JC Raulston Arboretum e-Update

February 2007

In This Issue

Special Care for the Winter Garden
Pansies and More Pansies
Coming Attractions – Highlights of February
February Calendar

Special Care for the Winter Garden

The JCRA staff is excited to announce that the Raleigh Garden Club has formed a volunteer team that is providing on-going care to the Winter Garden! Helen Yoest has graciously accepted the duties of Working Garden Leader. We extend a special thanks to Barbara Kennedy, Raleigh Garden Club president; Alberta McKay; and Helen for getting this project off the ground. Diane Kuzdrall and Joan Little have joined Helen, Barbara, and Alberta as regular team members. The Winter Garden is beautiful at all times of the year but especially during the winter months. Does your garden include winter interest plants? Now is a great time to visit the JCRA Winter Garden to get ideas!

Is your club or organization interested in providing volunteer support to the Arboretum? Contact Frankie Fanelli at (919) 513-7004 or <frankie_fanelli@ncsu.edu>. – Frankie Fanelli, Volunteer Coordinator

Pansies and More Pansies

Pansies are just lovin' our winter! All of the fall planted pansy beds about the Triangle are packed with beaming flowers. Don't they just bring a smile to your face? The JCRA Roving Gardening Team planted 25 different cultivars of pansies during January. Watch the Entry Garden and the gardens near the pedestrian gate as these newly planted pansies take off. A special thank you to Phil Campbell, owner of Campbell Road Nursery, who donated the many flats of pansies.

The JCRA Roving Gardening Team meets on Tuesday mornings. This is a great way for new volunteers to become part of the JCRA Volunteer Program. Contact Frankie Fanelli at (919) 513-7004 or <frankie_fanelli@ncsu.edu>. – Frankie Fanelli, Volunteer Coordinator

Coming Attractions – Highlights of February

Even in winter our diverse plantings reward observant visitors with colorful surprises. February provides one last opportunity to appreciate the bones of the garden before spring buds begin to break.

Evergreens serve as anchors when deciduous plants are dormant.
Cupressus arizonica 'Limelight' – yellow Arizona cypress
Ilex cornuta 'Sunrise' – golden Chinese holly – E21e
Picea pungens 'Hoopsii' – Colorado blue spruce – Su7
Pinus virginiana 'Wate's Golden' – wintergold Virginia pine – E21e

Deciduous woody plants contribute structure to the garden. Contorted and weeping forms are particularly eye catching.
Betula nigra 'Summer Cascade' – weeping river birch – C07
Corylus avellana 'Contorta' – Harry Lauder's walking stick – E19b, T02
Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis 'Emerald Kascade' – weeping thornless honeylocust – E16
Poncirus trifoliata 'Flying Dragon' – contorted hardy orange – E19b, W15

Bark is often best appreciated in the winter months.
Acer buergerianum – trident maple – T04
Acer griseum – paperbark maple – S03, S08
Acer palmatum 'Beni kawa' and 'Sango kaku' – coral-bark Japanese maple – E00, J01
Cornus sanguinea 'Midwinter Fire' – bloodtwig dogwood – E21e
Salix 'Flame' – red-stem willow – Su7

Persistent fruits provide winter interest and food for wildlife.
Ilex latifolia – lusterleaf holly – WG3
Ilex 'Carolina Cardinal' – hybrid winterberry holly – E35, E43b
Nandina domestica and cultivars – heavenly bamboo – E16
Symphoricarpos ×doorenbosii cultivars – Doorenbos coralberry

Flowers in February hint at the promise of spring.
Chimonanthus praecox – fragrant wintersweet – E15
Daphne odora f. alba – white winter daphne – E19c
Edgeworthia chrysantha 'Winter Gold' – golden paperbush – C07
Helleborus ×hybridus and cultivars – Lenten rose – E19, E21
Prunus mume and cultivars – Japanese flowering apricot – E19, E21

This show is free. We invite you to visit often. – Judy Morgan-Davis, Interpretive Assistant, and Nancy Doubrava, Interpretive Specialist

February Calendar

Friends of the Arboretum Lecture – February 1, 2007 (Thursday) – 7:30 PM – Free for members, $5.00 for nonmembers

"Chickens in the City Garden" presented by Bob Davis, Blue Moon Garden Design. Living with chickens helps urban people nurture their vital earth connection. Bossman, Precious, and the other girls are not just pets, but an integral part of our garden and a link to natural cycles. Nothing is wasted, and all is appreciated. Come experience the "flowers of the poultry world."

André Michaux Lecture – February 8, 2007 (Thursday) – 7:30 PM – Free for members, $5.00 for nonmembers

"André Michaux, Botanist and Explorer" presented by Charlie Williams, Chairperson, North American Chapter of the André Michaux International Society. Join Charlie Williams, chairman of the Michaux society, as he dons period costume to whisk you back to Michaux's time in America with a first-person interpretation of this legendary botanist's life, travels and discoveries.

A Walk in the Winter Garden – February 18, 2007 (Sunday) – 1:00 PM-4:00 PM – Free

Join us at the JC Raulston Arboretum for "A Walk in the Winter Garden" as we celebrate the winter season. Festivities begin at 1:00 PM with a Friends of the Arboretum Lecture presented by Doug Ruhren, Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden. "A Walk in the Winter Garden" tours begin at 2:00 PM and will highlight many of the Arboretum's magnificent plants at their peak during the winter months including Japanese flowering apricots, witchhazels, hellebores, conifers, hollies, winter honeysuckles, and many others.

Schedule of Activities
1:00 PM – FOA Lecture – "Flowers of the Frost Season" presented by Doug Ruhren, Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden
2:00 PM-4:00 PM – Plant Sale
2:00 PM – Tour
2:30 PM – Tour
3:00 PM – Tour
3:30 PM – Tour

Please visit the "Calendar of Events" section on the JCRA Web site for a complete listing of our upcoming programs.

JC Raulston Arboretum e-Updates are published electronically every month for everyone interested in the Arboretum. Did you find this edition informative? What information would you like to see in future editions? Send Christopher Todd Glenn your suggestions. To remove yourself from this mailing, please write Christopher Todd Glenn.