JC Raulston Arboretum e-Update
January 2020
Your Monthly News and Updates
Director's Note

By Mark Weathington, Director

It's always a pleasure to start a new year. It feels like the slate has been cleaned and time is right for a fresh start. Expect to see some big changes on the grounds this year. We have some projects waiting to get going which have been on our Master Plan for quite some team. It'll be quite satisfying to see the plans become reality. Stay tuned—more information on some of these projects soon!

Speaking of garden projects, we've had very generous funding for nearly half of our wish list items but we'd love to fund them all. To see items which are not yet funded visit the Giving section on the JCRA's Web site. Remember, you don't need to fully fund a project to help make it a reality.

Another positive sign for the year ahead is that we start the season fully staffed. It seems like it's been a while since we could say that. I think the team we have is ready to really move the JCRA forward in a big way. Let's get started.

See you in the garden.
Gardening in the South

By Emily Bonner, Development Assistant

It's almost that time of year again! On Saturday, February 1 from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM, the JC Raulston Arboretum will host its twice yearly Gardening in the South symposium .

Curious about how to care for Southern plants? Or how northern plants fare in a southern climate? This wonderful and engaging lecture series seeks to answer those questions, among many others. Geared towards new gardeners and those new to the South, this symposium provides insights to the ins and outs of gardening in the Southeast. 

This event is possible thanks to the incredible generosity of our friends at Leaf & Limb. Because of their sponsorship , not only is this symposium possible, but it is also free for all new gardeners and new Triangle area residents who wish to attend. All you need to do is register online through our Web site.

Sponsorships from companies and friends like Leaf & Limb enable the Arboretum to provide unique and informative events geared toward adult education. Thanks to Leaf & Limb, we can continue to fulfill the JCRA mission of educational outreach. Check out the Leaf & Limb's Web site to sign up for their e-mail list and learn more about the incredible services they offer.
Gardening in the South

Sponsored by
Leaf & Limb
Saturday, February 1
8:00 AM

New gardeners and those that recently moved the Triangle are invited to participate in this symposium at the JC Raulston Arboretum that's designed just for them. Speakers and topics include Mark Weathington, woodies; Douglas Ruhren, herbaceous perennials; and Rich Woynicz, vegetables for Southern gardens.
January and February Educational Programs

By Sana Sheikh, Programs and Education Assistant, and Christopher Todd Glenn, Programs and Education Coordinator

The new year brings brings an extensive lineup of educational programming (at least one program nearly every Saturday through April) at the JC Raulston Arboretum. Whether you’re looking to improve your photography skills, bring home newly propagated plants, or polish your gardening skills for the coming spring, we’ve got tons of educational events to give you our own unique Arboretum holiday cheer.
 
January

Take Your Best Shot, and Make It Even Better
Co-sponsored by the JC Raulston Arboretum and Capital City Camera Club
"Advanced Post-Processing with Intention—A Masterclass with Lightroom Classic and Photoshop"
Chris Ogden, Chris Ogden Photography
Saturday, January 11 – 9:00 AM

No matter what you love taking photos of, professional Chris Ogden will guide you in improving your skills in this photography seminar . Chris will shine light on the top 25 most common mistakes that photographers do and how we can fix them with photo-editing tools like Lightroom and Photoshop.

Photography Walk
"Budget-friendly Close-up Flower Photography"
Thursday, January 23 – 10:00 AM

When we are able to get a close-up view of flowers, we can produce beautiful, intriguing photographs. Many amateur photographers think that to achieve these images you need to invest in a costly macro lens. Fortunately, that's not true. Mary Louise will explain how to use accessories to successfully achieve close-up images .

Garden Soils Class
"If You Build It, They Will Come: Understanding and Improving Garden Soils"
Bryce Lane, Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Professor Emeritus and Lecturer Emeritus, Department of Horticultural Science, NC State University
Saturday, January 25 – 8:30 AM

Gardeners spend most of our time thinking about what happens to our plants “above ground.” In this workshop, get a better understanding of what happens below ground in the soil we keep our precious plants in. Bryce Lane will help us learn about basic soil principles and how we can use that understanding to maximize our garden to its full potential. Register and take your gardening to the next level !

Propagation Workshop
Tim Alderton, Research Technician, and Christopher Todd Glenn, Programs and Education Coordinator
Saturday, January 25 – 9:00 AM

Ready to learn how to propagate plants ? Join JC Raulston Arboretum staff in a hands-on workshop dedicated to propagating some of your favorite Arboretum plants through hardwood cuttings. Go home with a greater understanding of plant propagation with strategies you can apply at home and a batch of newly propagated plants. This is a great workshop open to all knowledge and experience levels.

February

History of Gardening: How Cultures, Events, and People Made Gardening What It Is Today
Bryce Lane, NC State University
Mondays, February 3 through March 23 – 6:30 PM

Unlike many history courses which can be boring, this one is not! First, it’s all about gardening, and second, it’s about fascinating stories of past cultures, events, and people who made gardening what it is today. This eight-week course will provide a series of historical snapshots that help to enhance our understanding of modern-day gardening. By deepening our understanding and appreciation of where gardening came from , we will, in turn, be better gardeners today and in the future!

Winter Symposium
"Where Design and Plants Become One"
Featuring Shannon Currey, Bob Lyons, and Elissa Steeves
Saturday, February 15, 2020 – 8:00 am

We're here to inspire gardeners and illuminate the relationship between gardening and art at this year's Winter Symposium . This year's symposium features three amazing guest speakers: Shannon Currey, Bob Lyons, and Elissa Steeves. Our speakers will be enlightening us on ways we can explore the artistic side of gardening with design secrets and innovative ideas.

Photography Walk
"Abstract Macro Photography"
Mary Louise Ravese, Bella Vista Photography
Friday, February 21 – 10:00 AM

In this session, Mary Louise will explain the photography techniques and creative approach needed to make unique abstract close-up photographs . Embrace your creativity as you practice extreme close-up techniques in the indoor classroom using cut flowers you bring.

Contain Your Enthusiasm
Frank Hyman, Cottage Garden Landscaping
Saturday, February 22 – 9:30 am

Whether indoors or out, gardening in containers opens up a lot of possibilities: edible leaves, fragrant flowers, carnivorous plants, dwarf citrus trees, and more. Learn about growing herbs and perennial vegetables in pots, finding free fertilizers, up cycling containers, making homemade potting media, using castoff materials like coffee chaff as timesaving mulches, and more.

Introduction to Mushroom Foraging: Learn a Year's Worth of Wild Edible Mushrooms in One Day
Frank Hyman, Cottage Garden Landscaping
Saturday, February 22 – 1:00 pm

Want to learn to safely identify morels, black trumpets, chanterelles, and other delicious, edible mushrooms? Learn to identify the dozen most delicious mushrooms with professional forager and columnist Frank Hyman. In this class you can learn to identify an entire year's worth—a dozen—of the best-tasting, easy to identify mushrooms (no poisonous look-alikes) presented in one indoor sitting.

Deciduous Conifer Grafting Workshop
Leanne Kenealy, Plant Breeding and Nursery Technician
Saturday, February 29 – 9:00 AM

Grafting is the only method possible to propagate some plants. Many rare and expensive plants are grafted. In this workshop, participants learn to graft ginkgo, bald cypress, and dawn redwood from Leanne Kenealy. She will discuss and demonstrate grafting techniques and then will individually assist each participant as they graft their own plants. 

For more information about these programs, please contact Chris Glenn at (919) 513-7005 or chris_glenn@ncsu.edu. To register online, please use the links below
Winter Symposium
"Where Design and Plants Become One"
Saturday, February 15
8:00 AM

Design and gardening intertwine for this year's Winter Symposium: "Where Design and Plants Become One." Our amazing guest speakers Shannon Currey, Bob Lyons and Elissa Steeves will be sharing the ways they incorporate design into gardening and how we can, too. This is sure to be a great event to expand your horizons on the artistic potential within gardening, so be sure to register fast before spots run out!
Welcome Dennis Carey

By Mark Weathington, Director
 
We'd like to welcome on board the newest member of the JC Raulston Arboretum team, Dennis Carey. Dennis comes to us from our sister garden, Juniper Level Botanic Garden, where he first ran Plant Delights Nursery's IT and then served as assistant nursery manager. Dennis's past experiences make him the ideal person to take over our database and Plant Records coordinator position. 

The JCRA's records are a vital piece of the work we do and are essential for any botanical institution. Records not only record what a plant is and where it's located but also where it comes from, descriptions, measurements, propagation successes (and failures), as well as to whom or where plants were distributed. If that wasn't enough, our records also include garden rentals, finances, membership, volunteers, photographs, and so much more. Look for Dennis out in the garden with clipboard in hand and at JCRA events and say hello.
Upcoming Events
 
"Winter Potpourri"
Mark Weathington, Director
Tuesday, January 7 – 1:00 PM

"Ripple Effect: Combining Horticulture and Aquaculture Ecology"
Jeremy Schmidt and Meghan Fidler, Ph.D., Plant Delights Nursery
Thursday, January 9 – 7:30 PM

Co-sponsored by the JC Raulston Arboretum and Capital City Camera Club
"Advanced Post-Processing with Intention—A Masterclass with Lightroom Classic and Photoshop"
Chris Ogden, Chris Ogden Photography
Saturday, January 11 – 9:00 PM

Saturday, January 18 through Wednesday, January 29

Cohosted by the Piedmont Chapter of the North American Rock Garden Society and the JC Raulston Arboretum
"Woodland Treasures"
John Lonsdale, Edgewood Gardens
Saturday, January 18 – 10:00 AM

"Budget-friendly Close-up Flower Photography"
Mary Louise Ravese, Bella Vista Photography
Thursday, January 23 – 10:00 AM

"If You Build It, They Will Come: Understanding and Improving Garden Soils"
Bryce Lane, Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Professor Emeritus and Lecturer Emeritus, Department of Horticultural Science, NC State University
Saturday, January 25 – 8:30 AM

Tim Alderton, Research Technician, and Christopher Todd Glenn, Programs and Education Coordinator
Saturday, January 25 – 9:00 AM

Leah Dail, Wake County Extension Master Gardener
Monday, January 27 – 10:00 AM

✽Denotes a children's program.
 
Many programs require advance registration. Please register early to reserve your spot.
 
Save the Date
 
Thursday, January 9
9:00 AM–2:00 PM

Monday, January 27 – 9:00 AM

Featuring Douglas Ruhren, Mark Weathington, and Rich Woynicz
Saturday, February 1 – 8:00 AM

Coming Attractions

By Nancy Doubrava, JCRA Volunteer
Acer negundo 'Winter Lightning'
yellow-twig box-elder
Edgeworthia 'Snow Globe'
Japanese paperbush
Chimonanthus praecox 'Luteus'
fragrant wintersweet
Cornus hongkongensis 'Gekkou'
moonshine evergreen dogwood
Mahonia 'Arthur Menzies'
grapeholly
Yucca aloifolia 'Variegata'
variegated Spanish bayonet
Prunus mume 'Omoi-no-mama'
Japanese flowering apricot
Helleborus ×ballardiae 'Coseh 720'
Spring Party Ballard's hellebore
Crocus imperati 'De Jager'
crocus
Muhlenbergia 'Pink Flamingos'
muhly grass
Asarum maximum 'Ling Ling'
panda wild-ginger
YouTube Channel Update

By Christopher Todd Glenn, Programs and Education Coordinator

Three new videos were recorded in November and December and posted to our YouTube Channel . Look for them on our channel or click the graphics below.

There are over 150 videos of past Friends of the Arboretum Lectures, North American Rock Garden Society (Piedmont Chapter) Lectures, Gardening Adventures with Extension Master Gardener Volunteers presentations, Plantsmen's Tours, and other miscellaneous videos in our YouTube Channel .

Receive announcements about our latest additions by subscribing to our YouTube Channel . Click on the bell icon to adjust your frequency settings from occasional notifications to all notifications and vice versa.
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 Kathryn Wall, membership and volunteer coordinator, at kbwall@ncsu.edu or (919) 513-7004.
Christopher Todd Glenn
Programs and Education Coordinator
NC State University
Campus Box 7522
Raleigh, NC 27695-7522
(919) 513-7005

You're receiving this e-mail because you're a member of the JC Raulston Arboretum. JCRA e-Updates are published electronically every month. If you are a member and need to update your contact information or wish to be removed from this mailing, please contact Kathryn Wall at (919) 513-7004 or kbwall@ncsu.edu. Please do not use the links below to update your e-mail address or to unsubscribe.