BRRRRR - It's too cold!

Well, at least we didn't get snow (or at least none that stuck).  However, the Master Gardeners' Monthly Work Day at the Arboretum was postponed until next week.  Hopefully you, too, are indoors keeping warm.  We are looking forward to the arrival of Peter Hatch for our Speaker Event this Saturday morning.  Doors open at 9:00 AM so you can enjoy some breakfast treats and coffee while visiting our sponsoring vendors.  Mr. Hatch will begin his presentation at 10:00 AM.  It is sure to be an educational morning.  He will be bringing one of his books to sell before and after the talk.  Following the talk, at noon, he will be available to sign copies of the book.  At last count, we are sold out, but you might want to take a chance to see if someone has an extra ticket they might not need.  Call 902-1709.

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS:

103.7 WTIB FM            

 Anderson Pine Straw & Mulch 

 Burger King (Williamston, Ahoskie, Windsor, Washington,

                and Chocowinity)
     Carolina Seasons Nursery

CD Rouse & Co.

East Coast Equipment

Little’s Nursery

TurfWise

Wild Birds Unlimited

'Bringing Nature Home'

A group of Master Gardeners are currently reading this book and will get together soon to discuss it.  Perhaps some ideas can be implemented in the Arboretum's gardens.  Stay tuned.

 

WINTER PERENNIAL

Euphorbia lathyris - Gopher Spurge (or Purge)

This plant adds winter interest in our Children's ABC Garden.  It is believed by some to keep gophers away.  Since we don't have gophers in Pitt County we are growing it for its ornamental value.  Another name for it is Mole Plant.  Again, we claim nothing in its repellent factor.  Perhaps it will also keep giraffes away.  It does have a milky sap inside the stem which can be a minor irritant to skin.

Click here for a FACT SHEET.

A CHEERY WINTER SHRUB

Nandina domestica 'Fire Power'

Nandina, sometimes called heavenly bamboo, is an evergreen shrub that adds color to your landscape throughout the year.  'Fire Power' is a low-growing shrub that doesn't flower or have berries.  It does add vibrant colors to a garden.  Spring foliage is lime green.  The leaves turn green in the summer.  Later in the summer into fall they become tinted with red before becoming all red.

Here you see it at the corner of our Mixed Border.  It is at the base of a Betula nigra Dura Heat (river birch) which itself has beautiful peeling bark.

Click here for a FACT SHEET