Cary, NC – Spring does not obey the laws of man. It comes and goes when it pleases, sometimes earlier, sometimes later, but always in it’s own sweet rhythm and time. This week, the pear blossoms are out, turning Cary into a Dr. Suess fairyland of white. Read more
Story and t-shirt designs by Hal Goodtree.
Cary, NC – It’s time to show your Cary pride with our new line of Chickens ‘n Bees t-shirts. Great for the backyard gardener or Cary homesteading activist (or opponent, even). All offerings are available in the CaryCitizen Online Store. Read more
Story by Julie Roland, adapted from her Route 64 Journal and used with permission. Photo by Hal Goodtree.
Cary, NC – Who is ready for Spring? It won’t be long now. The trees around my house have leaf buds and some are even beginning to bloom. Here’s my list of Things to Do in the Garden this spring. Read more
By Michele McKinley, Advocates for Health in Action (AHA). Photos courtesy of Cary’s Pocket Community Garden.
Cary, NC – With spring just around the corner, it’s time to hit the dirt. In the garden, that is. Read more
Story and photo by Hal Goodtree.
Cary, NC – Our good friends over at Garden Supply Company here in Cary just published a great post about January Gardening. With the weather unseasonably warm this year, I’d thought I’d add my two cents. Read more
Editor’s Note: It’s time to plant bulbs for spring bloom in Cary, and we saw this great post by our friends at Garden Supply Company. Thanks to GSC for letting us share it with our readers.
Cary, NC – If you’re looking forward to beautiful blooms this winter and spring, here’s what you need to know right now about Spring Flowering Bulbs. Read more
Cary, NC – Ever go to the garden store and wonder what to plant right now? Right now, it’s pansies and violets.
Gardening is a warm-weather affair up north. But here in the Carolina Piedmont, we can grow flowers all winter.
Planted now in beds, boxes, borders and pots, pansies and violas will grow on the warmer days of the autumn, survive snow and ice, and explode in size come spring.
Sometimes, the garden store can be overwhelming. But during the fall, you’ll see pansies and violas up front and prominently displayed.
Keeping it simple: buy two-six packs, one each of pansies and violas (cost: about $3.50 ea). Get a bag of potting soil and plant the seedlings in three or four medium sized pots. Place in a sunny spot and water regularly.
Joy will be yours from now until the beginning of next summer.
Pansies and violas come in a fantastic array of colors and color-combination: strong yellows and pale apricots; purples so dark they look black; vivid blues and mixtures of hues that look like faces.
Pansies and violas are smallish plants – three or four will fit nicely in a window box or medium pot. They like to stay moist, not wet. Don’t let them dry out. Use a liquid fertilizer like Miracle Grow every now and then.
Pansies and violas do best in a sunny or partly sunny spot.
Pansies are actually a hybridized version of violas. Pansies are generally bigger, thicker and bushier than their parent stock. But, technically, they’re all violas.
How about Violas and Violets? Are they the same thing? Yes – viola is the Latin name and violet the common name.
African Violets, popular for many years as a house plant, are not related to true violas.
Photos by:
Used under a Creative Commons license.
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The Gardening column on CaryCitizen is sponsored, in part, by Citizen Websites.
Story and photos by Hal Goodtree
Cary, NC – Just a short drive from Cary is the wonderful world of Chapel Hill. More like its own republic than a town, some say. Just recently, I discovered the most wonderful rose garden tucked in a park far away from the hubbub of Franklin Street. Read more
Story by guest columnist Christine Pechner, Landscape Architect. Photo by Hal Goodtree.
This sure was a hot summer here in Cary and there is no doubt that you are looking forward to the beautiful weather of the coming months. With cooler temperatures comes the opportunity to get outside to tackle some gardening tasks that need to be done along with things that you can do to add color to your yard next spring. Read more
By Matt Young, Photo by Benoit Guenard of NCSU Biology Department.
Cary, NC – The North Carolina Pest Management Association (NCPMA) and NC State are alerting Carolinians to be on the lookout for the Asian Needle Ant, a relatively new pest in the region. NCPMA is the trade association representing the professional pest management industry in North Carolina. Read more