Friday, August 29, 2014

September Calendar of Triangle Gardening Programs

   Swedish and German gardens are focus of the Sept. 18 program at the JC Raulston Arboretum. 
Above: Hovdala Manor Park and Orangery, Sweden. Photograph © Hovdala Slott.
NC Botanical Gardens
100 Old Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC.


Bartram’s Travels: A Book Review Discussion
Sept. 4, 7-9 p.m. 
An enduring classic that influenced Darwin, Thoreau, Leopold, and others, “Bartram’s Travels” tells how the Philadelphia botanist William Bartram explored the Southeast. Peruse the book on your own and then join us in imagining a landscape now gone. Fee: $15 ($10 NCBG Members).


Exhibit and Symposium Opening Remarks and Reception: Contemporary Botanical Artists Explore the Bartram's Legacy
Book discussion of Bartram' Travels, Sept. 4 at NCBG. 
Sept. 7, 2:30-4:30 p.m.
John and William Bartram modeled a way of living centered on exploration and curiosity. Woodin explains how the exhibit illuminates their natural history contributions. Reception and exhibit viewing. Free; advance registration required.


Bartram as a Quaker Botanist
Sept. 18, 7-8 p.m.
Reeves Auditorium While in graduate school, Peter White came upon a pamphlet entitled The Quaker Botanists and learned that from the early 1600s, Quakers, including William Penn, were proponents of natural science, wildflower gardens, and conservation. White will describe John and William Bartram’s significance while also introducing other Quaker botanists including Humphries, Fothergill, Collinson, and Wistar and further speculate on why the early Quakers made good scientists. Fee: $15 ($10 NCBG Members).


Sculpture in the Garden exhibition
Sept. 21 - Dec. 7
Now in its 26th year, NCBG’s signature event features up to 45 large-scale sculptures created by North Carolina-based artists integrated into the Garden’s outdoor environment featuring an assortment of materials including steel, concrete, wood, marble and more. Prizes are awarded for Best in Show, Honorable Mention and People’s Choice. Come enjoy the interplay between art and nature across five acres of the Garden during its fall display. Free and open to the public. No registration required.

Native Edible & Medicinal Trees of the NC Piedmont
Sept. 23 - Oct.14. Tuesdays 9/23, 9/30, 10/7, 10/14 from 1- 4 p.m.
Learn traditional medicinal uses and food gifts of our native trees and how to bring them into your everyday life. We’ll explore the garden, woodland trails, Coker Arboretum, and Mason Farm Biological Reserve. Tree identification, safe and sustainable harvesting, preparation, and uses will be covered in a fun, reverent, and accessible way. All levels welcome Fee: $125 ($115 NCBG Members).


The Venus flytrap is found in the bogs of the Carolinas.
The World Famous Venus Flytrap
Sept. 27,  2-3 p.m.
The world famous Venus flytrap is found only in North and South Carolina, discovered in 1759 by North Carolina Governor Arthur Dobbs and named in 1770 by English botanist John Ellis. John and William Bartram saw Venus flytrap in the wild and William published what is thought to be the first drawing in 1767. Dr. Mellichamp will share his knowledge about the flytrap’s unique bog habitat and cultivation, adding details about other bog plants along the way. Dr. Mellichamp is Professor of Botany at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, and director of the botanical gardens there. His recent books are Bizarre Botanicals and Native Plants of the Southeast. Book signing follows the presentation. Fee: $15 ($10 NCBG Members).

Annual Jenny Elder Fitch Lecture, 'The Brother Gardeners: Botany, Empire and the Birth of an Obsession' with Andrea Wulf, New York Times Bestselling Author
Sept. 28, 2:30-4:30 p.m.
Wulf will tell the tale of a group of 18th century naturalists who made England into a nation of gardeners initiated by Pennsylvania farmer John Bartram’s introduction of American trees and shrubs to the English landscape. Wulf explores the botanical passions, obsessions, friendships, and squabbles that knitted the lives of six men set against the backdrop of the emerging British Empire and America's magnificent forests. Born in India and now residing in Great Britain, Wulf is author of The Brother Gardeners: Botany, Empire and the Birth of an Obsession (2010 American Horticultural Society Book Award-winner) and Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation, a New York Times best seller. Free; advance registration required

From Plant to Illustration: Botanical Illustration at the North Carolina Botanical Garden
Sept. 30, 12-1 p.m.
Bring your lunch and join us for a free lecture! The NCBG Botanical Art and Illustration Certificate Program teaches how to accurately depict plants in the artistic tradition of botanical illustration. Core Curriculum instructor Patricia Savage takes us from appreciation and observation through the work an artist does to produce a botanical illustration. Free; advanced registration required.

 JC Raulston Arboretum
Ruby C. McSwain Education Center, JC Raulston Arboretum
4415 Beryl Road, Raleigh, NC.

Plantsmen's Tour:  "Vines"
Sept. 2, 9–10:30 a.m. & 6–7:30 p.m.
Free for members, $5.00 for nonmembers.

Friends of the Arboretum Lecture:  "The Land of Tall Blondes and Weiner Schnitzel—A Horticultural Exploration to the Gardens of Germany and Sweden"
Sept. 18, 7:30-9 p.m.
Tony Avent, Plant Delights Nursery at Juniper Level Botanic Garden.
Free for Friends of the JC Raulston Arboretum members, NC State University students (with ID), and Department of Horticultural Science faculty and staff, all others $5.00.

 
North American Rock Garden Society (Piedmont Chapter) Lecture:  "Lesser-known Native Plants of the Southeast"
Sept. 27, 10 a.m.

Larry Mellichamp, UNC-Charlotte.


Autumn Festival in the Culberson Asiatic Arboretum, Sept. 28 at Duke Gardens. A traditional Japanese Tea Gathering in the Durham-Toyama Sister Cities Japanese Pavilion. Photo by Jon Gardiner, Duke Photography.
 














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

Extension Gardener Series: Turf
Sept. 4, 6:30-8 p.m.
Charles Murphy, Master Gardener volunteer.
Grass is one of the most difficult plants to grow in our area, and many of us struggle to achieve a beautiful lawn. Extension Master Gardener Charles Murphy will discuss optimal lawn care for our Piedmont climate and soil. He will introduce you to the best maintenance methods and untangle the confusing range of lawn care products. This class is part of the Extension Gardener Series with Durham County Master Gardeners, sponsored in partnership with the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service: Durham County Center. Free drop-in event. No parking fees after 5 p.m.


Plants of Distinction: Gorgeous Grasses
Sept. 9, 2:30-4 p.m.
Michael Owens, curator of Duke Gardens’ Historic Gardens.
Learn about spectacular plants that offer both beauty and functionality. Sign up separately for each session to learn a new group of beautiful and useful plants, or take all four sections. Fee $7; Gardens members $5. All four Plants of Distinction classes: $24; Gardens members $16.

Seeds of the Future
Sept. 18, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Something as simple as saving seeds from heirloom plants helps to protect our future. Each seed is a reservoir of genetic diversity, giving our food and ornamental plants broad adaptations to a variety of conditions. Sara will work with you to discuss the process of seed harvesting, methods to save seeds and how to grow them for the next season. Each participant will harvest some heirloom seeds to take home. Fee: $15; Gardens members $12.
 
Durham Garden Forum: Bulbs in the Landscape
Sept. 23, 6:30-8 p.m.
Fall is the time to plan and plant for next spring’s bulb displays. Lee Ivey, a horticulture instructor at N.C. State University, will introduce us to new bulb selections and give a few suggestions for planting combinations.
Forum members free with annual membership; $10 per meeting for non-members payable to the Durham Garden Forum. For membership information, please email durhamgardenforum@gmail.com. No pre-registration necessary. Parking is free.

Extension Gardener Series: Rain Gardens
Sept. 25, 6:30-8 p.m.
A rain garden allows water to percolate down into the ground slowly, recharging your ground water and minimizing the amount of soil and fertilizer that would otherwise be lost through runoff. Explore the beauty and functionality of rain gardens with Georganne Sebastian and Darcey Martin, Extension Master Gardener volunteers. They will discuss the where, why, how and wow of water conservation through residential rain gardens.
Sponsored in partnership with the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service: Durham County Center.
Free drop-in event. Free parking after 5 p.m. Registration requested at 919-668-1707 or gardenseducation@duke.edu.

Autumn Festival in the Culberson Asiatic Arboretum
Sept. 28, 12-3 p.m.
Join us in the Culberson Asiatic Arboretum for activities and demonstrations of arts, crafts and cultural celebrations from Asia. Learn to write haiku poetry, fold origami figures, and enjoy Japanese storytelling, martial arts displays, artists demonstrating traditional art techniques, and cultural performances from the region.
Timed tickets will be issued at the Durham-Toyama Sister Cities Teahouse for limited, small groups to experience a brief tea sampling; plan to go there first to pick up your ticket. Sponsored in partnership with Duke University Asian/Pacific Studies Institute.
Free drop-in activities for all ages; adult chaperone required. Activities include:
• Haiku
• Origami
• Martial arts demonstrations
• Kamishibai storytelling
• Tea gatherings at the Durham Toyama Sister Cities Tea Pavilion
• Traditional drumming demonstrations

Location: The W.L. Culberson Asiatic Arboretum; please follow signs to each activity.
Free drop-in event. Parking fees apply.

No comments: