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DecemberBlooms at Tryon Palace

Happy December! We've switched gears and headed massively into all things decor and Candlelight! We've decorated for all of our buildings and exteriors with the help of a talented volunteer crew and preparing to host Candlelight on December 10 & 17! For more details on all the amazing events happening this holiday season, check out the Holidays Happenings section for something every day through December 17!

We've got 2 kinds of Decor Tours this year- one of the Palace and one of our Historic Homes! Check out the link below for more details!

While the gardens are slowing down in a traditional sense, our winter and late fall bloomers are putting on a show! Check out the beautiful camellias in the Stanly House Garden, the Leopard Plants across the whole of the site and the busy buzzy Fatsias, especially in the Latham Garden and Hawks Allee. The Pleached Allee is especially beautiful with red yaupon berries covering the entire arch! Make sure to spend some time enjoying the beautiful gardens and fall colors- the gardens are also included with your decor tour ticket!

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're thankful for you and hope to see you soon! Happy Gardening,

Hadley Cheris, Tryon Palace Gardens and Greenhouse Manager

Annuals

Enjoy the last blast of these beautiful Mexican Sunflower (Tithonia) blooms before frost gets them later this month!
  • Artemisia Sea Salt
  • Batchelor’s Buttons (Centaurea cyanus) blue, black, purple
  • Begonias Tophat White with Green Leaf’
  • 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
  • Love Lies Bleeding (Amaranthus caudatus)- burgundy
  • 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
  • Violas: Frizzle Sizzle Mini Mix; Sorbet XP Spring Select

Perennials

Ornamental grasses like this Pink Muhly are a great way to get long-lasting fall interest in the garden.
  • Asters (Aster frickarti & Symphyotrichum sp ) blue, pink
  • Bachelor’s Button (Centaurea montana) blue
  • Balloon Milkweed (Gomphocarpus physocarpus) white blooms, large round prickly balloon fruits ** May have monarch caterpillars**
  • Bath’s Pink (Dianthus gratianopolitanus) pink
  • Betony “Hummelo” purple
  • Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta) yellow, black seed heads
  • Bleeding Heart (Dicentra eximia) pink/white
  • Bog Sage (Salvia uliginosa) light blue
  • Bugleweed (Ajuga reptans) blue
  • Callirhoe/ Purple Poppy Mallow dark pink
  • Cape Leadwort (Plumbago capensis) blue
  • Carnation (Dianthus sp.) various
  • Cigar or cigarette flower (Cuphea ignea) red, yellow
  • Clara Curtis Mum (Chrysanthemum rubellum) pink
  • Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) various with seed heads
  • Copper Canyon Daisy (Tagetes lemmonii) yellow, scented
  • Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia numularia) yellow foliage
  • Forsythia Sage (Salvia madrensis) yellow
  • Golden rod (Solidago sp.) yellow
  • Japanese Anemone (Anemone japonica) pink
  • Lenten Rose (Helleborus X orientalis) green
  • Leopard plant (Farfugium japonicum) yellow
  • Mexican Bush Sage (Salvia leucantha) fuzzy purple
  • Hairy Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum pilosum)
  • Obedient Plant (Physotegia virginiana) white, purple
  • Ornamental Grasses (Various)
  • Pineapple sage (Salvia elegans) red
  • Poet’s Laurel (Danae racemes) orange berries
  • Purple Heart (Setcreasea pallida)
  • Rue (Ruta graveolens) chartreuse
  • Sweet Box (Sarcocca confusa) – black seed pods
  • Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus) red, white, pink
  • Tropical Milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) red, yellow, orange ** May have monarch caterpillars**
  • Vervain (Verbena bonariensis) purple
  • Yarrow (Achillea sp.) yellow, white, pastels

Bulbs, Corms, Rhizomes

Bearded Iris- Immortality, a reblooming white iris provides a big floral pop in winter gardens
  • Bearded Iris "Immortality" white
  • Blackberry Lily (Iris domestica) blackberry like seed pods
  • Fall Crocus (Colchicum sp.) Pink
  • Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum biflorum or P. multiflorum) variegated foliage, white blooms
  • Toad Lily (Tricyrtis hirta, Tricyrtis sp. ) pink, purple, blue

Vines

  • Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sumpervirens) native, red and yellow

Roses

While Knock Out Roses aren't as fancy in bloom form as other types, their reblooming tendencies lead to some gorgeous color pops without a lot of extra rose babysitting effort!
  • Drift Roses (Rosa 'Meigalpio')
  • Knock out Roses (Rosa ‘RADrazz’)
  • David Austin- "New Dawn" -- light pink climber

Trees and Shrubs

Fatsia is a wonderful evergreen tropical looking shrub with the added benefit of unique winter blooms that attract LOTS of pollinators!
  • Glossy Abelia (Abelia grandiflora) pink, white
  • Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) pink
  • Camellia (Camellia sasanqua sp.) white & pink
  • Camellia (Camellia sasanqua ‘Setsugekka’) white
  • Camellia (Camellia sasanqua ‘Yuletide’) red
  • Chinese Mahonia (Mahonia fortunei) yellow
  • Encore Azaleas (Rhodendron Hybrid) red, fuchsia, white
  • Fatsia (Fatsia japonica) white
  • Fragrant Osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans) yellow, white; FRAGRANT
  • Fragrant Wintersweet (Chimonanthus nitens) cream
  • Leatherleaf Viburnum (Viburnum rhytidophyllum) white
  • Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) cream
  • Nandina (Nandina domestica) red, yellow
  • Oak-leaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) dried blooms **Brilliant foliage**
  • Pomegranate (Punica granata) orange fruit
  • Red Buckeye (Aesculus pavia) leaves and nuts falling
  • Tea plant (Camellia sinensis) white
  • Winterberry (Ilex verticilliata) red berries

Kitchen Garden

While the winter crops may be more monocromatic than summer, they still provide a lot of options for variety and texture choice to make a beautiful kitchen garden!
  • Carrots, parsley, Swiss chard, cardoon, leeks, onions, mints, oregano, thyme, salad burnet, yarrow, chamomile, winter squash, kale, cabbage, Brussel sprouts, collards.
  • Cover crops are being planted for overwintering. Fall vegetables are going in.
Created By
Hadley Cheris
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Credits:

Hadley Cheris, Tryon Palace Gardens and Greenhouse Manager