Friends of the Arboretum Lecture
"The Winter Garden of J. C. Raulston – or Why Hollies Should Come With Mocking Birds"
Larry Mellichamp, Ph.D., Professor of Botany, UNC Charlotte & Director of the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens
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- Sunday, February 15, 2004 – 1:00 pm–2:00 pm
Winter in the South should not be considered as just a time of death and dormancy in the garden. Actually, the period of expected freezing weather, from Thanksgiving through April 1, is a great time for enjoying barks, berries, buds, blooms, and bulbs around the home and in public plantings. The recent book The Winter Garden by Peter Loewer and Larry Mellichamp highlights over 450 plants that may be considered as having distinct winter interest. These are plants that are not just "nice in the winter, too" but plants that typically are at their best in winter and may be enjoyed without the weeds, wasps, and water-shortage-woes. This concept was initiated in the modern South by Elizabeth Lawrence in her 1961 book, and strongly promoted by J. C. Raulston during his time at the NC State University Arboretum that now bears his name. Larry has been inspired by both of them and believes that the idea of achieving winter interest should be promoted more in gardening as it opens up a whole new season for which to "plan – and plant for a better world."
Larry Mellichamp is a professor of botany at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte where he teaches and does research on pitcher plants (Sarracenia sp.) and Southeastern endangered species. He is also director of the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens, with 10 acres of outdoor gardens containing natives and exotic, and two greenhouses displaying the wonders of the world's diverse flora. He speaks on such topics as pollination biology, bog gardening, winter gardening, and rare plants. Larry Mellichamp has collected plants in Mexico, Costa Rica, Borneo, Hawaii, and South Africa. He is co-author of the textbook Practical Botany (1983) and the recent books The Winter Garden (1997, with Peter Loewer) and Wildflowers of the Western Great Lakes Region (1999, with Fred Case and Jim Wells).
- Cost
- Free.
- Registration
- Advance registration is not available.
- Location
- Ruby C. McSwain Education Center at the JC Raulston Arboretum.
- Directions
- Need directions? Click here.
- Parking
- Free parking is available at the JC Raulston Arboretum and along Beryl Road.
- Questions
- Please call (919) 515-3132 for more information about this event.