first daffodils or the sight of the first robin, but to me, spring is here when I hear the spring peepers. These well camouflaged amphibians are rarely seen, but step outside on a cool spring evening and enjoy the chorus of these tiny frogs as they fill the air with what sounds like tiny bells. The peepers are only 1 inch to one and 1.5 inches long, so while they are heard, they are not often seen. But, if you decide to venture out for a look, they are tan or brown in color with a tell-tale X on their back. Large pads on their toes allow them the ability to climb trees, but prefer the dense, damp woodland floor. Their favorite snacks are ants, flies and spiders and they are favorite snacks for snakes, skunks and larger frogs. During the winter, peepers have been spending that time hibernating deep under fallen leaves or under logs in the forest. As the weather warms and the ground heats up, the peepers come out, starting their spring chorus in March and early April.



It is the male which is making all this noise, trying to attract a female by inflating a sac on its throat, which inflates and deflates like a balloon, to create the distinct sound. Once mating season is over, the spring peeper becomes silent, leaving the evening airwaves to crickets and whip-o-wills. With these warm March days we have been having, the peepers should be out very soon, so come outside, the concert is free.

Best Sale I Never Made

  A couple of springs ago, I had a customer request a White Fringe Tree. She had grown-up with one in her mother’s yard, recalling that they called it ‘Old Man’s Beard’, and wanted one for herself, so I went on the hunt. It is not a readily available tree because they are difficult to produce from cuttings. Sometimes a specialty plant comes with a high price. Once I located the tree, I called the customer to make sure she still wanted it. She paused once she heard the price, but decided it was worth it. The tree arrived and I called the customer to tell her the tree was at the nursery….that was the last I heard from her. I learned my lesson and now require a deposit for special orders, but it turned out to be the best sale I never made.

Chionanthus virginicus is a native plant to our area. It has earned the name White Fringe Tree from the narrow petal flowers which drip like silk fringe from its branches. It is slow to leaf-out and flower in the spring, but well worth the wait. The flowers also have a wonderful fragrance which is an added bonus to this unique tree. The Fringe Tree will reach fifteen to twenty feet in height and spread and prefers full sun, but can take some light shade. This tree is dioecious , meaning there are male and female trees. The male is typically showier in bloom, but the female is covered in blue, olive-like fruit in late summer, supplying a feast for birds.



I decided to keep the Fringe Tree rather than put it up for sale in the nursery and have it planted out front where I can see it every day. Last spring it was breathtaking and I expect no less from it this year.

Murder In The Garden

It reads like a Southern crime novel….Southern beauty killed mercilessly in the garden in the prime of her life. I am talking about Crape murder, that horrifically, brutal pruning that is sometimes inflicted on Crape Myrtles. This has become a crime spree committed by a single killer who attacks one single tree; a serial killer who attacks multiple trees; and copy-cat killers who have seen a neighbor’s victim and commits the same crime. This is a senseless, crime against nature, which needs to stop.


The purpose of pruning is to create a canopy where air can circulate and all branches can receive sunlight. Unfortunately, many homeowners and professionals alike decide to ‘top’ the trees which can damage and disfigure the trees. This results in the ‘witch’s broom’ appearance and leaves the tree out of proportion. The topped area results in a profusion of new growth which restricts air movement and makes the tree susceptible to disease and insects. Topping may result in more blooms; however, the blooms will be on weaker branches, prone to drooping and breakage. The tree will also be more prone to ice damage.

Some of this severe pruning is done to control the height of the tree. There are so many types of crape myrtles available and they range in height from dwarf varieties which only reach six feet in height to the beautiful white Natchez, which can quickly reach twenty to thirty feet in height. So rather than setting your heart on a certain color, decide the maximum height you want and go from there.

The Crape Myrtle is a stunning tree all year long, so treat it with Southern kindness and say fiddle-dee-dee to the chainsaw and be gentle with the pruners.

Don't Let The Door Hit You OnThe Way Out

February has decided to leave us with a memorable blast of cold and as I have mentioned before, February does not rank very high on my ‘favorite months’ list. There is one plant that truly stands out in this cold month and that is the Red Twig Dogwood. As its name implies, this shrub grabs the spotlight in winter when its stems turn bright red, earning a spot in any garden.

Photo: Greenwood Nursery

Though it’s time to shine is winter, this plant has value throughout the year. In the spring it produces clusters of white flowers which have a light fragrance. In summer the medium green foliage provides a nice back drop for perennials. In late fall the leaves turn a rich coppery color and drop their leaves late.

This shrub prefers full sun to part shade. It has a loose growth habit and reaches eight to ten feet in height and width if left to itself. Regular pruning will keep this plant looking best and keep it looking stunning in winter since the reddest color is on younger stems. Pruning should be done after bloom time. If however, you have an overgrown plant, it can be cut back to the ground, rewarding you with a flush of new red stems the next year.

This is a wonderful shrub to place where it can be seen from a window in winter, to be enjoyed from the comfort of your couch. And those few times we get snow, the red stems against the white snow will take your breath away, and almost, make you like February.