The series, “Landscapes that Last,” is for coastal residents, local governments, homeowners associations and nurseries “to build shared knowledge and healthier coastal communities.”
native plants
Native tree giveaway in Wilmington to be largest yet
In its largest giveaway to date, Cape Fear Alliance for Trees will have more than 1,400 native trees available for the taking beginning Friday afternoon.
Carnivore blooms
A Venus flytrap shows off its perhaps little-appreciated blooms, which are often overlooked, as compared with the other, better-known, insect-trapping attributes of this carnivorous plant that’s native only to a roughly 90-mile stretch of the North Carolina coast between Wilmington and Morehead City. Photo: Mark Hibbs
What about those ‘other’ pollinators? No honey, no sting
Lepidoptera, as they are known to scientists, are familiar creatures that are not only welcome guests in many gardens, they are also essential to certain flowering species’ survival.
Terms of endearment: Understand common gardening jargon
Maybe it’s lingo, or terminology, but whatever you call it, referring to crops’ scientific names can yield helpful clues, and so with an understanding of Earth’s natural satellite.
Morning stretch
Daddy longlegs, scientifically speaking, a member of the Leiobunum genus, stretches its legs recently on the leaf of a sweetbay magnolia, or Magnolia virginiana, a native species on the North Carolina coast. Often called harvestmen — there are at least 6,600 suborders of the species — and mistakenly identified as spiders, the insect is an arachnid that has been found everywhere on Earth except Antarctica. Photo: Mark Hibbs
Sierra Club to celebrate Earth Day, hold plant walks, talks
N.C.’s Sierra Club’s Croatan Group is to host an Earth Day celebration on April 22, and have planned two walks to see carnivorous plants, and a talk with a master gardener about native plants to take place over the next month.
October therapy: Grow your own ‘Little Shop of Horrors’
As Halloween nears, garden centers stock up on Venus flytraps, and a gardener of any skill level can attempt to cultivate their own tiny Audrey II.
‘Home of the Venus Flytrap’ specialty plates soon available
The specialty license plate featuring the Venus flytrap supports the North Carolina Botanical Garden Foundation and will be available in a few months.
NC Forest Service to begin annual tree seedlings sale July 1
Conifer and hardwood seedlings will be available for purchase.
Coastal native plant talk to show the role of resilient species
N.C. Cooperative Extension’s Amy Mead will present “Life on the Coast is Easy? How Native Plants are Built for Life Near the Beach” Feb. 7 at the Crystal Coast Civic Center in Morehead City.
Interactive online tour shows Green Swamp’s need for fire
Emma Gwyn, an intern with The Nature Conservancy in Wilmington has created an interactive online StoryMap that illustrates how a wildfire earlier this year has already benefited the Green Swamp Nature Preserve.
First Lady Cooper plants tree at park to hail native plants
North Carolina First Lady Kristin Cooper and other state officials visited Jockey’s Ridge State Park last week to plant a persimmon tree and celebrate plant species native to the region.
Volunteers help remove Venus flytraps from harm’s way
The perennial, carnivorous plants have migrated to ditches alongside the roadsides in Boiling Spring Lakes, but imminent development has made their relocation a race against time.
Venus flytrap: Carolinas’ most unique plant still in peril
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service ruled last month that the Venus flytrap “is not facing an imminent threat of extinction now or in the foreseeable future,” but the agency underestimated the increasing risks.
State cultural sites policy encourages use of native plants
The policy, effective July 1, is to help the department meet its mission of protecting the state’s natural heritage, officials said in the announcement.
