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JC Raulston Arboretum e-Update - March 2016
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Director's Note
By Mark Weathington, Director
Time sure flies when you're having fun and this winter will officially be in the rear view mirror by the time the month is over. Thankfully, the Arboretum has made it through mostly unscathed if a little soggy. What Mother Nature didn't do, we are accomplishing ourselves, you may notice that we've been busy taking down more than a few older specimens to make room for new plants to evaluate.
On the education front, our winter symposium was a tremendous success and those of you who weren't there really missed some entertaining and engaging speakers. Our six summer camp sessions are nearly full and thanks to the efforts of volunteers Pat Korpik and Charlotte Presley we will have three scholarship spaces for underserved youth participants.
Our 40th anniversary celebrations continue this month with a tribute to J. C. Raulston, Ph.D., at the D.H. Hill Library on campus. A free lecture by U.S. National Arboretum director and garden friend Richard Olsen, Ph.D., will kick off the exhibit on March 18. If you can't attend then, make sure to visit the library some other time to see the exhibition which will remain on display until the end of the year.
Spring will be upon us by the next e-Update and all the great events and activities that entails. Make sure you enjoy the last bit of winter and the slow but steady emergence of flowers, buds, and leaves before the garden explodes into color.
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Spring Daytripping with the JCRA
By Cheryl Kearns, JCRA Board Member and Volunteer
Three spring trips have been planned for the members of the JCRA, including Prairie Ridge
Ecostation, Meredith College campus arboretum, and Lakeview Daylily Farm. Each will be a half-day time frame.
We will start with a tour of Prairie Ridge Ecostation with its director, Charles Yelton, on April 18. The nature reserve showcases 45 acres of Piedmont prairie, forest, and water features. A wide assortment of flora and fauna representative of the region can be seen along with green technology and architecture that minimizes harm to the natural elements. The Jesse B. Perry Arboretum contains trees native from the mountains to the coast of North Carolina, grouped by region.
Our second visit will be hosted by Aaron Schettler, head groundskeeper at Meredith College on May10. The campus at Meredith, like any other public garden setting, has been changing and evolving to adapt to the needs of the student body while offering an alluring and diverse plant material to visitors. One of the newest features is the Community Garden, and Aaron has added an array of perennials, shrubs, and trees that make the campus appealing in any season. There is an excellent collection of magnolias purchased and planted in the past few years, thanks to a grant from "Miss Ruby" McSwain. Part of the campus is outlined by the House Creek Greenway Trail which is itself bordered with flowering trees and shrubs.
Our June 8, our final spring tour will be the gardens of Noel and Molly Weston at Lakeview Daylily Farm where Noel will lead us on a tour. Among other plants, their gardens contain a wide variety of Southern magnolias and bald cypress. We will then have a chance to view and purchase daylilies from his field of nearly 1,000 varieties. Although those we see will be the earliest ones to bloom, Noel emphasizes that visitors are welcome back at any time to see the daylilies at peak or to find the late-season bloomers. He can even offer tips on how to keep Bambi from eating them!
Please join us for these educational and interesting adventures!
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Love Our Labeled Garden Now? Just Wait!
By Arlene Calhoun, Assistant Director
For over two decades, a tremendous effort has been made to map our plants. It is a tedious task supported by our dedicated staff and volunteers and one we are most proud of.
Dating back to 1995, Arthur Kelley, Ph.D., a JCRA Friend and then NC State faculty, had the foresight and dedication to set up our first digital maps, initiating the very same maps we still use today. Arthur's service didn't stop there. He created our first Web site, too.
Maps are critical in our ability to show our guests where to find a plant, to improve our volunteer crew's ability to label and inventory the plants and to provide our staff and designers the details necessary to plan new projects. This research garden needs plant data.
Starting this semester, we are participating as a Community Partner with the Center for Geospatial Analytics. We love that this is an interdisciplinary project within the University. Two of the students participating in their Geospatial Information Science Master's Project, Alicia Leftwich and Phil Pegelow are working with faculty member Charlynne Smith on a project called Arboretum Map Conversion to Spatially Enabled Database.
This semester-long project will allow us to do so much more than we do now, if not immediately, then in the not so distant future:
- Provide our staff, volunteers, and visitors with more information, more readily, about what to see and do in our gardens.
- Share data more completely and easily with our Master Plan Committee, the NC State's architects' office, contractors working in our gardens, and the rest of the world.
- Utilize a more universal mapping software (which is already available free with updates to us through NC State).
- Utilize already available geospatial mobile applications for who knows what.
The software is free, but we don't have the necessary hardware. Can you help? To get us started we'll need a computer and monitor totaling $900. To work more effectively and use the support of our wonderful volunteer team, we could use two additional workstations.
Contributions for this special request can be made to the JCRA's Special Gifts fund. To ensure we know what your donation is for, please select/expand the "Honor, Memory or Support Information" section at the bottom of the page, change the pull down menu to "support" and write "mapping computers" in the Name/Department field.
A big thank you to our plant recorder Val Tyson for her dedication to our plant database, its accuracy, and having the vision to collaborate with the Center for Geospatial Analytics to move our program forward. And for providing most of the content for this announcement.
We love sharing our knowledge and this technology will make it that much easier! I hope you will help.
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Vegetable Gardening Course
By Bryce Lane, Lecturer Emeritus, Department of Horticultural Science, NC State University
Vegetable Gardening: From Site Selection to Harvest
Wednesdays, April 6-May 18 - 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM and an Option Tour on Saturday, May 21 - 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM
This seven-week course with an optional tour is designed for anyone who is interested in growing their own food. From site selection to harvest, we will discuss all the important steps in planning, installing, maintaining, and harvesting a home garden, or community garden plot. Whether you are a beginner, or a "seasoned" gardener, we have constructed a course that will help you be more successful in your growing your own vegetables.
SyllabusApril 6 - Introduction and Overview: site selection, and garden design (orientation, style, etc.) April 13 - Getting Ready: soil basics and bed preparation, climate (heat and cold), and sustainability (organic vs. synthetic) April 20 - Plant Selection and Planting: types of veggies, timing, seeds and transplants April 27 - Garden Maintenance I: water, fertility, and mulching May 4 - Garden Maintenance II: staking, training, and weeds May 11 - Garden Maintenance III: pest management May 18 - Harvesting and Postharvest Practices and Wrap Up May 21 - Optional Tour
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16th Annual Birdhouse Competition
By Christine Ramsey, Volunteer, and Christopher Todd Glenn, Programs and Education Coordinator
Imaginations Run Wild - Birds Take FlightIt's that time of year again! The Birdhouse Competition returns to the JC Raulston Arboretum during Raulston Blooms! The competition is one of spring's most creative, colorful, and fun garden events and is open to adults and youths alike. It's also a great teaching tool and matches the Arboretum's mission of education and inspiration. The event raises awareness about birds, their habitats, and importance in the natural world, and raises interest in the Arboretum, one of the foremost teaching gardens in the Southeast. Birdhouse entries will be accepted on Friday, April 2 and judged that same evening. The competition is open for public viewing on Saturday, April 2 during Raulston Blooms! when thousands of people turn out to see the results. For more information about entering a birdhouse, competition categories, and age groups, visit the JCRA's Web site. The competition is free to enter and all participants receive a free family admission ticket to Raulston Blooms! First, second, and third place winners in each category will receive prizes for their winning birdhouse. Start building your birdhouse today!
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New Conifer Group at the Arboretum
By Cyndy Cromwell, Volunteer
Did you know the JCRA is a conifer reference garden designated by the American Conifer Society? While unusual and rare conifers are located throughout the Arboretum, there are also two areas of concentration, the original collection in the far northeast corner (by the Necessary) and a newer bermed installation adjacent to the trial beds.
In 2018, the ACS will hold its national meeting in Raleigh, and the Arboretum is sure to be a stop for coneheads from all over the country! As part of an effort to renew and renovate the collections, the JCRA applied for and won a grant from the Southeast Region Conifer Society for additional plantings this year. A new volunteer group has formed to assist in addressing maintenance and renovation issues for both areas. We meet one Friday a month and welcome interested volunteers. Please contact Cyndy Cromwell at cacromwell2000@yahoo.com for details.
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Spring Plant Sale and Raulston Blooms!
By Arlene Calhoun, Assistant Director
Spring doesn't get any better at the JC Raulston Arboretum. Mark your calendars, it won't be long now!
Members Only Spring Plant Preview Sale - Friday, April 1 - 4:00 PM-7:00 PM
Shop before the public for the best selection. Remember shopping early is a member benefit. Have a nonmember that would like to join you? No worries, they can join on Friday evening and shop our wonderful sale.
We've invited Buzzy Bakes, a mobile bakery and coffee bar to help make your wait more enjoyable. Visit buzzybakes.com to see their delicious treats. They will be in the garden at 3:00 PM.
Raulston Blooms! - Saturday, April 2 - 9:00 AM-4:00 PM
Bring your family and friends and join the fun! We'll have plants, bugs, chickens, birdhouses, ice cream, and invited artists and vendors.
Not to mention our incredible speakers.
"Foodscaping 101"
Growing a Greener World foodscaping correspondent, Brie Arthur, is passionate about incorporating edibles in the landscape. She will share her first-hand success and we'll have a few of her favorite tomato varieties for sale.
"Birds, Butterflies, and Blooms: Gardening to Attract Wildlife"
Join Three-time Emmy winner Bryce Lane from In the Garden with Bryce Lane to hear which plants work best for him to attract these beneficial visitors to his garden. And yes, we'll try to make it easy by featuring a few of his favorites at our plant sale.
And when you're hungry Bulkogi Foodtruck will be back and is joined by Buzzy Bakes and Pho Nomenal Dumplishing Truck. Yes, they won season six of The Great Food Truck Race on the Food Network.
To date our invited artists and vendors include:
- Garden Supply Co.
- Kiki's Rewind Design
- The Flytrap Clothing
- The Zen Succulent
- Dillardville Recycled Art
- Rimshotz Gallery
- Relay Foods
- Gretchen Quinn Pottery
- Zendustria
- Sweet Pea Urban Gardens
- Artisanal Jewelry by Kate Wiegand
- The Soap Hut
And educational favorites:
- Tour d'Coop
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Wake County Master Gardeners
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Bill Satterwhite (manages the bluebird houses at the JCRA)
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NC State University Entomology Club is bringing bugs
Come explore the garden and follow our Facebook page to see event spotlights.
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Remembering Mary Edith Alexander and Robert Mackintosh
By Arlene Calhoun, Assistant Director
Join us in celebrating the lives of Mary Edith Alexander and Robert Mackintosh. Both longtime volunteers who gave us their time and expertise for decades. Mary Edith as a tour guide and Visitor Center attendant and Robert on the Master Planning Committee. Their love for plants and this garden were instrumental in our success. We miss them both.
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Upcoming Events
Plantsmen's Tour "Early Bulbs" Mark Weathington, Director Tuesday, March 1 1:00 PM
Building a Permaculture Garden Will Hooker, Permaculture Designer and Teacher, Registered Landscape Architect, and Emeritus Professor, Department of Horticulture Science, NC State University Tuesdays, March 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29 and April 5, 12, and 19 6:30 PM and Saturdays, March 5 and Saturday, April 16 10:00 AM and 10:30 AM, respectively Registration Closed - Wait List Started
Garden Cart Activity✽ Everything's Coming up Bulbs! Saturday, March 5 10:30 AM and Sunday, March 6 2:00 PM
Friends of the Arboretum Lecture "The Value of Seed Banks" Janice Swab, Retired Professor, Department of Biology and Health Sciences, Meredith College Thursday, March 10 7:30 PM
7:30 PM - Exhibit Open House
RSVP - (919) 515-2841
Family Fun Event✽ Fifth Annual Spring Egg Hunt Monday-Saturday, March 21-26 10:00 AM and
Sunday, March 27
1:00 PM
Spring Egg Hunt✽ Special Spring Egg Hunt Storytime Wednesday, March 23 10:30 AM ( register) and Thursday, March 24 10:30 AM (register) Gardening Adventures with Extension Master Gardener Volunteers Extension Master Gardeners and the JC Raulston Arboretum
"Bluebirds in the Nest Box"
Bill Satterwhite, Wake County Extension Master Gardener
Monday, March 28
10:00 AM ✽Denotes a children's program. Many programs require advance registration. Please register early to reserve your spot. Dates to RememberThursday, March 10 9:00 AM-2:00 PM
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Coming Attractions
By Nancy Doubrava, Interpretive Specialist
 Ipheion uniflorumspring star flower  Narcissus 'Falconet' tazetta daffodil  Hamamelis japonica 'Shibamichi Red' Japanese witchhazel  Asarum maximumpanda wild ginger  Camellia japonica 'Dr. J.C. Raulston' weeping Japanese flowering apricot
Cercis chinensis 'Kay's Early Hope'
Chinese redbud
Daphne genkwa
lilac daphne
Hamamelis ×intermedia 'Aurora'
common witchhazel |
YouTube Channel Update
By Christopher Todd Glenn, Programs and Education Coordinator
Four new videos were recorded in February. Look for them in our YouTube Channel or click the graphics below.
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Your Membership Makes a Difference
Please Join or Renew Today!The JC Raulston Arboretum is free to the public, but it is not free to operate. Memberships keep the gates open and the gardens in top shape. Membership gifts are the primary support for the Arboretum's daily operations and vital for its success. Thank you for your support and advocacy of the JC Raulston Arboretum through the membership program. It's fast and easy to become a Friend of the Arboretum, and there are many great benefits for you and your family. Join or renew now using our secure Web site, or contact Arlene Calhoun, Assistant Director.
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