Happy February! While we’re getting a cold start to the month, following several weekends of winter precipitation, the gardens are still getting ready for spring! As for what’s popping- there are buds GALOR across the gardens and we’ve got lots of little bulbs starting to peak out and debate their entrance. Our Camellia japonicas got hit with our last 2 weekends of snow and ice but are striving for another round of blooms- make sure to stop by Stanly and Jones House Gardens to pick your favorite! The winter honeysuckle, fragrant winter sweet, and fragrant tea olive have been absolute garden workhorses this winter with both dainty flowers and amazing fragrance- they can be found in the Commission House, Stanly House and Jones House Gardens as well as the Wilderness Garden.
This month, we are excitedly clearing out and cleaning up the greenhouse and nursery as we look forward to ~1500 little plant babies coming in early March for plant sale! We’re also getting ready by planting herbs, perennials and heirloom veggies that will soon grace our gardens and maybe even your yard! Late winter is a great time to start designing and researching what to add to your garden so you’ll be ready when the plants are available! It’s also a great time for big clean up and mulching projects- which we’re working on with our Education department and the militia camp area in the Dixon House back lawn!
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.
If you’re looking for a New Year’s Resolution, 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. Due to current guidance, we do require all volunteers to be fully vaccinated. 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)
- Bath’s Pink (Dianthus gratianopolitanus) pink
- Bears foot Hellebore (Helleborus foetidus) yellowish
- Bleeding Heart (Dicentra eximia) pink/white
- Candytuft (Iberis sempervirens) white
- Cape Leadwort (Plumbago capensis) blue
- Carnation (Dianthus sp.) various
- Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia numularia) yellow foliage
- Creeping Veronica (Veronica umbrosa) blue
- Hellebore (Helleborus X orientalis) pink, white
- Leopard plant (Farfugium japonicum) yellow
- Mountain pinks (Phlox subulata) pink, lavender, white
- Ornamental Grasses (Various)
- Poet’s Laurel (Danae racemes) orange berries
- Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus) red, white, pink
- Yarrow (Achillea millifolieum) white, pastels
Bulbs, Corms, Rhizomes
- Algerian Iris (Iris ungularia) blue
- Bearded Iris "Immortality" white, reblooming
- Crocus (Crocus vernus) various
- Daffodils, Jonquils and Paperwhites (Narcissus sp) yellows, white
- Hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis) pink, white, purple
- Paperwhite Narcissus (Narcissus papyraceus) white
- Poppy Anemone (Anemone coronaria De Caen) various
- Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) white, green
- Snowflakes (Leucojum aestivum) white
Trees and Shrubs
- Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) purple berries on bare stems
- 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
- Camellia (Camellia sasanqua sp.) white, pink
- Chinese Mahonia (Mahonia fortunei) yellow
- Fatsia (Fatsia japonica) white
- First Breath of Spring or Winter Honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima) white
- Flowering Apricot (Prunus mume) pink
- Fragrant Osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans) yellow **Smells AMAZING**
- Fragrant Wintersweet (Chimonanthus nitens) cream
- 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
- Leatherleaf Viburnum (Viburnum rhytidophyllum) white
- Laurustinus (Viburnum tinus) pink to white
- Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) cream
- Nandina (Nandina domestica) red, yellow berries
- Tea plant (Camellia sinenses) white/yellow
- Winter Jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorium) yellow
- Winter Honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima) white
- Witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) yellow to reddish brown
Wildflowers/ Bee Food
- Henbit (Lamium amplexicaule) lavender
- Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) yellow
Kitchen Garden
- Beets, carrots, lettuce, mustards, kale, parsley, Swiss chard, spinach, arugula, fava beans, leeks, artichoke, cardoon, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, collards, mints, oregano, thyme, salad burnet, yarrow
- Cover crops for overwintering.