Wednesday, February 13, 2008

The NC Arboretum in February

I could've cheated a little for GB Bloom Day coming up and held back on a few flowers that could be blooming in my borrowed garden now if the same type of plants that are here were actually blooming, but their not. Who knows why.

There was plenty to see other than flowers for winter interest, the Dogwoods of course, the larger Cornus sericea and some small red and yellow Cornus alba.














The Adam's Needle, Yucca filamentosa is definitely on my want list, but these nicely colored cultivars are major expensive. I may need to find a "wild" clump that has a few spare keikis.














A Witch Hazel, Hamamelis sp. blooming. The native species H. virginiana grows here. Only one of them bloomed, way back in November it seems.
















Daphne odorata. We have that, not blooming.














Helleborus orientalis. We have that, not blooming.














Grasses, Mexican Feather Grass, Nassella tenuissima.














Stone.


















Metal.














Bonsai.















Maple and Cement.


















All together now.














Winter Jasmine, Jasminum nudiflorum It had flowers, but that is about all I could say for it. It is not the most attractive plant, but it may have some appropriate applications.














Grass and Stone














If only I had rocks like these.














There were some big bugs patrolling the grounds.













The quilt garden in winter. Nice to see I am not the only one who can be disappointed by pansies. They really just sit there after you plant them out and don't grow and fill in at all.














A remnant chimney. Hmm wonder where that idea came from.


















I think we have seen this in Austin.














A wasp on the way out.














The Witch Hazels really do make a nice shrub. I can see how this late winter bloom can be well appreciated. I should add a few of them to my want list.












These Dogwoods are at least eight feet tall.











That is one major dry stacked stone wall.

9 comments:

Kylee Baumle said...

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the arboretum and to your blog. I'll be back!

Frances, said...

I have been meaning to visit the arboretum sometime while in Asheville, spring would be a good time with lots of photo ops. You did a great job, see you have a stone fixation! HA

Frances at Faire Garden

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Nice tour of the Arb. I really liked the bugs and bonsai.

Anonymous said...

Great tour! You have me hoping my daughter goes to college in NC (one of her choices) so I can go to all the great gardens down there.
ps I agree with you regarding the J. nudiflorum, but the best way I have seen it used is - guess what - cascading over a stone wall en masse. This was at Hillwood Gardens, a former estate of Marjorie Meriweather Post in D.C.

ps I am having trouble with this new choice of identities - if I'm just a normal person without a blog, what do I pick? Open ID, Name/URL (it won't accept my email address)???? I am having to pick anonymous.

bev

Christopher C. NC said...

It looks like they are messing with the signin again Bev.

If you have no site of your own at all and none of the services listed under Open ID then your two choices are Anonymous or getting a Google e-mail account and using that ID it seems.

Frances there were tons of bulbs poking up in the beds at the Arboretum. They should have a nice spring display.

Glad y'all liked the tour.

Chris Kreussling (Flatbush Gardener) said...

Thanks, CC! Nice to see the gardens again.

Interesting how similar are the offerings at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden at this time of year. I know we tend to get your weather a day or two later.

chuck b. said...

I cannot imagine the point of pansies! There must be something better for every use they ever get put to.

Hamamelis should be easy to propagate from cuttings, and it would be a great subject for espalier--that would be fun. I've never actually seen one in California and I think they're quite rare here. I heard the Chinese H. mollis is used more often for some reason. I think they're both rather thirsty.

Unknown said...

Gorgeous... I especially love the metal fence, though. Nice job they did, making it interesting and "echoing" the hills.

Anonymous said...

I have certainly seen those spiraling, metal pipes somewhere in Austin but can't remember where. Ironically, I had those in mind recently when I wanted a tall, skinny, CHEAP focal-point planter. So I went to Home Depot looking for them. No one there knew what the heck I was asking for. I finally settled on a chimney flue pipe made of shiny galvanized metal. But I'd really wanted that spiral design. Sigh.