May this be the year the Arboretum finally gets 

proper signage so everyone can find us!

 

To all

a

wonderful and happy

new year

WINTER SOLSTICE

The earliest winter since 1896 arrives at 6:12 AM tomorrow, December 21st.  The Old Farmer's Almanac describes the First Day of Winter:

"The word solstice comes from the Latin words for "sun" and "to stand still.” In the Northern Hemisphere, as summer advances to winter, the points on the horizon where the Sun rises and sets advance southward each day; the high point in the Sun’s daily path across the sky, which occurs at local noon, also moves southward each day. At the winter solstice, the Sun’s path has reached its southernmost position. The next day, the path will advance northward. However, a few days before and after the winter solstice, the change is so slight that the Sun’s path seems to stay the same, or stand still. The Sun is directly overhead at "high-noon" on Winter Solstice at the latitude called the Tropic of Capricorn.  In the Northern Hemisphere, the solstice days are the days with the fewest hours of sunlight during the whole year."

Why is there such a large lag between the first day of winter and the coldest day of the year?

"Answer: This is the shortest day of the year—the time when the Sun reaches its southernmost point in the sky. Although this part of Earth is cooling, its great thermal mass still retains some heat from the summer and fall. As the gradual cooling process continues over the next two months, temperatures will continue to fall, and the coldest temperatures will be recorded. The same pattern holds true for the summer solstice in June, as the year's highest temperatures are recorded later, in July and August."

So stay warm, dream about  the planting to be done, the weeding to be done, the watering to be done, and the spring that is sure to come.

PITT COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS SHARE

The Master Gardener Volunteers recently held their annual Holiday Party.  In lieu of bringing an overabundance of homemade goodies to sample, they opted to divide the group in half.  One half did bring the delectable foods to eat and the other brought non-perishable goods to donate to the local food bank.  When all was tallied up, they donated 92 pounds of food.

Not only are they generous this time of year, but throughout the growing season fruits and vegetables harvested from our Arboretum Gardens are also given to the food bank.  Dan and Bill, our curators, and their helpers picked over 500 pounds of fresh produce this year.  So we thank all for the extra work it took to make this happen in 2012 and look forward to what the next year will bring.

"SEEING TREES" with Nancy Hugo

SPEAKER EVENT - Nancy Hugo

Saturday, January 26, 2013

10:00 AM

Pitt County Ag Center Auditorium

403 Government Circle

Greenville, NC

$20 General Public

$15 Friends of the Arboretum

Call 252-902-1709 for ticket information.

Nancy Hugo shares some of the secrets she and photographer Robert Llewellyn discovered in their intense, two year investigation of the seeds, catkins, cones, flowers, resting buds, emerging leaves, and other small phenomena usually overlooked on backyard trees.  She also emphasizes the importance of planting long-lived, legacy trees and argues that trees make the best landscape investments.

Visit Nancy's WEB PAGE

Also, there will be a raffle for 2 beautiful botanical prints.

All proceeds for this even support the Pitt County Arboretum.

HOLIDAY DECOR FROM NATURE

Join the Master Gardeners on Thursday, Dec. 6th
for the next free
WALKING TOUR of the
Pitt County Arboretum.

They will be giving tips on decorating your home for the holidays using greenery, pine cones, berries, twigs, and other natural findings from your garden.

The tour begins at 10:00 AM starting in front of the Ag Center under the Green Roof Shelter.



403 Government Circle
Call 902-1709 for more information.