warm nights

It appears that the weather is going to remain warm (above freezing, that is) for at least the next 10 days.  I have decided to take my plants out of the house.  I have been waiting for this moment for a long time. 

I hadn't realized just how many plants I had until I moved them all.  I did pretty good this time around.  That is, I didn't lose that many plants over the winter because I didn't care for them properly while they were in the house!  I tend to ignore and underwater while stuff is inside. 

I've been to Big Bloomers twice in the last 3 weeks, and I did a good job of practicing restraint with regard to spending.  Which is a good thing.  The tomatoes I bought are doing well, so is my cilantro, and the mixed greens seed I sowed several weeks ago.  I'm well on my way to a great garden of food. 

Today, I plan to carry some plants back home from my sister's greenhouse; plants that I had recieved as freebies from the Garden Writers' Symposium in September.  I can't even remember what I have!  These will go in either of my two beds; I haven't designed them yet, but I'm getting there.  I've been a busy girl, so one thing at a time, I guess. 

Back to the warm nights.  I have the day off tomorrow, so I'll spend it in the garden cleaning up the stuff that came from inside the house, re-pot some things, clean the house of all the debris left behind.  The day promises to be a good one, so I'll have plenty of sunshine to enjoy while I'm out there. 

trying to catch up

I have some catching up to do on this blog of mine.  I've been a busy girl lately now that the weather in beautiful central NC has been so delightful.  And, I have had spring fever for weeks now, so I've spent a lot of time outdoors. 

I'll start with the birth of my new flower beds.  I finally have a small parcel of land on which I can build gardens and plant stuff in the ground.  Yippee for me!  I have a fence in the back yard which separates my neighbor's from mine; it's about 50 feet long, so my bed is about 50x3.  Not bad for a future mixed border for full sun.  I've decided that this bed will serve two purposes: food and fun. 

The fun part will include some ornamentals I already have, such as grasses, small shrubs, perennials, and the occasional annual that will be purchased or grown from seed.  The food part will include tomato plants and maybe some herbs such as cilantro, rosemary, and thyme; stuff I can use in the kitchen.  I have to say there is nothing like a tomato that you simply go to the backyard to get.  I love to eat them direct from the vine, salt shaker in hand, and devour them like they're apples.  Yummy! 

I bought a German Johnson plant today, and picked up some Morning Springs and Sweet 100s the other day, and traded for some Marglobes as well.  I stepped them up from cell pack size into larger pots to gain some growth and prepare for planting in the garden in a few weeks.  I will have a bounty of tomatoes no doubt!

The front yard has full sun as well, so I made a paisley shaped bed that will also serve as a mixed bed of small shrubs, perennials and annuals.  This will be exclusively a fun bed. 

I have to say that most of this would not have been possible without the help of my friend David.  Together, we got some gorgeous soil from an old compost heap, making several trips back and forth in his SUV, the soil being transported in 5 gallon buckets!  I think we got 28 buckets in his car at a time, and made about 3 or 4 trips to get the soil we needed (he needed some too).  Once that was in place we were able to till it up.  He did most of the work, but I am grateful for it. 

The beds are beautiful and ready to plant!  And, I cannot wait to get out there to do it.  I'll let some weeds pop up for the next few weeks, pull them, or kill with some diluted vinegar (instead of chemical weed killer, that is).  There is quite a bit of info on the Internet about using vinegar as a weed killer, so check it out and decide if it's right for you too.

Stay tuned for more on the progress of my flower beds as the season progresses. 

nothing says spring like...

I love spring.  I love spring mostly because it's the renewal of life after a long winter (and this winter was a long one for sure!).  I love spring because all of the little herbaceous beauties show what they're made of.  I love spring because there is an abundance of color and fragrance in the air. 

I've been over-joyed about this particular spring because I am not a cold weathered gal.  And, spring has finally sprung.  As I continue to travel to JC Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh for pictures week after week, I am amazed at the transformation that has taken place among the plants in just a short amount of time.  As long as I have marvelled over plants, the transformation into spring never ceases to amaze me. 

The purple delight above is Pulsatilla halleri suspb. styriaca.  Pulsatillas are among the few to bloom first in spring.  From their silky, hairy foliage emerges soft purple flowers, lasting but a few short days to weeks.  Its common name, Pasqueflower, is given because it blooms so close to Passover.

As I've been driving around town I am beginning to notice that the Dogwoods are coming into bloom.  With the weather being as it has, and as warm as its expected this week, we can only see more wonderful blooms popping out everywhere.  Which reminds me...pines are ready to pop too.  Ugh!  What a mess that will make.  Need more rain.  But, I digress.

There are a number of other beauties that I've captured, such as this Magnolia 'Lois'. 

This is Magnolia denudata 'Forrest's Pink' (captured last week). 

needing a break

I've been working hard this afternoon on a lecture I'm preparing for which takes place at the end of the this month.  It will actually be a lecture/workshop at the Guilford Horticulture Symposium, Guilford County, NC on February 27.  I'm quite humbled to be back in the 'hot seat' again speaking in front of a group of like-minded individuals interested in plants and gardening.  It's been a long time since I've presented, and I'm really excited to be doing it for these folks. 

I've been an attendee of this symposium for many years, almost as long as I've been living in NC, and I think it's one of the best.  They really put on a good program, and always get some great keynote speakers. 

My workshop will be on container gardening, something I've been doing for a long, long time.  I first learned the craft of putting containers together from my aunt in NY.  Watching her choose plant combinations was inspirational and educational.  I feel like I've come a long way over the years with my ability to put together some good combos, but there will always be one or three a year that just don't pass muster.  I guess that's all part of the learning process.  Anyway, I digress...

Preparing for this lecture hasn't been easy.  I realized that I don't have nearly enough pictures in my library to make a whole presentation, so I had to borrow the majority of them from my sister and her husband.  Thanks to them my slide show has been saved!  I have so many that I don't know if I'll be able to use them all; but, better to have too many than not enough. 

I've been organizing, reducing image sizes, and planning the flow of the lecture.  It's been tiresome sitting here in front of the computer going through them all, so I decided I needed a break.  I could write, I thought!  I haven't done that in a while.  So here I am writing about doing, when I really should be doing.  Hey, I've got to play now and then every once in a while.  And besides, I've really been working hard today.  I'm in my 4th hour of it, so a break is well deserved. 

plug

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jc raulston

I have finished reading Bobby Ward's book about the life of JC Raulston.  I am both surprised by elements of his life and fascinated by his love of plants.  I am saddened by a few things that I learned, and though I don't want to spoil it, I can relate. 

JC travelled extensively, often staying away from home more than being at home.  He shared his knowledge and love of plants with everyone, and mentored many students in and out of the classroom.  Knowing this, it has left me with a lasting impression about the kind of man he was, about how he was such a giver of that knowledge.
I am most impressed with how he was able to foster relationships within the industry, especially in NC.  It makes me realize that, perhaps, the NC horticulture industry has been made what it is today because of him.  I know the arboretum would not be what it is today without him. 

I wish I had the privelege to know him, pick his brain, learn something from him.  I can at least be grateful that I am a part of his legacy being a volunteer in his arboretum. 

JCRA lecture

I have just come home from a great lecture by Bobby Ward on the life of JC Raulston.  Bobby has worked for 4 years on this project, and tonight's lecture was the kickoff to the book's official release date.  I am so thrilled to (now) own this book; I've known about it for some time, and have been anticipating its arrival. 

The lecture touched on a few highlights of the book, and JC's life.  Throughout the lecture I kept thinking how sad it was to learn so many things about the man and his life; I'm looking forward to finding out more. 

I feel so privileged to be a volunteer at JCRA, I only wish I had moved to NC a lot sooner so that I might have had a chance to just meet him.

I promise to write about it again after I've read it.