Attention Fellow Gardening Enthusiasts, If you are not on the email distribution list for the Paul J Ciener Botanical Garden in Kernersville, NC, you may be missing some great events! There are wonderful speakers, the spectacular spring tulip bloom , plant sales and concerts on the lawn!  I am adding these events to my calendar now.   Check the dates and register soon!  And by all means JOIN this garden.  It is entirely privately funded, so by joining you are helping ensure the growth of this public wonderland.  As a member you get discounts that will quickly pay back your membership! This...

Create Your Happy Place While the world outside seems pretty messed up, being surrounded by your own beautiful garden can recharge your positive energy! My gardening classes will take you to beautiful places to learn and restore your soul. Even if you have never grown anything - but want to - This is the place to start! The deadline to sign up is Friday, February 22, 2019. Classes start March 14. Here is a printable version of the schedule: 2019 Course Schedule There are 6 classes in spring, 3 more in late summer. Choose Thursday or Sunday class dates. To Register: Choose your...

NOTE - NEW DATES ON 2019 COURSE SCHEDULE BELOW Happy New Year! And indeed what a wonderful one 2019 should be!  My new house is DONE, the driveway and parking areas are paved, my gardens are planted and I am ready to host another year of sharing my love of gardening. The advantage of teaching at my own place again is that I have all the tools, soil amendments, seeds, plants and a smart TV right here (no more fuzzy slides!) to make learning easier. Three classes will be held in other wonderful gardens where you will experience different plant palettes, designs and garden styles. Of course,...

Hello Everyone, I'm so excited about this year's gardening classes!   We will be in some of the very best gardens in Greensboro.  It will be a blast exploring them and learning from the successes and failures of the most knowledgeable gardeners around. Here is the final edition of the 2018 Gardening Course Schedule: 2018 Course Schedule Registration information is below and also at the bottom of the schedule.  This is a printable document.  Classes start March 11th!   Please register soon as I anticipate that these will fill quickly. (I may add more one date to each course if there...

The dozers have been working for 4 days to clear leggy pines, dead trees, poison ivy, honeysuckle vines and ancient barbed wire fences to make room for our new house.  There will be still more underbrush to clean up when they leave, but already the clearing has left our 4 acres quite exposed, with more road noise and less privacy.  As soon as the back hoes and dozers are out of the way, I will be desperate to get some large plantings in the ground. But what to plant? What will be of substantial size, mostly evergreen, super drought tolerant, deer resistant, tough enough to stand up to strong...

It was no surprise to NC Triad gardeners that 2016 set world records (again) for the warmest year ever.  It was a HOT one and our NC Piedmont summer seemed to last forever! Our first frost in Summerfield did not come until mid-November, a month later than average, but by November I was grateful for the mild temperatures. If there was ever something to renew your spirit after a fierce political season, it is the beauty of nature. I harvested the last ripe figs on November 8th.  My “Bloomathon” azaleas were still gorgeous. Camellias had begun to bloom even as my summer annuals were still...

I have been so happy in my garden this spring that I could not bear to sit at my desk any longer than to handle the most urgent necessities.  Surely you missed me!!  Now at the summer solstice with 90 degree temps upon us, it feels good to be inside chilling out and taking time for a bit of reflection. Perhaps my favorite surprises over the past couple of months have been the bulbs I planted last fall. For many springs seasons, as soon as the last azalea and rhododendron blooms had faded, my garden turned a quiet monochromatic green.  Yes, green is still a color and May did offer offer rose...

It is that time of year when seed catalogs start filling my mailbox.  When the weather drops to freezing outside and the rain is coming down, I sit inside with a hot cup of tea and comb through page after page of beautiful photos planning what to add to my garden come spring.  What?  No catalogs? You can find everything online now and I’ll tell you where to look. Of course I have tried-and-true favorite seeds, many of which I save every year from open pollinated plants, but I always have to try a few new things each year.  Here is what is arriving in my mail now: Benary’s Giant Zinnia...

Having been raised by parents of European decent, it is impossible for me to imagine a garden that does not have fruit ripening every summer. I remember climbing our plum trees to eat loads of sweet ripe plums, and watching my brother’s young children dance through his tall berry patch with a fist full of warm blackberries in one hand, and blueberries in the other, so excited and happy, their smiles and clothes purple from the juice.  Refrigerated fruit, irradiated and neatly packaged from the grocery store is just not the same. Many different fruits grow well in our temperate climate – apples,...

As many years as I have gardened, I never get over the joy of going out to the garden to see what grew, what ripened, and what I can harvest to bring inside.  Whether it is  beautiful flower or luscious tomato, I am still like a kid finding the chocolate Easter egg.  This was a beautiful July harvest from several years ago. This year I planted a few heirloom (open pollinated) tomatoes, but more hybrid tomatoes.  Regardless of taste, it is just impossible to beat the productivity of hybrid tomatoes.  My 8 tomato plants produced over 150 lbs of tomatoes.  I dried, canned and froze...