Happy February! While we’re getting a cold start to the month, I’m incredibly grateful we haven’t had as cold a winter as some areas (or even as cold as last January)! Hopefully you’re starting to see glimpses of spring in your gardens- we’ve got lots of little bulbs starting to peak out and debate their entrance. Our Camellia japonicas are blooming this year- a stark change from 2018! The winter honeysuckle and fragrant wintersweet have been absolute garden workhorses this winter with both dainty flowers and amazing fragrance.
This month, we are looking forward to ~7000 little green plant babies coming in so we are excitedly clearing out and cleaning up the greenhouse and nursery. These plants will fill our gardens from spring to fall, and some will even be for sale at our Spring Plant Sale April 12& 13. We’re also getting ready by planting herbs, perennials and heirloom veggies that will soon grace our gardens and maybe even your yard!
Our kitchen garden early spring crops are starting to go in and in the next month, we’ll be adding quite a few additions to our gardens. Late winter is a great time to start designing and researching what to add to your garden so you’ll be ready when the plants are available! We’re especially excited and busy designing, since the Kellenberger garden will be reopened this coming April as part of our 60th anniversary celebrations!
The February 9th installation of the Tryon Palace Garden Lecture Series features a free showing of “Disneynature: Wings of Life”. The movie focuses on pollinators, their benefits and the challenges they face. After the showing, attendees are invited to join the Craven- Pamlico Beekeepers Association on the Dixon Lawn for more information at Tryon Palace Free Day. This lecture is free and begins at 10 a.m. in Cullman Hall at the North Carolina History Center.
Another date to add to your garden calendar- Our March garden lecture series, Saturday, March 9th, features Hadley Cheris, Tryon Palace Gardens and Greenhouse Manager, and Jennifer Knight, community gardener and owner of Knightscapes Enterprises, co-hosting “Heirloom Vegetables for ENC & Spring Trade Specials”. This garden lecture will focus on heirloom vegetables best adapted to face the weather challenges of Eastern North Carolina with a sneak peek of the plants available at the Tryon Palace Spring Plant Sale. This lecture is free and begins at 10 a.m. in Cullman Performance Hall at the North Carolina History Center.
If you’re interested in a long term “behind the scenes” venture, we are looking for volunteers for pruning, planting, raking, mulching, watering, weeding. It’s a great way to learn some gardening tips and tricks, especially for our area! If you’re interested in volunteering with us, please contact me at (252) 639-3560 or hadley.cheris@ncdcr.gov.
We hope to see you soon! Happy Gardening (and stay warm!!),
Hadley Cheris, Tryon Palace Gardens and Greenhouse Manager
Annuals
- Annual Phlox (Phlox drummondii) mix
- Dusty Miller ‘Silver Dust’
- Dianthus- Super Parfait Raspberry, Zing Rose
- Ornamental Kale- Bor Scarlet, purple leaves
- Snapdragons (Antirrhinum majus) various mixes
- Sweet William (Dianthus) Telstar Mix
- Violas: Sorbet: Phantom, Fire, Blueberry Sundae, Ocean Breeze; Penny: White Jump Up, Peach Jump Up, White Blotch, Beaconsfield
- Pansies: Delta Mixes: Apple Cider, Buttered Popcorn; Cool Wave Sunshine and Wine Spreading Mix; Frizzle Sizzle Mix; Fizzy Lemonberry
Perennials
- Bears foot Hellebore (Helleborus foetidus) yellowish
- Candytuft (Iberis sempervirens) white
- Cape Leadwort (Plumbago capensis) blue
- Carnation (Dianthus sp.) various
- Creeping Veronica (Veronica umbrosa) blue
- Crocus (Crocus sp.) yellow, white, purple
- Daffodils, Jonquils (Narcissus sp.) yellow, white
- Hellebore (Helleborus X orientalis) pink, white
- Ornamental Grass (Miscanthus sp.) red seed head
- Paperwhite Narcissus (Narcissus papyraceus) white
- Poet’s Laurel (Danae racemes) orange berries
Trees and Shrubs
- Camellia (Camellia japonica) cultivars:
‘Pink Perfection’ pink, double
‘Professor Sargent’ deep rose, double
‘Debutante’ clear, light pink
‘Lady Clare’ carmine rose, semi-double
‘Alba plena’ white with pink cast
‘Lovely Surprise’ pink
‘Dr. Tinsley’ pink, semi-double
- Cornelian Cherry (Cornus mas) yellow
- First Breath of Spring or Winter Honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima) white
- Flowering Apricot (Prunus mume) pink
- Flowering Quince (Chaenomeles speciosa) apricot pink, red
- Fragrant Winter Sweet (Chimonanthus praecox) yellow
- Himalayan Sweetbox (Sarcococca hookerana) white, black drupe
- Hollies (Ilex sp.) white
- Leatherleaf Viburnum (Viburnum rhytophyllum) white
- Laurustinus (Viburnum tinus) pink to white
- Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) purple
- Tea plant (Camellia sinenses) white/yellow
- Winter Jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorium) yellow
- Witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) yellow to reddish brown
Wildflowers/ Bee Food
- Henbit (Lamium amplexicaule) lavender
- Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) yellow
Berries and seeds: Bird Food
- Hollies (Ilex sp.):
Yaupon (I. vomitoria) red, yellow;
Winterberry (I. verticillata) red;
Dahoon (I. cassine) red;
Dwarf Burford Holly (Ilex cornuta) red berries
- Nandina (Nandina domestica) red, yellow
- Japanese Fatsia (Fatsia japonica) green to black
- Poet’s Laurel (Danae racemosa) orange-red
Kitchen Garden:
- Cover crops- crimson clover, mustard, rye, white clover, vetch, oats
- Beets, carrots, celery, lettuce, mustard, kale, parsley, Swiss chard, spinach, arugula, peas