Happy March! After a wet, windy February start, we’ve been enjoying the sunny warm days with glee! Our gardens are full of incredible blooms that warrant a closeup smell and second look- the gardeners are also making some new fun changes and additions that we’re thrilled to share! March kicks off the beginning of our crazy spring season and the changes in the gardens are almost daily! If you haven’t made it to see our gardens yet this spring, we’ve got some great upcoming opportunities!
We’re adding 1500 baby plants to the greenhouse this week and are so excited by some of these new varieties! These plants will be for sale at our Spring Plant Sale, April 8& 9 from 9am- 5pm on the Daves House lawn. We’ve got lots of locally grown perennials, herbs, annuals, veggies, trees and shrubs. If you aren’t sure what to buy, take a walk through our gardens during FREE Garden Lovers Weekend April 8-10 and come see us! Remember to come early as stock is limited!
If you’re in need of some help on what to add and what you should look forward to, join us March 12 for our next Tryon Palace Garden Lecture! Jennifer Knight, community gardener and owner of Knightscapes Enterprises, a design/ build landscape firm, and Hadley Cheris, Tryon Palace Gardens and Greenhouse Manager, will be co-hosting “Heirloom Vegetables for ENC & Spring Trade Specials”. This garden lecture will focus on heirloom vegetables and edible plants best adapted to face the weather challenges of Eastern North Carolina with a sneak peek of the plants available at the Tryon Palace Spring Plant Sale. This lecture begins at 10:30 a.m. in Cullman Performance Hall at the North Carolina History Center, with a suggested donation of $3.
Also coming this month, we have a Behind the Scenes Tour in the garden, where you can join one of our gardeners for a walk around the Palace blooms! The tour is March 15, beginning at 2pm at the Waystation. You can also book a private tour with a few of your friends and fellow gardeners by contacting 252-639-3524 or reservations@tryonpalace.org.
If you’re looking for an outside hobby and way to give back to your community, consider joining us as a garden volunteer! We are looking for Master Gardeners, Horticulturists, Garden Enthusiasts, General Yard Workers, and Carpenters. Some background in gardening is great but none is necessary, just a willingness to learn. We are looking for volunteers for pruning, planting, raking, mulching, watering, weeding, fence and trellis repair. If that sounds like your cup of tea, please contact me at hadley.cheris@ncdcr.gov.
We hope to see you soon! Happy Gardening,
Hadley Cheris, Tryon Palace Gardens and Greenhouse Manager
Annuals
- Batchelor’s Buttons (Centaurea cyanus) blue
- Dianthus- Super Parfait Raspberry, Zing Rose
- Dusty Miller ‘Silver Dust’
- Flowering Kale “Bor Scarlet”, “Nagoya Mix”, “Yokohama Mix”
- Gazania ‘Tiger Mix’, ‘Pink Shades’, ‘Colorado’, ‘Sunny Side Up’, ‘New Magic’, ‘New Day Yellow’, ‘Enorma Mix’
- Johnny-jump-up (Viola tricolor) purple and yellow
- Pansies: Cats Mix
- Snapdragons (Antirrhinum majus) various
- Sweet William (Dianthus) Telstar Mix; red, white, pink
- Swiss Chard ‘Bright Lights’
- Violas: Sorbet Sorbet XP Mix Spring Select, Penny White, Admire Mix Maxi, Frizzle Sizzle Mini Mix
Perennials
- Bachelor’s Button (Centaurea montana)
- Barrenwort (Epimedium grandiflorum) yellow
- Bath’s Pink (Dianthus gratianopolitanus) pink
- Bears foot Hellebore (Helleborus foetidus) yellowish
- Bugleweed (Ajuga reptans) blue
- Candytuft (Iberis sempervirens) white
- Cape Leadwort (Plumbago capensis) blue
- Carnation (Dianthus sp.) various
- Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia numularia) yellow foliage
- Creeping Veronica (Veronica umbrosa) blue
- Lenten Rose (Helleborus X orientalis) pink, white, purple
- Leopard plant (Farfugium japonicum) yellow
- Mazus (Mazus reptans ‘alba’) white
- Mountain pinks (Phlox subulata) pink, lavender, white
- Ornamental Grass (Miscanthus sp.) red seed head
- Pinks (Dianthus chinensis) pink
- Poet’s Laurel (Danae racemes) orange berries
- Ragged Robin (Lychnis flos-cuculi) pink
- Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus) red, white, pink
- Wallflowers (Cheiranthus allionii) orange
- Wild Geranium (Geranium pratense) magenta
- Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) white, pastels
- Vinca (Vinca minor) blue
Bulbs, Corms, Rhizomes
- Algerian Iris (Iris ungularia) blue
- Bearded Iris “Immortality” white, reblooming
- Cemetery Iris (Iris schreekuppe) white
- Crocus (Crocus vernus) various
- Daffodils, Jonquils and Paperwhites (Narcissus sp) yellows, white
- Daffodil Poeticus Actaea, Double Flower Drift, Double Sir Winston Churchill
- Dwarf Iris: Mixed, “J S Dijt”, danfordiae
- Gladiolus specie byzantinus
- Grape Hyacinth (Muscari armeniacum) blue
- Hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis) pink, white, purple
- Lady Jane Tulip- white and pink (Tulipa clusiana)
- Marjoletti Tulip- yellow and orange
- Paperwhite Narcissus (Narcissus papyraceus) white
- Poppy Anemone (Anemone coronaria De Caen) various
- Ranunculus Tecelote- orange, yellow, red, white
- Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) white, green
- Snowflakes (Leucojum aestivum) white
- Starflower (Ipheion uniflorum) blue-white (Stinky)
- Tulips: Lily-flowered: Ballade, Ballerina, Multicolor Mixture; Single Lates: Multicolor Mixture, Maureen
- Wood Hyacinth (Scilla campanulata) blue; white
- Windflower (Anemone coronaria) blue, magenta, white
Trees and Shrubs
- Akebia vine (Akebia quinata) cream color blooms, smells like chocolate
- Azaleas (Rhododendron sp.) Variety sizes and colors
- Bridal Wreath (Spirea prunifolia) white
- Camellia (Camellia japonica) cultivars:
- ‘Pink Perfection’ pink, double
- ‘Prof. Sargent’ deep rose, double
- ‘Debutante’ clear, light pink
- ‘Lady Clare’ carmine rose, semi-double
- ‘Alba plena’ white with pink cast
- ‘Lovely Surprise’ pink
- ‘Dr. Tinsley’ pink, semi-double
- Camellia (Camellia sasanqua sp.) white, pink, red
- Carolina Jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens) yellow *TOXIC TO HONEY BEES*
- Chinese Mahonia (Mahonia fortunei) yellow
- Cornelian Cherry (Cornus mas) yellow
- Crabapple (Malus sieboldii) pink
- Dogwood (Cornus florida) white
- First Breath of Spring or Winter Honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima) white
- Flowering Almond (Prunus glandulosa) pink, fuzzy
- Flowering Apricot (Prunus mume) pink
- Flowering Quince (Chaenomeles speciosa) apricot pink, red, white
- Fragrant Osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans) yellow **Smells AMAZING**
- Fragrant Winter Sweet (Chimonanthus praecox) yellow
- Himalayan Sweetbox (Sarcococca hookerana) white, black drupe
- Hollies (Ilex sp.): Yaupon (I. vomitoria) red, yellow berries; Winterberry (I. verticillata) red berries; Dahoon (I. cassine) red; Lusterleaf (I. latifolia) red; Dwarf Burford Holly (Ilex cornuta) red berries
- Japanese Fatsia (Fatsia japonica) green to black berries
- Kerria (Kerria japonica pleniflora) Double yellow
- Kerria (Kerria japonica) single yellow
- Lady Banks Rose (Rosa banksia) yellow
- Kerria (Kerria japonica pleniflora) Double yellow
- Kerria (Kerria japonica) single yellow
- Lady Banks Rose (Rosa banksia) yellow
- Laurustinus (Viburnum tinus) pink to white: STINK
- Leatherleaf Viburnum (Viburnum rhytophyllum) white
- Chinese Snowball (Viburnum macrocephalum ‘Sterile’) greenish white
- Blackhaw or Walter Viburnum (Viburum obovatum)
- Judd’s Viburnum (Viburnum judii) pink, fragrant
- Lantaphyllum (Viburnum X rhytidophylloides ‘Alleghany’) white
- Pearlbush (Exochorda racemosa) white
- Japanese Pieris (Pieris japonica) white
- Redbud (Cercis canadensis) fuchsia
- Red Chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia) small white
- Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) purple
- Sassafras (Sassafras officinale) chartreuse
- Tea plant (Camellia sinenses) white/yellow
- Winter Jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorium) yellow
- Witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) yellow to reddish brown
Wildflowers/ Bee Food
- Henbit (Lamium amplexicaule) lavender
- Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) yellow
Kitchen Garden
- Apple, Pear & Peach Trees: pink to white.
- Beets, carrots, lettuce, mustards, kale, parsley, Swiss chard, spinach, arugula, fava beans, artichoke, cardoon, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, collards, cover crops (white and crimson, oats, rye, vetch, peas)