May 16, 2014 by Jayme B

Open Days Program—For the Love of Gardening

For the Love of Gardening— The Thompson Garden by Kathleen Thompson.

The beauty of this suburban garden begins at street side where a path beckons you to enter and enjoy a preview of the abundant plantings that follow. The front garden is a delight of shrubs and perennials showcasing a spectacular thread-leaf Japanese maple. Upon entering the brick walkway at the arbor, you view a gently sloping garden with curved borders and pathways outlined with recycled concrete. Beds, with ever-shrinking lawn areas, are richly planted with perennials featuring a mix of native and specialty plants including tropicals, all in perfect harmony in both shade and sun. A number of the plants are rare and unusual, collected and propagated at the J.C. Raulston Arboretum. A small pond can be found along the network of twisting trails that lead through the woods to a community lake. Each area of this garden will elicit a sense of serendipity and discovery of plants, woods, and water.

Welcoming Vignettes – The Thompson Garden

Walt and I started designing this garden even before we designed and built the house over 25 years ago. Our style is Southern Informal, our goal was to design a garden utilizing the best characteristics of the slope of our land. Continue reading →

May 13, 2014 by Jayme B

Open Days Progam – Passion for Plants

Passionate about plants!

This one-acre gem—of a passionate collector’s garden—was begun 22 years ago.

Beth & Juan are the ultimate volunteers… artists and entertainers… I am honored to have them as my friends!

They invite you to visit their Wake Forest Garden.

Continue reading →

May 6, 2014 by Jayme B

Open Days Program – My Fairy Garden in the Woods

Beautiful mature specimens and paths that wind into secret views—a passion for collecting plants—creating layered textures with antiques.

A garden that will make you feel like a kid again—exploring a secret magical place.

Welcome to the charming collector’s garden of Garden of Jean and Wayne Mitchell.

YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED to: Open Days

Saturday May 17 and Sunday May 18, 2014

Wayne is an avid golfer and enjoys relaxing with his wife and their family in the garden.

Meet my friend Jean Mitchell, the most gracious hostess. When not in her garden, Jean is a friendly welcoming face—volunteering at the J.C. Raulston Arboretum Bobby G. Wilder Visitor Center.

Gracious hostess Jean Mitchell.

Entwined Life: What do you call your garden?

Jean Mitchell: Long ago, neighborhood children named my acre and a half woodland garden, “My Fairy Garden in the Woods.”

How long have you been gardening at this location?

Since 1963.

What to you consider your gardening Style?

Informal Whimsical Woodland.

What kind of conditions do you garden in?

Rich woodland soil, but lots of roots and rocks. Very shady conditions. Hilly terrain.

Do you have any challenges in your garden?

Shade and large trees which make it difficult to dig holes because of numerous roots and rocks. Rabbits, voles and deer like to eat foliage.

What is the first thing you added, removed or changed in this garden?

Azalea beds were the original theme to the garden. Many of the original azaleas still remain and are now over 50 years old. The biggest change that occurred in the garden was the removal of many trees that were felled during Hurricane Fran in September 1996. This allowed an abundance of sunlight in many of the garden areas for the first time in the garden’s history, and reinvigorated our interest in gardening.

Do you collect plants and if so what?

Yes! I’m so lucky to be able to get many of my plants at JC Raulston Arboretum where I have volunteered since 1996. Native plants that like shade are my favorites.

What are favorite garden tools?

I love the mattock and shovel for my planting and gardening, and the rake for the leaves.

How much time do you spend working in your garden?

A couple of hours almost every day.

What is your mulch preference?

Ground up Autumn leaves.

Anything new added to your garden?

A Butterfly metal sculpture by Grace Cathey in Waynesville, NC.

What is your first memory in a garden?

Helping my mother plant flowers.

What is it that got you started gardening?

Each of my sons were given an azalea bed that they tended. Back then my passion was collecting antiques.

How many Gardens have you had?

Two—one on Ann Street in Cary and our present garden which we have now had for over 50 years!

Where do you go for inspiration?

The J.C. Raulston Arboretum

Do you have a favorite Garden you’ve visited?

Chanticleer Gardens in Wayne, Pa and

Butchart Gardens near Victoria, British Columbia

Do you have a favorite Garden Book?

I enjoy all garden books!

Who is your Horticultural Hero? Or Garden mentor?

I have many, including my dear friends Mitzi Hole & Suzanne Edney.

Describe where you most often sit in your garden….

The blue bench on the backside of the house.

If money were no object what would you add or do differently?

Nothing! I’m happy and at peace with my garden the way it is.

Do you have ‘garden wisdom’ to share? Or anything you’d like to say about your garden?

My favorite expression is Dr. J.C. Raulston’s motto, “Plan and Plant for a better world.”

Or anything you’d like to say about your garden?

My garden is my peace and passion; a place where I don’t think of anything but my immediate surroundings.

Long ago, neighborhood children named my acre and a half woodland garden, “My Fairy Garden in the Woods.” An antique wrought Iron gate welcomes as you enter into native Sassafras, Bower and Hydrangea lined paths leading to a 3-tiered water fountain. Further on a white Victorian style gazebo beckons to sit a spell and listen. A magnificent Climbing Hydrangea scrambles to the top of a huge Tulip Poplar. Many collector shade plants line meandering paths that lead to a crooked Straight Creek. A glade of native fringe trees winds to the side. Many rare and unusual specimen trees, shrubs and perennials acquired from the J. C. Raulston Arboretum share beds with antiques cleverly placed along paths in this charming collector’s garden.

Come Celebrate with Jean and Wayne Mitchell!

Their Garden: My Fairy Garden In the Woods

is featured in this year’s Open Days!

Save the Dates!
17 & 18 Cary, Raleigh Open Days

Cary, Wake Forest and Raleigh Open Days
Friday, May 16 | 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Saturday, May 17 | 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday, May 18 | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Visit seven private gardens in Cary, Wake Forest, and Raleigh, , NC.

The JC Raulston Arboretum at North Carolina University in Raleigh will also be welcoming visitors.

Admission: $7 per garden
Discounted admission tickets (6 tickets for $35 general / $21 Garden Conservancy members) will be available in advance at the JC Raulston Arboretum (4415 Beryl Road, Raleigh). Admission to the Arboretum is free.

Open Days are self-guided and proceed rain or shine.
No reservations are required.

September 20, 2013 by Jayme B

Grady Garden – A beautifully woven horticultural textile retreat…

Under the high shade of these tall pines, is the relaxing garden of Pat & Perry Grady.

I love to visit a garden and sit in the chairs or benches along the way… to pause and take in the views. There is usually a reason a bench or chair has been placed in a particular spot… if for no other reason than to just contemplate what goes into a garden, or an EntwinedLife.

The Grady Garden has many charming places to sit, if only for just a minute or two… to notice the rather steep grade, listen to birds, then quiet; enjoy the majesty of the tall trees – the rustle of wind, juxtaposed to the interesting textures on the ground. Then the eye catches a glimpse of color off in the distance which beckons on to explore the next visual delight to explore. A beautifully woven horticultural textile retreat high above the stress of the hectic world.

But don’t be fooled… from my observations this is a tough challenging location… the shade, the heavy mesh of tree roots unseen which will greedily suck up the water needed to establish any new plant additions… let alone the fortitude and strength it takes be able to dig a hole though the tangle, worthy for any new plant addition! (especially at today’s dear prices) and hope for its survival. Another challenge is defining paths – there is quite an elevation change both front and back, and the constant maintenance to tidy the leaves and pine needles before the signs are put up and visitors welcomed – is a task of patience only Zen Master gardener will rise above. Yet, this all looks so easy woven together.

We honor you dear gardeners for sharing your private spaces with us!

Pat, how long have you been gardening at this location?

29 years

What is the first thing you added, removed or changed in this garden?

Added shrubs and took out a few trees

Do you collect plants and if so what?

Anything for shade

Any favorite garden tools?

Rake

How much time do you spend working in your garden?

About 6 hours a day

What is your mulch preference?

Pine bark and pine straw

Anything new added to your garden?

Arbor in back yard

What is your first memory in a garden?

Living on the farm and having a row of zinnias and gladioli planted in my mom’s vegetable garden

What is it that got you started gardening?

Being outside

Where do you go for inspiration?

Just take a walk in garden and visit other gardens

Do you have a favorite Garden you’ve visited?

J C Raulston Arboretum

Do you have a favorite Garden Magazine?

Carolina Gardner

Who is your Horticultural Hero? Or Garden mentor?

Ann Clapp

Describe where you most often sit in your garden or looking out at your garden

Front porch

If money were no object what would you add or do differently?

More gardens and paths

Do you have garden wisdom’ to share?

Just work and enjoy

Pat & Perry Grady look forward to seeing you during ‘Open Days Tour’… You’re more than welcome to try out all the chairs and benches and relax.

Enjoy – living the EntwinedLife

Jayme B

NC Certified Environmental Educator

Garden Conservancy Regional Representative

JC Raulston Arboretum Volunteer

September 18, 2013 by Jayme B

Plant Collector’s Garden – Designed To Inspire…

This manicured ray of sunshine reflects the personality of inspirational lecturer and UNC – TV Host Bryce Lane and his ‘behind the scenes leading lady’… Sue Lane!
A virtual horticultural classroom & plant collector’s garden – designed to inspire…

I had the pleasure of hearing a talk by Bryce Lane over a decade ago, at a Master Gardener meeting…

The topic was “Soils”…

As a city /suburban gal from Chicago, I was new to getting my hands dirty. I had no earthly idea that there was a field of study called Horticulture or Plant Science… but on that day, after Bryce’s lecture, I came away inspired…

In an hour, Bryce made soil sound so fascinating. We were all so “fired” up about dirt! I had only wished I had heard that talk before heading off to college, I might have chosen Horticulture Science as my major. But instead that lecture changed the way I thought about well… everything! It is the source, the root of the plants we grow, the food we eat! What happens in the soil stays in the soil…I had no idea it could be so down right provocative!

Bryce Lane has received so many awards for teaching and inspiring at NC State University, I can just see him blushing as he reads this.

He is also a sought after speaker/lecturer with talks such as:

“The Birth of a Greenhouse: A history of manipulation!”
“Gardening on the Edge: Latest Trends in Gardening”
“Is it Warm in Here?” New Approaches to Gardening in our Changing Climate
“You’re not From Around These Parts”: Gardening With Native & Exotic Plants
“Eliminating Murder: How Not to Kill Plants!”

Bryce shares two Emmy awards with his Garden – the co-star of his virtual classroom on his weekly television program – “In the Garden With Bryce Lane” on UNC TV and his high school sweetheart Sue Lane.

They welcome you to the Lane Family Garden

How long have you been gardening at this location

30 years!

What is the first thing you did on the property?

Removing over 100 Liriope that were planted everywhere! I gave them to the the person who sold me his house for his new home!

How much time do you spend working in your garden?

Varies significantly, 5 to 20 hours per week. Less now that it is established.

Do you collect plants and if so what?

Depends on the month… I have been through many plant stages… Japanese Maples, Datura and Brugmansia, Colocasia, Heuchera, Dwarf Conifers, etc.

Any favorite Garden tools?

AM Leonard soil knife and Felco pruners are the bombs!

What is your mulch preference?

Cheapest, most available and what suits my mood at the time of year. I have used pine straw, hardwood bark, yard waste, compost, and soil conditioner.

Anything new added to your garden?

Driftwood piece from family vacation this past June at Emerald Isle. Fished it out of the ocean with my 4 year old Grandson Ellis.

If money were no object what would you add or do differently?

Water element maybe, I might find 5- 50 acres!! Actually my garden is the perfect size.

What is your first memory in a garden?

Mmm, let me see… Mom’s rock garden growing up in Massachusetts.

What is it that got you started gardening?

A part time job in High School at a Garden center…fell in love with plants… the rest is history.

Where do you go for inspiration?

Bible, nature, other gardens all over the world, other gardeners

Do you have a favorite Garden you’ve visited?

No, not really I love visiting them all, however, if I had to name one I would name one not created by humans…Bristlecone Pine forest at the Inyo National Forest in California.

Do you have a favorite Garden Book?

Not really. Cut my Horticultural teeth on Donald Wyman’s Gardening Encyclopedia

Who is your Horticultural Hero? Or Garden mentor?

Can’t really name one…so many have influenced my horticultural development… JC Raulston was my colleague, mentor, and friend.

Describe where you most often sit in your garden or looking out at your garden.

A few places, Our sun room looks out into the garden so sun room time on Saturday mornings is special… feel like we are sitting out in the garden. The patio is also a great place to sit. Kitchen window is also a great vantage point.

How much time do you spend just enjoying your garden? And what type of things…

See sun room time answer. Anytime I am in my garden working or otherwise, I enjoy it!

Do you have garden wisdom’ to share?

In gardening “disaster spells opportunity”. And as gardeners we need to honest with ourselves about how much direct sun we actually have!

Perhaps we’ll get an advance peak at the latest featured Plant of the week!

Hope to see you in the Garden of Bryce & Sue Lane!

Proceeds benefit the Garden Conservancy and locally the JC Raulson Arboretum!

Enjoy – living the EntwinedLife

Jayme B
NC Certified Environmental Educator
Garden Conservancy Regional Representative
JC Raulston Arboretum Volunteer

December 14, 2012 by Jayme B

Step away from the glitter….

Often there comes a time… when you just have to step away…

For the past 3 years every holiday we celebrated was in a nursing home; many of our family traditions had to be put aside.

Although wonderful to be spending it together, it was never private; visits seemed far too short or confined.

There is only so much decorating one can do in a shared room with limited space.

But there was nothing like the smile on my Mom’s face when the new Seasonal wreath appeared for her door, or a tiny Christmas tree which I decorated in all of her favorite colors was revealed!

Color co-ordination – pleasing to Mom!

The tiny tree was a gift from my friend Barbara – who’s husband had died. Barbara understands the kindness of little things to delight, and the space restraints in these times of transition. Continue reading →

August 2, 2012 by Jayme B

Hot Coral – Echinacea by any other name won’t be as Expensive!

It’s Hot, It’s August and it’s Buggy in the NC Piedmont, a good excuse not to be working in Entwined Gardens, therefore a good time to travel…

One of my Volunteer Jobs being a regional representative for the Garden Conservancy ‘Open Days’ Tour is not only to find great gardeners to participate, but also promote the tour. One way is making sure posters are delivered & postcards put out and about. Garden Centers are very kind to help promote the event, so off I went in a 50-mile radius.

Today’s first stop was at Fairview Greenhouses and Garden Center in Cary, NC…

I love exploring garden centers, like a quest for the Jewel of the Nile or an unexpected plant combination…

Cute succulent roof top Garden for a lucky Pooch – Fairview Nursery & Garden center

Not only did I find this charming roof top succulent garden for a lucky pooch, I gathered up some reduced herbs for a herb planter to take as a hostess gift.

I headed out of the greenhouse to an outdoor covered area, and there it was… Heart be still… just in – was it love at first sight? I circled the tall-shelved wheeled cart, and tried to walk away, but the colors tugged at my heartstrings again… I was hypnotized – lost in the array of hot fluorescent colors – an array of pinks, & corals.

Echinacea Sombrero ‘Hot Coral’

I tried to move away and be amazed at the size of the giant array of Hibiscus lining the next table. Before I knew it I was back staring at the cart of recently delivered offerings. A nice clerk who had been giving all the plants water on this 90 plus degree morning… walked over and said “Aren’t these amazing? They just arrived this morning.”

Echinacea Sombrero ‘Hot Coral’ – Echinacea by any other name won’t be as expensive!

I had tried to be good all summer, limiting spending of any kind in these economic times, but this one I could not walk away from. I could feel the butterfly within circling around and around – flying off but then drawn back in… Oranges are HOT… It didn’t matter the price tag for this perennial – of a whopping $21.00. My obsessive brain took over… It will keep these kind folks in business… I couldn’t purchase a cut flower bouquet for this amount… Well, I’m here and they will certainly be gone, and then there’s the gas if I drive back… Oh the ecstasy of the color – I am color centric but that’s something to muse on another day – home it came with me.

As my luck would have it, Fairview also had Roses on sale. Again my eye spied orange and I was drawn in.

The great gals I volunteer with, at the JC Raulston Arboretum Mixed Border affectionately known as the ‘Border Babes’, are a diverse, opinionated, yet congenial group. We are all gardeners, our styles are as distinct, as we are, but this is a plant we all agree on Rosa ‘Paprika’ – delicate in size, but intense orange buds, that evolve to a soft coral when open with a sunny center – a real show stopper. Disease & spot resistant. When we first planted it in the Mixed Border several years ago, the official plant marker said ‘OSO EASY Paprika (R. ChewMayTime ppaf)’. We were delighted when this plant hit the market! Talk about Smokin’! We all like to cook and many of us are fond of Smokey Spanish Paprika – so this Rose like its spicy culinary counterpart is sure to Spice up your garden life.

R. ‘Paprika’ will be perfect further back in the bed and will color echo the ‘Hot Coral’. The eye will samba from E. ‘Hot Coral’ over to R. Papricka. Supporting players will be Barberry ‘Crimson Pygmy’ – a dwarf Japanese Barberry.

I can visualize it from my deck butterflies swirling around. No guilt, no shame, we’ll have Mac n cheese tonight – I’ll add some cherry tomatoes, a little cilantro and finish with Smokey Paprika!

Colocasia Royal Hawaiian®
‘Black Coral’.

Next it was off to Campbell Road Nursery – a no frills nursery, but always cool, cutting edge plants! I spied a Colocasia ‘Black Coral’ – hardy black taro… I hadn’t had lunch and it looked the color of a dark chocolate bar – It would be great behind & to the left of the ‘Hot Coral’ … the bed anchored by a pink & yellow nesting box with ‘Hot Coral’ & ‘Black Coral. ‘ An analogous color scheme of oranges & pinks… Ahh…. I asked Plantsman Layne Snelling about ‘Black Coral’ and he mentioned it was part of the breeding program by John Cho (not to be confused with the actor of the same name) at the University of Hawaii Plant Breeding Program. One of the benefits of Cho’s breeding work is short or no stolons – which means no chance of invasive runaways… plus hardy to zone 7B… this went into the floor of my back seat! I can’t wait to get home to plant this fiesta!

I love seeing folks with plants in their vehicles… always brings a smile to my face! Sometimes I have thoughts of following them home to see their gardens, but alas as I merge into I-440 at rush hour, I am satisfied to see the chocolate elephant ears swaying in the rear view mirror headed home to an Entwined Life!

Joy!