Thursday, June 27, 2013

July Calendar of Triangle Gardening Programs

For Independence Day, add some red,
 white or blue cuttings to your table!
NC Botanical Gardens
http://ncbg.unc.edu/classes-workshops/#hh_gardening
Location: 100 Old Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC.

Southeastern Native Perennials Walk-and-Talk
Date:  Saturday, July 27, 9:00 - 11:00 a.m.
Instructor: Chris Liloia, NCBG Curator
 Looking for some new plant ideas? Ready to learn about gardening with perennials? Come enjoy a morning in the Garden as we walk and talk about native perennial plants. We'll use the garden around us as a starting point to learn some new plants and explore topics like growing requirements as well as dividing, transplanting, and care of sun and shade perennials. We'll make the coffee; you bring the questions. Fee: $25 ($20 NCBG members)

Book Review: Walden by Henry David Thoreau (Short Course)
Date: Thursday, July 11, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Instructor: Peter White, NCBG Director

This course is intended for a broad audience. Students independently read Walden by Henry David Thoreau and come together to discuss Thoreau’s understanding of society and goals of simple living and self-sufficiency. Fee: $30 ($25 NCBG members)

The Physical Fitness of Leaves: Science for All of Us
Date: Sunday, July 21, 2:30 - 3:30 pm
Steven Vogel, James B. Duke Professor of Biology, Emeritus, author of The Life of a Leaf (2012, University of Chicago Press), will describe in in words and hands-on activities how a plant leaf manages its world and what this teaches us about how we could manage our own. Every organism must contend with its immediate physical environment, a world that both limits what organisms can do and offers innumerable opportunities for evolving fascinating ways of challenging those limits. Professor Vogle will explain these interactions, examining through the example of the leaf the extraordinary designs that enable life to adapt to its physical world. He will provide food for thought and tools for a new way of seeing the beauty and simplicity of the science of life. Free, but advance registration required.

JC Raulston Arboretum
http://www.ncsu.edu/jcraulstonarboretum/calendar/events.php?year=2013
Location: Ruby C. McSwain Education Center, JC Raulston Arboretum at NC State University, 4415 Beryl Road, Raleigh, NC

Plantsmen's Tour "The Summer 2013 Interns' Top Picks"
Date: July 9, 9:00 A.M.-10:30 a.m.

Griffin Buser, Tom Gargano, Jeremy Sanders, and Ginny Youngl, 2013 Summer Interns

Orchid Repotting and Care Workshop Date: July 13, 9 a.m.-noon
Sponsored by the Triangle Orchid Society and the JC Raulston Arboretum
Suzanne Hens, Ph.D., Ralph Sears, and Paul Welty, M.D.


Hypertufa Trough Workshop
Date:  July 20, 9 a.m. - noon
Beth Jimenez and Amelia Lane, Lasting Impressions and JCRA Volunteers

Cast Concrete Leaf Workshop Date:  July 20, 1 p.m.- 3:00 p.m.

Beth Jimenez and Amelia Lane, JCRA Volunteers
 

Doris Duke Center.
Sarah P. Duke Gardens
Location:  420 Anderson St Durham, NC 27708
http://gardens.duke.edu/events.  Please call 919-668-1707 to register.

Walk on the Wild Side
Thursday, July 11, 2013, 11 a.m. - noon.
Explore wild North Carolina in these walks through our Blomquist Garden of Native Plants. Join curator Stefan Bloodworth or horticulturist Annabel Renwick on the first Thursday of every month for discussions of seasonal interest. Please dress for the weather. $7; $5 for Gardens members and Duke students & staff. Registration required (parking fees apply). To register, or for more information, please call 919-668-1707.

Durham Garden Forum
Meetings are held at Sarah P. Duke Gardens on Tuesday Evenings from 6:30-8:00p.m..
Membership is $25 for the year (which runs April – March) or each lecture is $10. No preregistration is required. Contact information is durhamgardenforum@gmail.com.

Gardener's Fair
Tuesday, July 16, 2013, 6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Join us for expert advice and answers to your questions. Presented in the Doris Duke Center by Durham Garden Forum in partnership with Duke Gardens and N.C. Cooperative Extension's Durham County Center. Free admission.

Featuring:
 
Garden Tools - Stone Brothers and Byrd
Hottest New Plants - Barbara Albertus, manager of the Durham Garden Center
Container Gardening - Michelle Wallace, Durham County Extension Agent
Repellents - Marilyn Cox, owner of  I Must Garden
Plant Propagation - Sara Smith, member of Duke Gardens’ volunteer propagation team
Vermicomposting - Rhonda Sherman, solid waste specialist in the N.C. State Dept. of Bio and Ag Engineering, and Lynne Nelson, Extension Master Gardener
Beekeeping - Donna Devanney, president of the Durham Beekeeping Club
Trees - John Monroe, owner of Architectural Trees
Orchid Care - Triangle Orchid Society
Shade Plants - Beth Kelly, owner of The Plant Lady
Rain Gardens - Laura Webb-Smith, Storm Water Educator for the City of Durham
Mulches, Compost and Stone - Emily Brogan, owner of  The Rock Shop
General gardening advice - Master Gardener Volunteers of NC Extension
Cooking demo - Susan Walter Sink, the Tarheel Foodie, LLC
Growing and Using Herbs - Lisa Treadaway, owner of The Little Herb House
Bird Feeders, Houses & Equipment - Byron Schermerhorn of Wild Birds Unlimited

NC Extension Gardener Seminars
Complete program information at www.durham.ces.ncsu.edu

None at North or South Regional Libraries in July 2013.

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Save on Plants with this Council Advertiser!


What to do with your extra garden produce? Donate it to AmpleHarvest.org food pantries

AmpleHarvest.org provides a quick resource for sharing your extra bounty.
AmpleHarvest.org is a nation-wide nonprofit campaign—backed by the USDA, the White House, and Google—that is connecting backyard and community gardeners who have a bountiful harvest with local food pantries that are ready and able to accept donations of fresh food.
 
AmpleHarvest.org provides the only free, searchable, online database of food pantries across the country so that gardeners can find a convenient location to donate.  So, next time a gardener has a bigger harvest than they can handle, instead of throwing the fruits of their labor in the compost pile, they can feed hungry families in their community. Check out the Master Gardener page at www.AmpleHarvest.org/MG.
 
Some of the nearby donation centers are:
  • Durham Tech Campus Harvest Food Pantry N1637 Lawson Street, Durham, NC. Contact: Erin Riney,  Phone: 919-536-7231,  Email: volunteer@durhamtech.edu
  • Community Food Pantry 410 Liberty Street, Durham, NC.  Contact: Lee Nelson
    Phone: 919-682-0538,  Email:
    leenelson@umdurham.org
  • Food Bank of Central & Eastern NC 3808 Tarheel Drive, Raleigh, NC. Contact: Anna Davenport,  Phone: 919-865-3019,  Email: adavenport@foodbankcenc.org
  • Heavenly Groceries 510 West Rosemary Street, Chapel Hill, NC. Contact: Gladys Pendergraph,  Phone: 919-929-1116

AmpleHarvest is a 501(c)3 organization, so donations are also tax-deductible!

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Edible roses for unique summer recipies!

Rose petal ice cubes dress up any light-colored cocktail!
"Roses in the Kitchen" from Witherspoon Roses...

Roses are wonderful flowers that are often enjoyed in vases on kitchen tables as a centerpiece, but they can also be used to create unique and beautiful dishes.  Roses have been enjoyed for centuries in many different cuisines and cultures.  Eastern countries such as India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Turkey use roses as often as they do other herbs.  Asian countries such as Japan and China also use roses in their cooking.   In more recent years, roses have become increasingly more popular in upscale restaurants around the United States.  Using roses as an ingredient in your kitchen is an easy way to enjoy new flavors and dishes.