A small inclined suburban corner property— chocked full of ideas, a garden executed impeccably on a corner lot — creates a sanctuary for this charming do it yourself duo. Continue reading
Open Days Program – Labor of Love
Tag Archives: Garden tool
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
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.
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?
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
Helen’s Haven – a wildlife habitat in the heart of Raleigh
Playground to garden guru – Helen Yoest, husband David Philbrook and their charming brood, The Yoest /Philbrook Family are surrounded by Helen’s Haven – a wildlife habitat in the heart of Raleigh, North Carolina.
You are invited to visit and meet the newest additions to the family – Pepper and the Chicks. Saturday September 21!
Pepper on patrol!
Helen inspires an adoring public with wit, wisdom & whimsy…
Just an uncanny sense of solid Horticulture mixed with thoughtful solutions and non stop delight. Frankly if she doesn’t empower you to Garden with Confidence… Perhaps you should try Mahjong!
Let’s meet Helen:
David is my husband of 25 years, but he doesn’t do anything in the garden. But I thought I should mention him since he does let me get away with gardening.
How long have you been gardening at this location?
16 years.
What was the first thing you planted in or changed at Helen’s Haven?
Hmmm, I had to think about that!
I put in a privacy hedge of Leyland Cypress. Yup, sure did. They are doing SO well, but not a day goes by that I wonder why I wasn’t more creative at the time and put in multi-species hedge instead. The privacy is wonderful, though.
Do you collect plants and if so what?
Dear oh dear, I have to admit to an addiction? No wait, I see you are only asking about a collection. Elephant ears, any native wildlife plant, weeping trees, rock garden plants, and any BIG, BOLD, LUSTFUL plant.
How much time do you spend working in your garden?
Every Sunday. It may be for an hour or 6 hours, but that is the only day I have. It is my most anticipated day of the week. If something should get in the way of that, I will pick up another day to cover my lost time. I couldn’t go a week with out getting my hands dirty. But I visit daily.
Any favorite Garden tools?
My knees.
What is your mulch preference?
Composted leaf mulch from the City of Raleigh
Anything new added to your garden art collection?
I have a couple of new pieces of garden art. You will have to come see them for yourself.
What is your first memory in a garden?
Planting tomatoes with my dad.
What is it that got you started gardening?
I wanted to be with my dad and be like my dad.
Who is your Horticultural Hero? Or Garden mentor?
My horticultural hero are the staffers at the JC Raulston Arboretum. I’ve even dedicated ” Plants with Benefits” – to them, specifically naming Mark Weathington, Tim Alderton, and Chris Glenn. Then there is John Buettner. Thew, I’m one lucky gardener!
Where do you go for inspiration?
Everywhere. I’ve never visited a garden I didn’t like. I get to see lots of them as a Field Editor for BHG and my other garden writing travels. I get ideas from every garden I see. I was just in Anthropologie and took away a gardening idea. Once your eyes are open to something new, ideas just jump out at you.
Do you have a favorite Garden you’ve visited?
Oooo, this is a tough one. Public garden I’d say Chanticleer. Private garden I’d say the one I just scouted.
Do you have a favorite Garden Book? Website – Blog – Magazine?
My favorite garden book is Gardening with Confidence ® of course lol.
And my second favorite book is naturally my next book due out the first of the year,
But seriously, Fallscaping – Extending your Garden Season into Autumn- is an all out fave. I guess it’s because I’m such a big fall garden love.
My fave magazines are Country Gardens and Gardens Illustrated.
How much time do you spend just enjoying your garden? And what type of things…
About an hour a day. Usually take a walk through to feed the chickens, throw the ball to my dog, Pepper, and hang with the kids.
If money were no object what would you add or do differently?
I would feel less guilt. lol Dang if my kids don’t eat a lot of beans and rice….
Do you have garden wisdom’ to share?
Nope. Just get out and experiment. If I have to convince you to garden, then your heart isn’t in it. You’ll know when the time is right.
Describe where you most often sit in your garden or looking out at your garden.
The back porch. I invite everyone to just come and sit. It’s very relaxing. The mixed border is before you, giving you an opportunity to watch the wildlife.
See you at Helen’s Haven!
Enjoy – living the EntwinedLife
Jayme B
NC Certified Environmental Educator
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
Lasting Impressions
This is a Cool Plant! Scilla peruviana.
After Visiting Amelia Lane’s Garden – Under the Loblolly Pines – one always leaves with a Lasting Impression! … And a list of Cool Plants!
This Saturday, in Raleigh – you can take home a Lasting Impression and Cool Plants!
A Plantswoman – Gardening Under the Loblolly Pines
As a trainee, newly accepted into the Master Garden Volunteer program – 2000, I perused the membership book reading about each of the 100 plus experienced Master Garden Volunteers’ gardening interests. When I got to the ‘L’s’ there was someone who listed “Hypertufa” as one of her interests. So it was to my delight, on my first day of ‘Phone Duty’ – I met Amelia Lane… Continue reading
A Sanctuary of Artful Agriculture
The Garden of artist Frances Alvarino Norwood and John Norwood in Raleigh, North Carolina is a romantic sanctuary of artful agriculture and passionate sustainability.
Jayme B: How long have you been gardening at this location?
Frances has been gardening here for 28 years
What is your first memory in a garden?
Frances: a vegetable garden in Illinois when she was 4 years old
John: irises planted in one of the beds along the drive at my parent’s house – originally planted by my great grandmother.
What is it that got you started gardening?
Frances: it was an offshoot of her first job –working in a greenhouse growing holiday plants – she was a biology major
John: my parents had large vegetable and flower gardens. It was just something you did. I grew my first row of tomatoes when I was 10 and sold them to a neighborhood store
Do you have a favorite Garden Book?
Frances: Crockett’s Victory Garden
Where do you go for inspiration?
Frances: favorite garden magazine now is The English Garden – she reads many garden magazines and books
Do you collect plants and if so what?
We try lots of new plants, but its not really collecting
Anything new added to your garden?
We recently bought the lot next to us (1.5 acres) and are expanding the flower beds and adding a second vegetable garden. Blueberries, figs, and raspberries are planned.
Describe where you most often sit in your garden or looking out at your garden.
We don’t sit in the garden very often. We mostly enjoy it as we work in it. We do often stroll around the garden in the evening to look. John’s office overlooks the front garden and pond – a nice view during the day.
Any favorite Garden tools?
Frances – a hand hoe (hack a hoe)
John – long handled hoe
What is your mulch preference?
Old leaf mold
How much time do you spend working in your garden?
We each spend 18 to 20 hours a week working in the garden
How much time do you spend just enjoying your garden? And what type of things…
We really enjoy it as we work in it. It is also fun to show it off each year at the Larkspur party (June 1 & 2 2013).
If money were no object what would you add or do differently?
Frances would add a rill. (small stream)
John would buy a bobcat loader and a tiller
Do you have garden wisdom’ to share?
Frances: Money cannot buy good soil – you have to build it. A sharp edge to the beds and lots of mulch will do wonders.
John: Plantings don’t always work out the way you expect. Things are always in flux. Plants will do what they want to do. The best groupings are often serendipitous. Just keep trying and don’t be afraid to move things around and try something new. 
Hemlocks stand sentry over our sanctuary. Drifts of self-seeding heirloom annuals, poppies, larkspur, salvia, and nigella highlight the winding, herbaceous borders of peonies, foxgloves, and roses with sweet pea intertwined. Peaceful, soft pastels, and swaths of varying foliage textures unify the main garden. Hidden around one corner is an intensive vegetable garden. Plantings of ferns, asarums, hellebores, and pulmonarias are tucked under dappled shade… Frances Alvarino Norwood and John Norwood.
When Entwined Gardens were featured on the 2010 Garden Conservancy Tour, Frances’ sculptures saved the day!
Enjoy – living the EntwinedLife 
Jayme B
Garden Conservancy Regional Representative
JC Raulston Arboretum Volunteer
Peak Behind the Garden Gates –
Garden Conservancy Gardener Cecil J. Dykes is offering us a peak behind his garden gates…
Jayme B: What do you call your Garden?
CJ: English Garden-Woodland Paradise.
My gardens are 20 years old. When I first moved to Raleigh in 1985 I lived in an Apt and had a small garden around my patio and many pots. Continue reading
EntwinedLife 