Tag Archives: gardening

An arbor addition transforms the garden

An arbor serves as a portal into a garden room; a transition point to tell a visitor it’s time to pause, giving you a change in perspective.  Training vines to cover the arbor, brings garden life to another dimension — reason enough to want to find the perfect spot in your garden to add an arbor. Continue reading

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Echinacea purpurea, Purple Coneflower

Topping my list for a wildlife friendly perennial, Echinacea purpurea, Purple Coneflower, provides a powerful purple in the garden, as well. Orangy-brown spiny centers with drooping lavender petals, makes this perennial widely known and desirable for use in the home garden. Continue reading

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NCNLA helps members in need devastated by Tornadoes

Tornado Relief Fund
Dear NCNLA Members and Friends,
As of May 11, thanks to your generosity and compassion, we have raised over $26,500 in monetary donations to help our colleagues whose businesses and homes were devastated by the April 16 Tornadoes. NCNLA has distributed $20,500 back to members in need, and will continue to do so over the next few months. Continue reading

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Pot ‘em up!

Don’t you love the lush and colorful plantings of summer flowering bulbs? Often I see something like this (left), blooming in the summer and which I’d thought to plant these lily bulbs, but then I realize it’s not too late. I can have this whenever I find them blooming at the garden center!
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Pruning hydrangeas

It’s that time of year again where hydrangeas bring our months of May and June into focus. We’re often asked about pruning hydrangeas. The timing to prune will depend on the type of hydrangea you have. Continue reading

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Let the annuals begin!

With the last frost behind us, it’s time to think about our summer gardens, particularly the planting of the annuals. Continue reading

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The Iris, the larkspur and the peony

The Iris, the larkspur, and the peony. It kind of sounds like a mystery series, and in many ways it is. It is possible to plan you garden to get three wonderful spring bloomers performing at the same time.
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Cercis season – Redbuds

North Carolina is in redbud season.  I have a weakness for redbuds. Although I like them on their own, I am particularly enamored when the ultimate southern trifecta occurs – when the redbuds, dogwoods, and azaleas bloom at the same time. Continue reading

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Cornus Kousa, Kousa Dogwood – 2011 Showstopper Plant

The Kousa dogwood is a small statued tree with four seasons of interest. This Chinese dogwood blooms in May, nearly a month after our native dogwood, and has long lasting, showy flowers, often blooming into June. Green, globular, edible fruits turn pink during the summer, then slowly turning a red in September. When ripe, the fruit is readily eaten by birds. Continue reading

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‘Venus’ Sweetshrub – 2011 Showstopper Plant

A deciduous shrub reaching 8-10 feet tall and wide, Calycanthus ‘Venus’, Sweetshrub, has fragrant, white flowers blooming from late spring through July. Although Calycanthus ‘Venus’, is not completely deer resistant, it’s also not the deer’s first choice, either. Continue reading

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