Happy April! It's been a glorious spring so far with long blooming early spring things and new things popping up daily! The daffodils and Camellia japonicas are still holding on and the irises, tulips and snowball viburnums are bursting forth into bloom! If you haven’t made it to see our gardens yet this spring, we’ve got some great upcoming opportunities!
We’ve added 5000 baby plants to the greenhouse this week and are so excited by some of these new varieties! We’ve also been getting all of our multitude of Tryon Palace grown perennials and veggies ready for Spring Plant Sale, April 14 &15 from 9am- 5pm on the Daves House lawn. We’ve got lots of locally grown perennials, herbs, annuals, veggies, trees and shrubs. Remember to come early as stock is limited! If you'd like a sneak peak of what's available- see here!
If you aren’t sure what to buy, take a walk through our gardens during FREE Garden Lovers Weekend April 14-16 and come see us! You can also book a private garden staff- led tour with a few of your friends and fellow gardeners by contacting 252-639-3524 or reservations@tryonpalace.org.
As a future save the date- get ready for our May Garden Lecture Series, May 13th, “Beautiful Bushes: Great Shrubs for the Home Landscape” presented by Bryce Lane. With all the talk about herbaceous plants for the garden, let’s not forget about woody plants, especially shrubs! Perennials and annuals can be very high maintenance where shrubs are so much easier to take care of. What makes a shrub a great plant for the garden? What does it mean to be time tested and what’s all the fuss about all these new plants? Come learn about Bryce Lane’s favorite shrubs, both new and established, and why they should be a staple in every garden. This lecture begins at 10:30 a.m. in Cullman Performance Hall at the North Carolina History Center, with a suggested donation of $3.
If you’re interested in a long term “behind the scenes” venture, we are looking for volunteers for raking, mulching, weeding, fence and trellis repair and MORE! It’s a great way to learn some gardening tips and tricks, especially for our area! 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
Annuals
- Artemisia Sea Salt
- Batchelor’s Buttons (Centaurea cyanus) blue, black, purple
- Dianthus- Super Parfait Raspberry, Zing Rose; Jolt Pink Magic; Jolt Cherry
- Dusty Miller ‘Silver Dust’
- Flowering Kale “Redbor” “Crane Red” “Black Magic"
- Gazania ‘Tiger Mix’, ‘Pink Shades’, ‘Colorado’, ‘Sunny Side Up’, ‘New Magic’, ‘New Day Yellow’, ‘Enorma Mix’
- Johnny-jump-up (Viola tricolor) purple and yellow
- Mustard “Japanese Giant Red” (Brassica juncea)
- Snapdragons (Antirrhinum majus) Snaptastic Mix- various; Opus™ III Early Bronze- orange
- Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus): Telstar Mix; Sweet White, Sweet Black Cherry
- Swiss Chard ‘Bright Lights’
- Violas: Frizzle Sizzle Mini Mix; Sorbet XP Spring Select
Perennials
- Basket of Gold (Arunia saxatilis) yellow
- Bachelor’s Button (Centaurea montana)
- Barrenwort (Epimedium grandiflorum) yellow
- Bath’s Pink (Dianthus gratianopolitanus) pink
- Bears foot Hellebore (Helleborus foetidus) yellowish
- Bleeding Heart (Dicentra eximia) pink/white
- Bugleweed (Ajuga reptans) blue
- Candytuft (Iberis sempervirens) white
- Cape Leadwort (Plumbago capensis) blue
- Carnation (Dianthus sp.) various
- Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) red/yellow
- Columbine (Aquilegia vulgare) rose, purple, white spurs
- Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia numularia) yellow foliage
- Creeping Veronica (Veronica umbrosa) blue
- Lenten Rose (Helleborus X orientalis) pink, white, purple
- Moondance Hybrid Lenten Rose (Helleborus x iburgensis ‘Moondance’) white
- Lungwort (Pulmonaria saccharata) blue
- Mazus (Mazus reptans ‘alba’) white
- Mountain pinks (Phlox subulata) pink, lavender, white
- Pinks (Dianthus chinensis) pink
- Poet’s Laurel (Danae racemes) orange berries
- Ragged Robin (Lychnis flos-cuculi) pink
- Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus) red, white, pink
- Soapwort (Saponaria ocymoides) pink
- Wallflowers (Cheiranthus allionii) orange
- Wild Geranium (Geranium pratense) magenta
- Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) white, pastels
- Vinca (Vinca minor) blue
Bulbs, Corms and Rhizomes
- Bearded Iris “Immortality” white, reblooming
- Cemetery Iris (Iris schreekuppe) white
- Daffodils, Jonquils and Paperwhites (Narcissus sp) yellows, white
- Daffodil Poeticus Actaea, Double Flower Drift, Double Sir Winston Churchill
- Dutch Iris (Iridaceae x hollandica)
- German or Bearded Iris (Iris germanica) white, purple, yellow
- Gladiolus specie byzantinus
- Grape Hyacinth (Muscari armeniacum) blue
- Ground Iris (Bletilla striata) purple; white
- Hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis) Jan Bos, Marie, Pink Pearl, Blue Jacket- pink, white, purple
- Lady Jane Tulip- white and pink (Tulipa clusiana)
- Marjoletti Tulip- yellow and orange
- 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: Single Lates: Queen of the Night, Maureen, Blushing Beauty, Maureen, Renown; Lily Flowered: Ballerina
- Tulip batalinii Bright Gem (yellow), Lilac Wonder (pink)
- Wood Hyacinth (Scilla campanulata) blue; white
- Windflower (Anemone coronaria) blue, magenta, white
Vines
- Akebia vine (Akebia quinata) cream color blooms, smells like chocolate
- Carolina Jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens) yellow *TOXIC TO HONEY BEES*
- Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) orange/ red, NATIVE attractant for hummingbirds
- Lady Banks Rose (Rosa banksia) yellow
- Wisteria (Wisteria floribunda) white, purple
Trees and Shrubs
- Anise Tree (Illicium floridanum) reddish
- Azaleas (Rhododendron sp.) Variety sizes and colors
- Bridal Wreath (Spirea prunifolia) white
- Camellia (Camellia japonica) cultivars:
‘Pink Perfection’ pink, double
‘Professor 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
- Carolina Silverbell (Halesia caroliniana) creamy white
- Chinese Mahonia (Mahonia fortunei) yellow blooms, blue berries
- 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 Quince (Chaenomeles speciosa) apricot pink, red
- Fragrant Osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans) yellow **Smells AMAZING**
- Himalayan Sweetbox (Sarcococca hookerana) white, black drupe
- Hollies (Ilex sp.): white/ cream blooms; 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
- Laurustinus (Viburnum tinus) pink to white: STINK
- Leatherleaf Viburnum (Viburnum rhytophyllum) white
- Chinese Snowball (Viburnum macrocephalum ‘Sterile’) green to white blooming tree
- Japanese Snowball (Viburnum plicatum) white blooming shrub
- Blackhaw or Walter Viburnum (Viburum obovatum)
- Judd’s Viburnum (Viburnum judii) pink, fragrant
- Lantaphyllum (Viburnum X rhytidophylloides ‘Alleghany’) white
- Old Blush Rose (Rosa chinensis) pink
- Pawpaw (Asimina triloba) brown
- Pearlbush (Exochorda racemosa) white
- Japanese Pieris (Pieris japonica) white
- Redbud (Cercis canadensis) fuchsia
- Red Buckeye (Aesculus pavia)
- 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
Wildflowers/ Bee Food
- Henbit (Lamium amplexicaule) lavender
- Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) yellow
Kitchen Garden:
- Apple, Pear, Cherry & 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 clover, oats, rye, vetch, peas
- Transitioning to summer crops after mid- April last frost date