under a big leaf

Yesterday, my walk to work took a slight detour. I decided to trek around the Sarah Duke Garden’s Bloomquist Garden. There, you can easily find several big-leaf magnolias. This native tree is worth the trip since it is rarely found in the wild and it boasts the largest simple leaf structure of any tree in North America. As if this week’s humidity wasn’t enough of a reminder of how tropical our woods can feel in the summer……

I was intrigued by a recent article in the Charlotte Observer that mentioned the rare big-leaf magnolia. The news story was about a new nature preserve surrounding Redlair Farm in Gaston County where a good many of these trees still have a natural foothold.

Given Charmeck’s urban sprawl, it sounds like a victory for more than just environmentalists. Advocates for historic preservation can and should cheer too. Preserving the history of local landscapes means more than just cleaning up a cemetery or rehabbing a farmhouse. It also means recognizing the value of diminishing habitats, land features, and ways of life. Less big-leaf magnolias and more loblolly pines may mean that more than just our physical geography is changing. It can be symptomatic of cultural change too. So, should Preservation North Carolina be rallying equally to save rare plants and mill villages? I’m not ready to say just that, but tree huggers and building huggers should hug each other more often. Together they might keep more bulldozers at bay.

Recession Garden update: middle June

It has been a good month for my vegetable and herb garden. On the heels of one of the wettest springs in recent memory, the early summer has started off with several showers and storms--enough to keep me from having to hand water any of the vegetables I put in a week before Mother's Day.

I've already had to pinch back the basil a few times, add in some flowers for color (verbena, marigolds, four o' clocks), and re-tie the purple string bean bushes. My pumpkin and butternut squash vines are already venturing into parts of the bed I didn't think they'd visit until August. So, I am watching, waiting, weeding. More pics after the solstice...

tired of monkey grass in the medians?

Here is a clump of Baptisia australis or wild indigo. Whenever you see this, it is usually the mark of a serious gardener or someone who hired a landscape designer. It shouldn't have to be that way. But because it isn't available at all the super centers, you don't find wild indigo in enough home gardens. It is a circle that folks in the nursery and horticulture industries know far more about than me. The market gets what the market wants. And sometimes that is a shame.

In my humble opinion, wild indigo is wonderful alternative to the oceans of overgrown daylilies you see in parking lots and along highways everywhere. It thrives in drought and has beautiful flower spikes. The foliage, even though it dies back in the winter, is a great light green. I would like to see it planted more often.

This informal grouping is part of the planned landscape around Duke's Fitzpatrick's Center. If you cannot find this plant at the local garden shop, ask for it. If that does not work, try Niche Gardens or Plant Delights Nursery. The daily plant sale at the NCBG in Chapel Hill is also a good place to seek out this specimen or other native plants that do just fine without a lot of coddling.