Garden Tour at the Arboretum

On Thursday January 2nd at ten in the morning
I will be giving a tour of some winter interest plants 
growing in the Pitt County Arboretum
 http://pitt.ces.ncsu.edu/Pitt+County+Arboretum/

Here are a few examples
come and find out what they are
 and if they will be good for your garden

You can always check on 

what's going on at the Arboretum by looking at our blog

http://pittcountyarboretum.blogspot.com

Christmas Red

The Camellia japonica 'Professor Sargent'

There are two huge shrubs of this anemone type Camellia

in the back garden.

Large dark green leaves and covered with deep red flowers starting now until March.

Probably planted 25 or 30 years ago

what a sight when they are in full bloom .

The white flecks on the bloom are caused by a virus

a good thing for camellia growers as this often begets new varieties.

Winter Red

The deciduous holly (Ilex verticillata 'Winter Red') or Winterberry
http://utgardens.tennessee.edu/pom/holly.html
is bright against the dried stems of Miscanthus 'Cosmopoiltan"
One year deer ate the berries but they don't seem to have bothered with it since

To have berries you need a pollinator for this female variety of Winterberry.
'Southern Gentleman' is it's "husband" although you only need one male plant for several females. Oh the indignities even in the plant world!
 (I have been researching Carl Linnaeus' sexual system of plant classification for a talk in January hence the husband & wife reference)
http://www.linnean.org/Education+Resources/who_was_linnaeus

December Red

Nandina domestica at the front steps has put on it's winter red
I cut a couple of tall stems of this to use as decoration in the house
Looks like a small festive tree

On a frosty morning

On a balmy morning

You can stop Nandina from being all legs by pruning it at different levels.

Also, break off the hard base of old leaf petioles on the lower stems to allow new growth there.

Red Twig Dogwood

This deciduous spreading shrub
http://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/all/cornus-sericea-c-stolonifera/
is planted at the rain garden. It gets partial sun and damp feet.
Some of it's stems seem to rot out but that is probably OK as it can be invasive.
Of course I have so many invasives in the rain garden
 it is in a constant battle for real estate.

Since we don't get much snow 
you can set the red off against
the pale dried leaves of ornamental
grasses especially if you sight for
morning or evening sun.
Here with Miscanthus sinensis 'Adagio'

Frosty Morning

If you cut everything down in the fall you won't get
 these lovely scenes on frosty mornings.

I love the height the dead stalks of tall perennials give the winter garden
 otherwise it all seems so flat & hunkered down.

A tree for the Season

Away for Thanksgiving now to 'Deck the Halls'

There is a red cedar tree (Juniperus virginiana), squashed on the fence line by larger trees, 
from which over the past several years we have cut branches to form our porch Christmas tree.
This year a bit sparser than before. I think we are running out of tree but I still like it for it's airiness.
And, indeed, it's one-sidedness making it perfect for the corner here.

I had thought to take a nude photo of the tree, not me,  but entirely forgot!