Photo by Brian Gassel/TVS Designs

12. Sir Walter

A few days into the 2009 Garden Writers Symposium in Raleigh, North Carolina, a fellow garden writer glanced up at the statue in front of the convention centre that we’d passed about a million times and realized it was Sir Walter Raleigh. I’m not sure what took us so long to make the connection between the city we were visiting and Q.E. I’s infamous explorer and wouldn-be colonist, but once the penny dropped, we discovered a plethora of allusions to the city’s namesake, including the surreal Sir Walter Wrap at Sam & Wally’s Eatery. But of all things Raleigh-esque, I’ll most remember walking through the historic Oakwood neighbourhood to attend the TweetUp that took place in one of the neighbourhood’s charming gardens, sampling Raleigh-style barbecue at the JC Raulston Arboretum and tasting scuppernongs at the Raleigh Farmer’s Market. Thanks, Raleigh, for hosting such a great symposium!

Bottle tree in Yoest garden

11. Bottle trees

Discovering new plants is a big part of why I attend conferences such as the 2009 Garden Writers Symposium in Raleigh, North Carolina. It can also be frustrating, especially if the plants aren’t hardy enough for my USDA Zone 5 garden in Toronto. None-the-less, I’m always captivated by shrubs, trees and perennials that are regional staples in faraway places. That’s why when a fellow garden writer pointed out the bottle tree in a garden we were visiting, I looked desperately around the yard trying to spot this local beauty before confessing, “Oh, gosh. I’m not from around here, can you tell what one looks like?” Duh! I could have kicked myself for being so dense. The great, rare, North Carolina Bottle Tree (Arbus amphoreus?) is a tree made from bottles! Once spotted, we found them in almost every garden we visited. But the best thing I discovered about bottle trees is they’re perfectly hardy – even to Zone 2!

10. Play Checks
My family, friends and most passersby who spy the newspaper on the front porch at 9 a.m. know that I’m not a morning person. So, when I dragged myself out of bed to attend the 8 a.m. keynote speech at the 2009 Garden Writers Symposium in Raleigh, I sincerely hoped it would be worthwhile. My hopes were almost dashed when Dr. Lowell Catlett stood up on stage and started talking about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs - yikes, I thought, did I get out of bed for a college lecture?

Mercifully, Dr. Catlett’s homespun storytelling technique made his speech on the Greening of America (or Canada?) entertaining and the messages he delivered all the more compelling. He used Maslow’s pyramid to show how we’ve gone from needing to make a living to having a lifestyle – all in just three generations. In the middle of the pyramid are the Baby Boomers: “the first mass-educated generation on the planet and the first generation with no conception of retirement.” We’re the generation who wants play checks not pay checks.

So, what does all this mean? It means we have more freedom to pursue our dreams than ever before, and those dreams may lead us to raise chickens in the city, pursue eco-adventures anywhere in the world or move into a retirement home with our cats if that’s what we cherish. For garden writers like me, Catrell’s parting message was: “Do not sell people products and services. Sell them dreams.” Well, how difficult can that be when gardening is really an expression of our personal dreams and aspirations?

9. BirdCam
“Look at the birdie!” has never had more meaning. While roaming the exhibit hall for new gardening products at the 2009 Garden Writers Symposium in Raleigh, North Carolina, I found a great bird-watching gadget. The Audubon BirdCam actually lets you capture images of the birds that visit your backyard feeder. This weather-resistant outdoor camera can be strapped to a nearby tree trunk, mounted on a tripod or clamped to the pole that holds your birdfeeder. Then, as birds visit the feeder, their motion triggers the camera, and voilá, you have a gallery of photos that can be downloaded to a computer or viewed on a television screen.

The PlantCam is a similar product that clicks and stitches together pictures of your garden and its plants as they grow, providing a time-lapse view as flowers open, seedlings grow or bulbs pop out of the ground. Hmm, maybe this is just what I need in my basement to monitor the seedlings that invariably succumb to crop failure of some sort due to my neglect. The PlantCam would operate just like a baby monitor, telling me when plants are crying out for water!

Has anyone used either of these products?

Cardinal photo by audreyjm529 at Flickr

One of the many picture-perfect views in the Redwine garden

8. Private Gardens
The story tours of private gardens are a real treat of any Garden Writers Symposium, and the 2009 symposium in Raleigh was no exception. These tours offer a chance to see the best gardens of the region, to talk with the garden-makers and to discover new plants, plant combinations, and design ideas. Here’s a photo gallery of some of my favourite private gardens. 

 The Redwine Garden: Texture, Plant Combos and Picture-Perfect Views

Side entrance to Redwine garden in Raleigh.

A handsome euphorbia grows in front of a soaring mirrored screen in the Redwine back garden.

Corkscrew vine (Vigna caracalla) grows up the side of the house in the Redwine garden.

The Yoest Garden: A Wildlife Haven

Upper terrace of the Yoest garden

The berm that skirts the verandah is packed with colourful flowers to attract birds, bees and butterflies.

The Yoest garden features many whimsical details.

An inviting bench in the Yoest garden.

Lush flowerborders flank the upper level lawn in the Yoest garden.

The Stevens Garden: A Lakeside Garden with Classical Influences

The pergola overlooks the lake at the Stevens garden.

Swans visit the dock at the Stevens garden.

The view from the upper terrace of the Stevens garden.

Simple elegance -- a gardenia floats in a birdbath in the Stevens garden.

Scuppernong grapes. Photo by Amy C Evans, SFA oral historian

7. Scuppernongs
For a gal who grew up with a grape vine in her backyard you’d think I’d know a grape when I see one, but scuppernongs had me scuppered. The size of ping-pong balls, these juicy fruits were nestled into pint-sized boxes lined up on the open shelves of more than a few vendors at the North Carolina Farmers’ Market where a gaggle of garden writers were visiting during the 2009 Garden Writers Symposium in Raleigh. After explaining they were indeed grapes that grow on a vine, the kind lady behind the counter proceeded to demonstrate how to eat this strange (to me) fruit. Hold them right up to your mouth, she said, and lightly squeeze the too-tough-to eat skin to pop the jelly-like insides right into your mouth. Yum! The sweet, grapey flavour is very intense, which is why it’s so popular in the South for pies and jellied condiments. When I returned home, I opened up a copy of the Garden & Gun magazine (no, I’m not making this up) that I’d picked up at the Raleigh airport to discover an entire article on this odd fruit. Here’s some scuppernong trivia from the pages of Garden & Gun:
· Scuppernongs were first found in North Carolina’s Cape Fear River Valley in 1524. The “mother vine” discovered by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1584 spanned an acre and still produces fruit today.
· Scuppernong wine was a favourite of Thomas Jefferson
· The vines need a sturdy trellis at least 10 feet long by six feet wide

Does anyone know if these grow north of the Mason-Dixon line?

The native plant garden at North Carolina Botanical Garden is the closest example I could find to demonstate Weaner's garden design philosophy which relies on plant communities to express the rich beauty of native landscapes.

6. Natural landscapes for the real world

Larry Weaner, a landscape architect based in Glenside, Pennsylviania, opened his talk on “Breaking the Rules” at the 2009 Garden Writers Symposium in Raleigh with a story about how Native Americans were this continent’s first ecologists. Among their sustainable practices was the deliberate division the carex plants growing in meadows so that what the natives took from the plants for weaving and other handicrafts never depleted the source. These First Peoples also burned leaves under oak trees to destroy acorn larvae that would otherwise mature to infest an important food source.

From these two stories, Weaner’s philosophy of natural landscape design unfolded through breathtaking photos of his company’s projects, including meadows and woodlands in country, suburban and city gardens. Based on the idea that plant design should follow the patterns of the landscape and seasonal plant cycles, Weaner uses plants that have adapted to the specific conditions of the site. Simply put, he plants wetlanders in marshy spots and prairie grasses in sunny locations with poor soils. It sounds logical, but how many garden designers are doing this? Not many, I think. And that’s because to be successful, it takes time – often more than five years – to see the results, and it takes the knowledge drawn from many disciplines – from ecology to architecture – to be successful. I hope Weaner is thinking of writing a book, I want to know more about how to create such beautifully natural landscapes.

Pitcher plants and nodding ladies tresses at North Carolina Botanical Garden

Meanwhile, maybe I’ll grow a mini-landscape using a community of plants in a large container – I’ve always loved pitcher plants, and on this trip I discovered Nodding Ladies’ Tresses, which like the same conditions as sarracenias. Hmmm, another project for next year…

5. Mahonia ‘Soft Caress’

Okay, if you thought I was crazy to write about Euphorbia ‘Ascot Rainbow’ because it’s hardy only to USDA Zone 5, you’ll hate me for highlighting Mahonia ‘Soft Caress’, which is “officially” hardy to USDA Zone 7. But once you’ve seen it, you’ll know why I’m willing to try it as a pot plant here in Toronto, which is a full zone colder. First, ‘Soft Caress’ takes part to full shade, and as a city gardener hemmed in by neighouring trees, I’m always on the lookout for plants that perform under those conditions. Second, its lacy bamboo-like leaves are made for touching (it’s not called ‘Soft Caress’ for nothing, folks!). In the spring, it produces bright yellow flowers – bonus. I’m going to try overwintering it under lights in my basement and then plant it up in a container, which I’ll place in the shadiest spot of my woodland garden next spring. Wish me luck!

Mahonia 'Soft Caress'

 

 

The front garden at Montrose

4. Montrose
Some of you old-timers might remember the Montrose Nursery mail order catalogue, which folded in 1993, while others of you may know about owner Nancy Goodwin from her many books, but both the Gardens of Montrose and their tender were a complete and pleasant surprise to me. On the grounds of this 19th century historical property are beds filled with colchicums (in full bloom when we visited at the end of September), hellebores (a reason to return in springtime) and brash tropicals, colourful annuals and unusual perennials and trees. With vistas galore, this garden was a treat to photograph, but our time here was all too short.

Entrance to the back garden at MontrosePhotogenic vistas abounded at MontroseA flowerbed hugs one of the outbuildings at Montrose

Photogenic vistas abounded at Montrose

The view from a side entrance to the back garden at Montrose

A flowerbed hugs one of the outbuildings at Montrose

Praying Mantis at the North Carolina Botanical Gardens

3. Jim Chatfield
Got diseased or buggy plants? Who you gonna call? Ohio State University professor Jim Chatfield, that’s who! This pest and disease myth-buster talked for oh-so-short a time on Why Good Plants Go Bad in an entertaining and practical way that made troubleshooting plant problems almost sexy. Among his bon mots, did you know that only 7.4 percent of all insects are pests, and that only .7 percent actually cause significant damage, or that once you see symptoms, it’s too late to control a disease (isn’t that a comfort?). To help you diagnose pesky problems in your garden, download 20 Questions on Plant Diagnosis and learn the dos and don’ts of how to keep plants healthy.