Tag Archives: Open Days Tour

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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

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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!

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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!

DSC00767Enjoy – living the  EntwinedLife

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

 

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Artful Entertaining… A peak into Peggy’s Retreat.

Strolling up the driveway, in what once had been a shade garden, under a high canopy of trees… let there be light!  Sometimes Mother nature offers new opportunities for planting. This indeed this is the case, where new beds & plants establish a colorful welcome to the Titus Garden – designed for artful entertaining.

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Winding around to the side are  two pairs of stunning gates commissioned by Peggy. The moment you step through, lush foliage & soothing sounds of water lull you in; paths beckon… time to relax, suddenly you are a world away… the hidden rooms will be revealed it’s all like a nurturing hug as you peak into Peggy’s Retreat.

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Peggy, do you recall your first memory in a garden? 

Picking pink roses off of my grandmother’s Dorothy Perkins climber that covered the entire end of her front porch when I was about 8 or 9.

 What is it that got you started gardening?

My mother was a gardener, and this was one of the few things we both enjoyed doing together.

 How long have you been gardening at this location? 

17 years

What was the first thing you changed when establishing Peggy’s Retreat?

I pulled out or cut down as much Ivy and Wisteria as possible.

 Where do you go for inspiration?

Garden magazines,  “Curb Appeal”, and the Australian landscape designer on HGTV – “The Outdoor Room” with Jamie Durie ;  nurseries & my imagination.

 Do you have a favorite Garden you’ve visited?

The  Singapore Botanical Garden.

Do you collect plants and if so what?

Shade plants of all types.

 Anything new added to your garden?

Redecorated the gazebo to make it more intimate and inviting.

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

In my gazebo.  Often I take a book and a glass of wine out and read for an hour or so in the evening.

 Any favorite Garden tools?

Good gloves and my two in one trowel and garden claw.

 What is your mulch preference? 

Triple shredded hardwood.  I actually hate pine straw.

How much time do you spend working in your garden? 

Between March and October I average 20 to 30 hours per week.

How much time do you spend just enjoying your garden?

I like to entertain in my garden, anything from a casual dinner party to a large cocktail party for 50+ people, similar to the political fund raiser that I did on Sept. 8.

 A generous & creative host to many causes, Peggy makes it all look easy and effortless.

Won’t you visit ?   Proceeds go to Garden Conservancy and locally JC Raulston Arboretum!

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 Enjoy – living the  EntwinedLife

Jayme B

NC Certified Environmental Educator

Garden Conservancy Regional Representative

JC Raulston Arboretum Volunteer

 

 


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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!

DSC08244 Continue reading →

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Figs bursting with delight.

Bursting point… We all get to this point… when the blood starts to boil – the emotions swell – so full of stress our juices ready to burst like a fig after a fresh rain.  This morning I was so ready to burst that I called my sage friend  Helen Yoest – she reminded me that sometimes it is just better to “let it go”…

I took a deep breath and ventured outside to find solace in Entwined Gardens.

To my delight, I wasn’t the only one having a break & snack.

Sevensons against a
Carolina Blue Sky

The Heptacodium miconioides  (Sevenson Flower, Autumn Lilac) tree was a buzz with pollinators.  As I looked up at creamy white puffs against a Carolina Blue sky my angst began to vanish lost in a swirl of bees, wasps skippers & butterflies.  My thoughts turned to my delightful 2009 quest to find this tree – an Entwined Gardens expansion – to create a new border adding fall interest near our parking area.

Yes, a crazy Dr. Seuss – like plant that gets far too large for the chosen location.  But the fragrant creamy white flowers appearing August – September, turning into small rounded fruit with a cherry red to rose purple calyx  – ShaZaam! There’s no such thing as too Big as the sweet scent welcomes us home each day.  This small deciduous tree growing 10’ –12’ tall x 8’ – 10’ wide also valued for exfoliating bark in warm hues of light brown, does not disappoint, especially if you don’t mind unpredictable plants with fall winter interest! For those of you who cringe at the word ‘Prune’ – one can’t make a mistake on this wildly branching structure.   Within a year of planting this tree was a showstopper in my new themed border of plants for fall interest and ready for the 2010 Garden Conservancy Open Days Tour!

A lovely butterfly perched upon a Cana ‘Phaison’ or Tropicana Lily, caught my attention. I wasn’t quick enough to get a photo – then it was off in a wisp of a wing – up and circling overhead.

Table for Two –
Red Spotted Purples
dining on Celeste Fig

My mind clearly engaged as I watched the Zen motion as the butterfly fluttered up and around higher & higher then caught a glimpse of pink in an unexpected place.    One of the out of reach Celeste figs had burst open and the scent of soft flesh fills the air. Another Butterfly lands and enjoys the fleshy sweetness – talk about table with a view.

The usual suspects at the Fig Café – humans with morning coffee in hand, disrupting the quiet feast of squirrels & birds who quickly disappear, thinking of another way to enjoy these fruits, of course tasting for inspiration.  Wasps & butterflies throughout the midday, lingering like the folks at an Internet cafe; Possum and Raccoons – the nocturnal clientele leaving debris like twenty -somethings in a college town, so although unseen, we know they’ve been & enjoyed.

Who are these diners
at the Hibiscus Cafe?

Drawn further into the garden – some yet to be identified colorful visitors snacking on Hibiscus coccineus – Red Star Hibiscus pod.

Further down the path another snack has been consumed and another life form swells, 

slowing down progress, almost paralyzed to move forward.  I snap a few photos – in this the moment of truth.  By the time I can summon my husband and run back he has slithered into the safety of foliage.

I am reminded of the lesson to let it go.  Had I not taken a break, made room to breath, I’d have missed these whimsical delights, sweet smells and delicious figs.

Joy!

Jayme B

NC Certified Environmental Educator

Garden Conservancy Regional Representative