A Detour

One of the many varieties of roses on display at Edisto Memorial Gardens

Earlier this month while driving to Columbia to spend the afternoon browsing in unfamiliar libraries and give an evening poetry reading, I detoured off I-26, heading south on US Highway 301 to visit Edisto Memorial Gardens in Orangeburg, South Carolina. High levels of contrast in lighting (not ideal for photography) accompanied my impromptu midday visit, but at least I was present. For many years, I'd planned to stop by, but never seemed to manage to get there. 

Wander down the boardwalk

My first visit to Edisto Memorial Gardens occurred in the spring of 1979. We were traveling up US 301 on our way from South Georgia to Union Grove, North Carolina. Azaleas might have been flowering but I don't recall seeing them. I just remember wanting to return when the roses were in bloom. 

"Heart O' Gold" grandiflora rose

"Pink Promise"hybrid tea rose

"Carefree Delight" shrub rose

When I saw the exit sign on June 11 of this year, it occurred to me that the time was right. Roses would be blooming. What I didn't realize was that I'd get to see not only a large selection of roses, but a wide variety of daylilies, as well.

Unidentified daylily

"Pretty Blue Eye" daylily

Stroll past daylily beds and dangling Spanish moss and head to a romantic bench

For more information about Edisto Memorial Gardens, visit: http://www.orangeburg.sc.us/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=21&Itemid=70

Sit back and enjoy the gardens

The Amazing Daylily

"Ming Porcelain" daylily

In the first part of May, ripe fruit on brambles and blossoms on rambling rose, hydrangea, pomegranate, and coreopsis signal the coming of the daylilies. My favorite ritual during the second half of May, and the first half of June, is to stroll through the garden and delight over what is new. Often I carry a camera to capture Hemerocallis blossoms, since they last but a single day. 

For years, when passing through Georgetown, South Carolina, I stopped by Roycroft Daylily Nursery and purchased new plants. I am sorry to report that Roycroft is no longer able to accommodate walk in customers. The good news is that they still sell via their catalog and website. I've managed to locate handwritten receipts from my 1993, 1996, and 2007 purchases. In '93 I bought "Ming Porcelain," "Bloodline," "Seductress," and "Hamlet." In '96, "B-R Fairy Tale Pink," "B-R Ben__?__," and an unidentified seedling. In '07, "Jedi Dot Pierce" (which received too little sun until transplanted last year) and "Forsyth Hearts Afire." More recently I bought a seedling labeled "Super Giant 33." I haven't located the records of my other Roycroft purchases and must have recycled the old catalogs I'd accumulated. 

"Forsyth Hearts Afire" growing in a mixed bed

During each of the past three years, I've bought fans for $5 a pair from Lowcountry Daylily Club at Charleston Horticultural Society's Plantasia. Attached to the fans of foliage are plastic labels naming the cultivar and describing the expected height and color combination. Thus far, I've purchased "Burgess Seashell," "Majestic Hue," "Gemstone Warrior," and "Holiday Star."

The American Hemerocallis Society provides an online database of daylilies. It's a great tool for identifying daylilies but doesn't contain every variety and even for those included doesn't always provide a photograph. 

Even knowing the names of some of what I have, it can be difficult to match a cultivar name to the actual plant. I haven't had any luck finding a photo of "Burgess Seashell" online. Its plastic label describes it as "orchid pink, lt. peach bi-tone, GT." GT apparently stands for green throat. Fortunately, when I initially planted "Burgess Seashell" two years ago, I placed actual seashells nearby. This week I transplanted my "Burgess Seashell" daylilies, moving them from the deep shade beneath the live oak to a location beside the workshop where it will receive morning sun and afternoon shade. Perhaps next year it will bloom. 

Close up of "Forsyth Hearts Afire"

In addition to the various cultivars I've purchased at Roycroft and Plantasia, I have several I've transplanted from my mother's garden, others I purchased packaged at Lowe's twenty years ago, and yet others I acquired last year at a plant swap. Some haven't bloomed yet because they're still settling in. Others have bloomed but I haven't been able to identify them.

Family members have given to me what I call roadside daylilies. These are the bright orange ones. Here they generally bloom later than the hybrids. 

"Seductress"

Double daylilies descended from ones that grew in my aunt's garden in Virginia

"Bloodline" - Right?

"Forsyth Hearts Afire"

This one bloomed for the first time this year. It reminds
me of the old-fashioned roadside daylilies, yet, it's different.
Look at the midribs. 

Another first year bloomer - Can you identify it?

Daylilies growing at Swan Lake Iris Garden

Roycroft's "Super Giant 33" daylily in foreground
"Endless Summer" hydrangea in background

Do you have daylily stories to share?

Public Gardens of the Triangle

For as long as I can remember, an intense rivalry has existed between North Carolina State University (NCSU) and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). In the interest of full disclosure, I attended both of these state universities during my long and varied undergraduate career, and I can say with certainty that, while very different in ambiance, each of these two schools is fabulous in its own way. 

"Ruby Falls" Weeping Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis)
National Redbud Collection
J.C. Raulston Arboretum

Earlier this month I visited UNC and NCSU, not for nostalgic purposes, but to spend time in their public gardens. On a Friday afternoon, my sister Dora took me to the North Carolina Botanical Garden (NCBG) in Chapel Hill.  NCBG emphasizes plants native to the state of North Carolina in display gardens featuring habitats of the coast plain, the piedmont, and the mountains. North Carolina's mountains, known for their botanical diversity, are a hiker's delight. (Trillium which grows there has long been a favorite of mine.) NCBG also contains an extensive herb garden, a carnivorous plant collection, and a fern collection. 

Trillium
North Carolina Botanical Garden

The North Carolina Botanical Garden sells a selection of native plants in its shop. I confess, the trilliums tempted me, but since I had doubts about their ability to survive a Lowcountry summer, I bought an American witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) instead. The witch-hazel's ribbony yellow flowers will be a treat for the eyes each autumn for years to come.

NCBG's shop sold bloodroot, too, and my sister said, "Now I know where I can buy it." She told me her backyard had contained a large patch of bloodroot years ago when she bought the house. Accumulated leaf litter eventually overwhelmed the stock. 

Bloodroot (Sanguainaria canadensis)
This member of the poppy family is native to Eastern North America.
North Carolina Botanical Garden

Later, back at my sister's house, I located a few green bloodroot leaves and pushed away leaf litter to give the bloodroot a chance to once again expand its territory.  

Many homes in the Raleigh area are built on wooded lots and I've heard Raleigh called a city within a park because of that. The town of Wake Forest also has plenty of wooded lots and I couldn't help but envy the owner of one small front yard with its ground completely covered by moss. Who would choose the labor and toxic chemicals required to cultivate a lush grass lawn, when gorgeous, maintenance-free, velvety moss is an option? 

Lenten Rose (Helleborus x hybridus) at the J.C. Raulston Arboretum

On Saturday morning before meeting my friend Laura for lunch in Raleigh's Cameron Village, I drove to the NCSU's J.C. Raulston Arboretum (JCRA), where the Raulston Blooms & Birds Garden Festival was in progress. Although admission is normally free, Festival admission was $10 per family or $5 per person. The ticket price included entry to a plant sale and a series of gardening demonstrations. 

Dr. J.C. Raulston, the Arboretum's namesake, was a well-known and highly respected plantsman who collected plants from around the world. Consequently, the Arboretum's Japanese Garden and Asian Valley contain an enviable collection of plants.

Japanese flowering quince "Atsuya Hamada"
(Chaenomeles japonica)
J.C. Raulston Arboretum

After wandering through the Lath House and Japanese Garden, I returned to the lawn where the plant sale was taking place and purchased the following: a small Celeste fig (Ficus carica "Celeste"), Red Fox Katsuna (Cercidiphyllum japonicum), Ivy Leaf Maple (Acer cissifuluim), Taiwan holly (Ilex urainsis)

Lath House
J.C. Raulston Arboretum

JCRA's redbud collection is among the most extensive in this part of the world. On the weekend I visited, the redbud specimens at the Arboretum were in full bloom, as were many growing along roadways in Wake and Orange counties, where NCSU and UNC, respectively, are located. Redbuds also flourished in nearby Durham County.

National Redbud Collection specimen
J.C. Raulston Arboretum

Next time I'm in the area, I hope to make time to visit the Sarah P. Duke Gardens at Duke University in Durham. 

Follow this link to visit the North Carolina Botanical Garden online:

http://ncbg.unc.edu

North Carolina Botanical Garden
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, NC

Follow this link to visit the J.C. Raulston Arboretum online:

http://jcra.ncsu.edu

J.C. Raulston Arboretum
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, North Carolina

Southern Charm

Azalea "Pink Ruffles"

Azaleas grow well in many areas across the world, yet I think of them as Southern. For the record, we do have native azaleas; however, most of the azaleas cultivated here are not natives.

Azalea "Traditional Pink"

My pink azaleas are among the first to bloom. "Pink Ruffles," "Traditional Pink," and "Coral Bells," I purchased this year in one gallon containers. I'm really enjoying their flowers, yet my current favorite azalea is one with deep orangey-red blossoms that I planted four or five years ago. Perhaps I'll figure out its name when I finally finish organizing my records. Even though it isn't as photogenic as the pinks, I love observing it from the kitchen window. The spot where it grows receives a splash of sunlight in both early morning and late afternoon.

Azalea "Coral Bells"

Azalea "Fashion"

"George Tabor" and "Mrs. G. G. Gerbing" are old favorites. If memory serves, my grandmother had one of each growing in front of her house. 

Azalea "Mrs. G. G. Gerbing"

Azalea "George Tabor"

Last year I added two reds to my collection, "President Clay"and "Midnight Flare." They grow at the back of the lot and are just now budding.  Joining them are my two recent additions, "Hershey's Red" and "Johanna's Red," which haven't yet bloomed. 

Azalea "Midnight Flare"

In 2011, I planted a red variety called "Christmas Cheer" but where, oh where, did I place it?

Azalea "President Clay"

On this day last year, my native azalea had begun to bloom. Not so this year.

Native azalea

Pink native azaleas growing at Brookgreen Gardens

This lovely pink is one I planted or transplanted last year.
I've been looking though my records hoping to discover its name.

I continue to add to my azalea collection as I attempt to recover an area taken over by English ivy and Florida betony. Two more additions back there this year: "White Gumpo" and "Renee Michelle." Tonight I ache from pulling up vines and digging, pulling up vines and digging, pulling up vines and digging….

Azalea "Southern Charm"

Daffodil Delight

There's something jubilant about daffodils. Just when the bleakness of winter seems as though it will never end, they erupt into bloom.

Over the years I have planted the contents of fifty bulb sacks of  buttercream and mixed daffodils and planted smaller quantities of uncommon varieties. 

Last year very few of my daffodils bloomed. Many other area gardeners had the same disappointing results. Could the relatively warm winter of 2012 have been the culprit?

This year two fluorescent yellow daffodils popped up next to my carport in January and stayed fresh for most of the month, even enduring freezes. This month daffodils are present in patches at various locations across the yard. Not all are blooming, but enough have to remind me that spring is almost here.

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