French Broad views

There's a lovely trail up along the Deer Park Trail at the Biltmore Estate.  It starts at the lagoon and goes up to the Walled Garden and the "house."We had a lovely hike there this morning, so I remembered these views from earlier in fall, on a similar hike.There were a couple of red-headed woodpeckers...

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Winter views and sculptural trees

The winter views have become amazing in the mountains.  The clear air, trees sculpturally outlined in the distance.  Wonderful.I'd posted about this tree some years ago.Happily, I'm still enjoying the view of it, along the horizon as I walk up past the visitor center and towards the bridge...

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Late fall view

 I've spent a lot of time in my study lately, proofing final book copy.  One of the joys was seeing the oak-leaf hydrangea next to the porch turn a vivid scarlet.They don't always do that.  This one has been happy in the almost total shade, and even though slow-growing, has thrived.view...

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Yard critters

A green treefrog (Hyla cinerea) jumped out of the beggar ticks (Bidens alba) that I had pulled from the front garden.A bagworm (Oiketicus abbotii) is overwintering on a beautyberry bush.Managing exuberance carefullyI allow some beggar ticks (Bidens alba) and snow squarestem (Melanthera nivea) to...

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Waterfalls and wildflowers

I'm fortunate to live in a wonderful part of the world -- our ancient mountains are rich in biodiversity of all sorts.  And we're blessed with an abundance of waterfalls, too, throughout the mountains.So I'm just thrilled to see the final copy of my gardening companion's second book, Waterfalls...

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It's been a wonderful fall

The cold and wind is pushing out the last fall leaves, but I'm reminded of what wonderful fall color that we've had in the Southeastern U.S.The maples just went on and on and on.view from Biltmore terraceI was reminded about how beautiful it's been, as I looked back through some recent photograp...

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Large numbers of buzzards

There's been a large flock of buzzards coming through at sundown for the last two days.  They swirl around in long, looping circles, as they slowly progress onwards.  Curious.  There are upwards of 20 in the group.We speculate about whether they're roosting nearby?I'm thinking that I...

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Watercolor workshop, Part II

The second day of the workshop was yesterday, separated in time because of a family illness, happily on the mend.Frankly, I didn't mind having some space between two intensive days of practicing technique learning...   Still recovering from an unaccustomed cold, I didn't really feel that well,...

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Watercolor workshop Part I

Several weeks ago, I did the first day of a two day workshop, taught by a gifted artist (Elizabeth Ellison).  Our studies that day were mountains and grassland, with learning different techniques and color theory.  I've enjoyed tip-toeing back into art through watercolors, which I hadn't really...

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Saving Seeds

Okay Kids, so this time of year is great. "GREAT?" you may say. Zach please explain. The upside is that you get to start you collecting for next year's seeds. If you have a particular type of non-Hybrid plant that you just can't live without and want next year...why not save some seeds from it. This...

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The fall colors keep coming...

Even in the mountains, there are still plenty of yellow and reds illuminating the landscapes.In the Piedmont this morning, I felt like I was saying good-bye to fall color, but maybe not, even as the arctic cold front (and wind) descends this weekend.oak-leaf hydrangeagingko, sassafras, viburnum, and...

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Gingkos: with and without leaves

After the coming weekend's fall blast of cold air, unusual for mid-November, we won't have much fall color left.  I'm thinking the wind will bring down all of the yellow, orange, and red maple leaves, and probably most of the oak leaves, too. A touchstone of our seasonal lives in the Eastern US...

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Ginkgos

In the mountains of Western North Carolina, the late October snow brought down all of the ginkgo leaves, before they'd turned their characteristic luminous yellow.In the piedmont of South Carolina, the leaves are starting to turn right now.  The smaller of the two trees in the garden where I used...

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A look back

Amazing to search for sassafras (which is a vivid color right now) in older posts, and pick up this post from several years ago - on this date.It's remarkable to see how much larger some of these trees are -- even just three years later (we've had a LOT of rain). http://naturalgardening.blogspot.com/2011/11/more-fall-color.htmlThe...

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Kalmias moving into the landscape

ready to plantMountain laurels are tricky -- they need perfect drainage and exactly the right site to be "at home" in a new spot. We've lost plenty over the years, when they weren't in the right spot!Old mountain laurels persist for decades, of course, and are perfectly sturdy in their (natural) well-drained...

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Tulips, revisited

I loved the fresh tulips, but their aftermath was equally beautiful.the following week...

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Nettles

I've been following a group that's interested in Celtic traditions and stories, and was surprised to see nettles pop up, as a touchstone plant in the first story.It's nutritious as a pot-herb, but also valuable (historically) as a fiber plant, and as a plant with story-meaning, too.Nettles are interesting...

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Lime basil

Lime basil took over my early lettuce rows. I'd grown it here last year and now I know that it's an abundant reseeder. I'd let it grow since early September when I set up these 2 rows, but now it was time to give the lettuce and the beets more room.Abundant harvest of lime basil! I shared some with...

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