Happy February! It's been a more seasonable cool start to the month after a few warm days at the end of January. Our Camellia japonicas are bursting with another round of blooms- make sure to stop by Stanly and Jones House Gardens to pick your favorite! The winter honeysuckle, fragrant winter sweet, and fragrant tea olive have been absolute garden workhorses this winter with both dainty flowers and amazing fragrance- they can be found in the Commission House, Stanly House and Jones House Gardens as well as the Wilderness Garden. For my favorite incoming blooms to watch, check out the Stanly House "Moondance" hellebores in the circles- a great darker foliage and white bloom that maintains well into the summer. The winter foliage from ornamental grasses is finishing up its last legs before being pruned to make room for new growth- the White Cloud Muhly Grass in the Hawks Allee is my particular favorite this year.
SAVE THE DATE: Join us for the March Garden Lecture on Saturday, March 9th, 2024 at 10:30am. Delve into the world of horticulture with “These are a Few of our Favorite Things: A Spring Plant Sale Sneak Peek,” featuring insights from Hadley Cheris and Mike Spafford, members of the Tryon Palace Garden Staff. During this lecture, discover the staff’s favorite plants and gain valuable insights into why, where, and how to incorporate them into your own garden. Additionally, get an exclusive sneak peek at the plants that will be available at the upcoming Tryon Palace Spring Plant Sale.
If you’re looking for a New Year's Resolution and way to give back to your community, consider joining us as a garden volunteer! We are looking for volunteers for pruning, planting, raking, mulching, watering, weeding. It’s a great way to learn some gardening tips and tricks, especially for our area! If that sounds like your cup of tea, please contact me at hadley.cheris@dncr.nc.gov.
We hope to see you soon! Happy Gardening,
Hadley Merizalde Cheris, Tryon Palace Director of Facilities and Gardens
Annuals
- Artemisia Sea Salt, SunFern Olympia
- Batchelor’s Buttons (Centaurea cyanus) blue, black, purple
- Dianthus- Super Parfait Raspberry, Zing Rose; Jolt Pink Magic; Jolt Cherry; Jolt Purple; Venti Parfait Blueberry Eye
- Dusty Miller ‘Silver Dust’
- Euphorbia “Starblast”, “Starblast Pink”
- Flowering Kale “Redbor”, “Crane Red”, “Black Magic”
- Gazania ‘Pink Shades’, ‘Colorado’, ‘Sunny Side Up’, ‘New Magic’, ‘New Day Mix Tiger’, ‘New Day Yellow’, ‘Enorma Mix’
- Johnny-jump-up (Viola tricolor) purple and yellow
- Mustard “Japanese Giant Red” (Brassica juncea)
- Snapdragons (Antirrhinum majus) Snaptastic Mix- various; Snapshot White; Sonnet White
- Stipa ‘Pony Tails’
- Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus) Telstar Mix; red, white, pink
- Violas: Color Max Mix Lemonberry; Sorbet XP Spring Select
Perennials
- Bachelor’s Button (Centaurea montana) blue
- Bath’s Pink (Dianthus gratianopolitanus) pink
- Bears foot Hellebore (Helleborus foetidus) yellowish
- Bleeding Heart (Dicentra eximia) pink/white
- Candytuft (Iberis sempervirens) white
- Carnation (Dianthus sp.) various
- Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia numularia) yellow foliage
- Creeping Speedwell (Veronica umbrosa) blue
- Dusty Miller- gray foliage, yellow flowers
- Lenten Rose (Helleborus X orientalis) pink, white, purple
- Moondance Hybrid Lenten Rose (Helleborus x iburgensis ‘Moondance’) white
- Leopard plant (Farfugium japonicum) yellow
- Mountain pinks (Phlox subulata) pink, lavender, white
- Ornamental Grasses (Various)
- Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus) red, white, pink
Bulbs, Corms and Rhizomes
- Algerian Iris (Iris ungularia) blue
- Bearded Iris "Immortality" white, reblooming
- Crocus (Crocus vernus) various
- Daffodils, Jonquils and Paperwhites (Narcissus sp) yellows, white
- Hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis) pink, white, purple
- Paperwhite Narcissus (Narcissus papyraceus) white
- Poppy Anemone (Anemone coronaria De Caen) various
- Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) white, green
- Snowflakes (Leucojum aestivum) white
Trees and Shrubs
- Glossy Abelia (Abelia grandiflora) pink, white
- Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) purple berries on bare stems
- Bridal Wreath (Spirea prunifolia) white
- Camellia (Camellia japonica) cultivars:
‘Pink Perfection’ pink, double
‘Professor Sargent’ deep rose, double
‘Debutante’ clear, light pink
‘Lady Clare’ carmine rose, semi-double
‘Alba plena’ white with pink cast
‘Lovely Surprise’ pink
‘Dr. Tinsley’ pink, semi-double
- Sasanqua Camellia (Camellia sasanqua sp.) white & pink
- Chinese Mahonia (Mahonia fortunei) yellow blooms, blue berries
- First Breath of Spring or Winter Honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima) white
- Flowering Apricot (Prunus mume) pink
- Flowering Quince (Chaenomeles speciosa) apricot pink, red
- Fragrant Osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans) yellow **Smells AMAZING**
- Fragrant Winter Sweet (Chimonanthus praecox) yellow
- Hollies (Ilex sp.): Yaupon (I. vomitoria) red, yellow berries; Winterberry (I. verticillata) red berries; Dahoon (I. cassine) red; Lusterleaf (I. latifolia) red; Dwarf Burford Holly (Ilex cornuta) red berries
- Japanese Fatsia (Fatsia japonica) white, green to black berries
- Leatherleaf Viburnum (Viburnum rhytidophyllum) white
- Laurustinus (Viburnum tinus) pink to white
- Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) cream
- Nandina (Nandina domestica) red, yellow berries
- Pomegranate (Punica granata) reddish fruit
- Red Maple (Acer rubrum) tiny red blooms (find by the sound of honeybees!)
- Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) purple
- Tea plant (Camellia sinenses) white
- Winter Jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorium) yellow
- Witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) yellow to reddish brown
Wildflowers/ Bee Food
- Henbit (Lamium amplexicaule) lavender
- Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) yellow
Kitchen Garden:
- Beets, carrots, lettuce, mustards, kale, parsley, Swiss chard, spinach, arugula, fava beans, leeks, artichoke, cardoon, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, collards, mints, oregano, thyme, salad burnet
- Cover crops for overwintering and crop rotation.