FREE WALKING TOUR - PLANTS WITH WINTER INTEREST

Start your NEW YEAR with

nature and

the Master Gardeners

at the

PITT COUNTY ARBORETUM.

THURSDAY

January 2, 2014 starting at 10:00 AM

Meet under the Shelter in front of the Ag Center

at 403 Government Circle, Greenville.

MAP 

Master Gardeners will be highlighting plants with winter interest in their bark, berries, and blooms.  Tours last about 1 1/2 hours.

Call 902-1709 for more information.

Mahonia bealei

WINTER SOLSTICE and WINTER GARDEN CHORES

We're just hours away from the shortest day of the year.  Activity at the Arboretum has slowed, but that is because the Master Gardeners did a thorough job of fall gardening chores.  Just for fun, click here if you are interested in learning facts about the WINTER SOLSTICE.

Itching to get out and garden (especially on these warmer days)?  Click here to read about WINTER GARDENING CHORES to tackle.

Check back here in the following weeks.  We'll be announcing some of our upcoming gardening programs for you.  Also, be sure to purchase your Paul James tickets.  Scroll down the right side for more information on this event.

BRINGING NATURE INDOORS FOR HOLIDAY DECORATING

Elaeagnus pungens

The silvery underside of the leaves make an attractive addition.  

Click HERE for more information on this plant.

On our recent tour we highlighted plants at the Arboretum that could be lightly pruned with the clippings to be used for holiday decorating.  When you examine the vast variety of trees, shrubs, and vines we have growing there, you find colors ranging from bright greens (Arborvitaes and boxwoods), blues (Cedrus deodara- Deodar cedar), red berries (various hollies),  and silvers (pictured above).

Next time you are selecting a plant to add to your garden, think about something that might add winter interest and provide free holiday decor.

MICROCLIMATES

Tucked in next to a brick wall in our Perennial Border you will find Fanny's Aster still in bloom.  While in most gardens this plant will have succumbed to frost, it is defying the odds.

Symphyotrichum oblongifolium 'Fanny's Aster'

It is a late blooming aster, but the blooms now are more than likely protected by its placement in the garden.   Click here to learn more about MICROCLIMATES and how you can use them to your advantage in your own gardens.