Monday, June 22, 2009

Good morning! I feel like an old piece of beef jerky after this past weekend! (I'll elaborate) I spent Saturday at the Triangle Land Conservancy's Green Jamboree in Chapel Hill. It was HOT and WINDY (thus the beef jerky reference), but it was also a LOT of fun. I facilitated a wildlife gardening seminar at the jamboree that culminated in the actual planting of a wildlife garden adjacent to a historic house on the property. I had about 30 people attend the seminar, and a good number of them stayed after my talk to brave the hair dryer heat and help put plants in the ground. The event would not have been possible without the generous donations of a number of organizations. Plants for the event were donated by the Sarah P. Duke Gardens, Niche Gardens, Mellow Marsh Farm, Cure Nursery and Hoffman Nursery. Other help for the event came from the North Carolina Native Plant Society. Thanks to all of you who helped! As the garden matures over the next few years, we will make plans to use it as an educational tool in the effort to educate the public about the importance of gardening for wildlife. You can also visit www.blomquistgarden.com and choose the link for the Wildlife Garden to see what we've been doing to encourage the use of native plants for wildlife attraction here at Duke Gardens. I'll post photos of the TLC Green Jamboree on this blog as soon as they are available. See you soon!

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

What was that?! Oh, never mind. It was just the last three weeks of my life passing by in the blink of an eye. Lots going on these days. My trusty sidekick has been out with a bad back for three weeks now, and I promise I'll never take him for granted again. (not that I ever did, really). At any rate, the weeds stop growing for no man, and the show must go on, etc, etc. For those of you coming to the "Walk on the Wild Side" tour tomorrow in the Blomquist Garden, we'll be discussing the natural history and landscape uses of native ferns. Want to get out of the house? Come to the Triangle Land Conservancy's "Green Jamboree" on June 20th at the Irvin Farm property in Chapel Hill. I'll be conducting a hand's on (that means you will be getting dirty) wildlife gardening workshop there in the afternoon. You can learn more at www.triangleland.org. If there is anyone out there who wants to learn more about invasive plant removal, the Duke Gardens will be involved in two community invasive removals this summer. Send an email to me at sbloodwo@duke.edu for more info. K- the weeds are growing. Be back later..