Week of April 16, 2024 The blooms keep a comin' By Vicki K., Pitt County Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Vivid reds, pinks, purples, golds, and greens. The blooms keep a comin'. The plants on display provide just a hint at what you will see as you wander through the Arboretum. We're open seven days a week from dawn to dusk. Now is an ideal time to stroll through the gardens. For more information on the plants featured in this week's column, go to the NC State Plant Toolbox at https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu
Week of April 8, 2024 Celebrating National Native Plant Month By Teresa S., Pitt County Extension Master Gardener Volunteer April is National Native Plant Month. Think about adding native trees, shrubs, and flowers to your garden. All plants on display today are native plants. For more native plant ideas, check out the NC State Plant Toolbox at https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu
Week of April 1, 2024 Colorful blooms for everyone By Barbara P., Pitt County Extension Master Gardener Volunteer
While the size, form, and fresh white hue of Viburnum macrocephalum - Chinese Snowball Viburnum - makes it this week's showstopper, there are blooms of all colors in the Arboretum, sure to please everyone's palette. We're open seven days a week, from dawn to dusk. Admission is free and there's lots of free parking, too. Hope to see you.
Browse the NC State Plant Toolbox website if you would like more information on this week's plants in bloom.
Week of March 25, 2024 Pops of color in the Gardens By Cindy C., Pitt County Arboretum Extension Master Gardener Volunteer
Spring is here, and the gardens at the Arboretum are displaying more and more pops of yellow, pink, white, and even blue.
Consider visiting the Arboretum for a leisurely stroll around the walking trails and gardens. The Pitt County Arboretum is open seven days a week from dusk to dawn. The plants highlighted here are on display under the green canopy next to the parking lot. If you would like more information about these plants, check out the NC State Plant Toolbox.
Memorial Garden 4. Loropetalum chinense Chinese Fringe Flower
Wet Site Garden 5. Prunus x yedoensis Yoshino Cherry
Butterfly Garden 6. Cercis chinensis Chinese Redbud
Perennial Garden 7. Osmanthus fragrans Tea Olive 8. Euphorbia martini ‘Ascot Rainbow' Spurge 9. Pulmonaria ‘Trevi Fountain' Lungwort 10. Helleborus x hybridus Frostkiss ‘Molly’s White' Lenten Rose
Week of March 18, 2024 Watch Spring unfold at the Arboretum By Joanne K., Pitt County Arboretum Extension Master Gardener Volunteer, with assistance from Master Gardener Interns, Carolyn E. and Barbara P.
Tuesday, March 19, is the official start of spring, but the Pitt County Arboretum has been abloom for several weeks.
The native trumpet honeysuckle vine in the Children's Garden, which can be spotted in woodlands and along Greenville's greenway, is covered with clusters of tubular-shaped flowers, coral on the outside and yellow inside. The flowers are magnets for the ruby-throated hummingbird.
Another native, the Columbine, with its orange and yellow coloring similar to the native honeysuckle, can be seen in the Perennial and the Shade gardens. Hummingbirds love its bell-shaped flowers.
Also in the Perennial Garden the Japanese camellia continues flowering, as do the hellebores. Both are evergreens providing year-round garden interest.
The Ostrich Ferns still sport their dry brown fronds, which are lovely for dried arrangements. Soon tiny green curled fronds will appear at the base.
In the Walking Garden, the yellow magnolia 'Butterflies' has new blooms along with the older ones that have turned a soft tan. With its mass of beautiful white balls from top to bottom, the Chinese Snowball Viburnum is always a knockout.
The variegated leaves of the Japanese Acuba and the evergreen needles of the Dwarf Japanese Euonymous needles look good all year.
The delicate blooms on the Japanese Maple look very airy in the morning light.
We invite you to visit the Arboretum and watch spring unfolding in eastern North Carolina.
Perennial Garden 2. Aquilegia sp., Columbine, Native 3. Camellia japonica, Japanese Camellia 4. Helleborus x hybridus FROSTKISS, 'Molly's White,' Lenten Rose 5. Matteuccia structhioptaris, 'The King,' Ostrich Fern, dried fronds
Walking Garden 6. Magnolia 'Butterflies,' Magnolia Hybrid 7. Viburnum macrocephalum, Chinese Snowball Viburnum 8. Acuba japonica, Japanese Acuba 9. Acer palmatum, Japanese Maple 10. Euonymous japonicus, 'Microphyllus,' Dwarf Japanese Euonymous
Week of March 11, 2024 Getting closer to spring By Susann C., Pitt County Arboretum Extension Master Gardener Volunteer
Feeling the sun and seeing today’s bright blue sky suggests we’re that much closer to spring. Deep pink and red blooms shine at the Arboretum, whether it is the deep round dark purple berries massed over a trellis in the Children’s Garden; Moss Phlox with its delicate flowers, on the edge of the Wildflower Garden, the recovering Redbud with its striking fuschia notes in the Butterfly Garden, or the deep purple tones of the clumps of Lenten Rose in the Perennial Garden. Luckily for us, sunny warm days will accelerate the arrival of more plants in bloom, adding to the pops of color now present.
If you’d like to know more about the plants featured in What’s in Bloom, check out the NC State Plant Toolbox.
Butterfly Garden 1. Cercis chinensis – Chinese Redbud
Week of March 4, 2024 Late winter bloomers by Joanne K., Pitt County Arboretum Extension Master Gardener Volunteer
With the beginning of March, What's in Bloom begins its 2024 season.
Late winter bloomers range from bright yellow forsythia, which comes out ahead of its leaves; the many beautiful magnolias with their varied shapes and colors; and the very fragrant osmanthus and viburnums. Beautiful bulbs such as daffodils continue to open.
If you look closely at the trees, you'll see the first flowers on the cherries and the buds on the native red maples that will soon burst open. Known for its beautiful variegated leaves, the aucuba surprises and delights when it sports tiny blooms this time of year.
Now is a wonderful time to stroll through the many Arboretum gardens to observe the approach of spring.