sometimes homework is cool.

on the first day of class, dr. dennis werner informed the students in his "gardening with herbaceous perennials" class that we'd have a semester long project that would be due during the last week of classes.

we had to take pictures of flowers every week for eleven weeks. seriously.

i was looking forward to this; i love taking pictures and i love plants. but let me tell you - it is a challenge to find things in bloom in early february. i managed to find a few, and it was worth it to watch new things pop up over the weeks. in fact, i ended up with so many pictures that it was kind of a pain in the butt to organize everything to turn in.

here, i've selected some favorites from the final project to share. most are from the j. c. raulston arboretum, but i did get the chance to visit the sarah p. duke gardens in durham and the north carolina botanical garden in chapel hill. they are both great local gardens that i'd recommend anyone to visit - multiple times!

callaway gardens. pine mountain, ga.

right around the end of the fall semester and final exams, i was scrambling to complete and submit two scholarship applications. one was for the garden writers association foundation. for this, i had to complete an application and submit my transcript, reference letters, two writing samples, and some photography samples. the other application was for the callaway gardens spring gardening symposium. the prize that the applicant could win was a trip to georgia to visit callaway gardens and attend their spring gardening symposium. i thought both of these looked like great opportunities, so i got my junk together and put everything in the mail.

the week before christmas, i found out that i had won both of the scholarships. it felt AWESOME.

the callaway gardens spring gardening symposium took place during the last weekend of january. included in the scholarship was the cost of a room and registration for the symposium for myself, and also for a teacher/mentor. i was lucky to have as my guest diane mays, a research technician in the fox greenhouses at nc state, and we had a super good weekend. we flew into atlanta on friday, rented a car, and drove about an hour to pine mountain. pine mountain looked like a completely adorable town. my only regret of the trip was not being able to explore it more.

the speakers at the symposium were fantastic, including dr. michael dirr, erin weston (of weston farms), and joe lamp'l (growing a greener world). there was also a marketplace of local vendors with tons of plants, books, tools, and garden art. if it weren't for the fact that we flew down, it could have potentially been a dangerous area. diane thoughtfully bought me a fuzzy succulent that i was stalking throughout the weekend, (Echeveria setosa) and i gently carried it home on the airplane in a paper starbucks bag.

in addition to lots of inspiration and a plant, i brought away from the experience some great photos of perhaps some of the lesser known parts of the gardens. as it was in the middle of winter, callaway gardens' famous azaleas were not yet in bloom. this allowed guests to visit some equally amazing plants in the conservatories. the mediterranean house was my favorite: the succulent collection was SO COOL. i took lots of pictures, but i've tried to narrow it down a little. needless to say, i've acquired a small addiction to cactus and succulents since the trip. i'll share some photos of my personal collection soon.

the mediterranean house, callaway gardens.

Sedum morganianum. "donkey's tail."

i want a succulent wall in my house.

a waterfall in my house might be cool too?

inside the tropical conservatory.

the butterfly house.

jc raulston arboretum & nc state horticulture club!

sunday i was bummed. it's the weekend. andrew is home. jane is home. little buddy the cat is home. and i am home and we're all in the house, and we are supposed to be enjoying the day and hanging out before the work week begins again. but, i'm in the office. doing homework. i. was. bummmmed.

after a couple hours of work, the door creeked open and andrew stuck his head in.
"how are you doin?"
"fine," i said. i was not fine.
"what's wrong?"
"i want to do something fun."

he asked if i wanted to go out and walk through a nursery. yes i did! what a wonderful guy. upon further consideration, i suggested the arboretum. neither of us had been, and i had to go to do a class project anyway. it was beautiful. i brought the camera along:

i can't wait to go back. it was a hot day, and andrew's stomach was talking, so we headed out after about an hour. (lunch at jasmin mediterranean bistro on hillsborough. super good.) i want to learn about how to get involved and what kind of programs are offered. i've been stalking the website since we got home: http://www.ncsu.edu/jcraulstonarboretum/index.php. i highly recommend visiting. they also hold a plant sale in september, sponsored by the horticulture honor fraternity. i'll definitely be there!

last night, i attended the first nc state horticulture club meeting of the year. i really enjoyed it, and i am looking forward to the next one. the club goes on a few field trips each year to different gardens and nurseries. this fall they are going to ASHEVILLE (!) and in the spring they are going to THE NETHERLANDS AND GERMANY (!!!!!!). and they just roam around reveling in horticulture! i was geekin out last night. i prattled on to andrew and my mom and dad and to myself in the car on the way home. i would absolutely love to go, so i can't wait until the organizational meetings for the trips start happening to that i can find out more.

tomorrow is the first day of state's campus farmer's market. i am pumped.

airlie gardens & the bottle chapel!

airlie's 400-year-old oak tree

i was super excited to have the opportunity to visit airlie gardens while in wilmington. i had heard of it, and driven past it when visiting eleanor's house, but had never gone inside - and neither had eleanor!

you can read about the history of airlie gardens on its site in more detail. basically, the land got its pick-me-up when the jones family moved to town. sarah jones worked with architect rudolf topel to create much of the garden that you can see today. in 1948, the corbett family bought the property to use as their residence,  and continued to care for the gardens up until 1999 when they sold it to the county. now the public may visit it almost everyday of the year and enjoy all that it has to offer!

here are some sneak peaks:

inside the butterfly house!

the pergola garden.

smelled like honeysuckle!

and the main attraction (for me anyway..): the bottle chapel! the chapel was made out of over 4000 colorful glass bottles, metal sculptures, and mosaics. it sits in the minnie evans sculpture garden, in which all the pieces were designed by area artists as a tribute to the late wilmington artist. i loved every inch of the chapel.

it's definitely worth the five dollars to visit airlie. bring your camera. and wear your sunscreen. (that last one is for you, cj.)

bob: garden groundskeeper.

it's sinking in: i am no longer a full-time, 9-to-5, computer-and-desk job employee. it's also sinking in that i will no longer be receiving a regular paycheck. yikes.

in an attempt not to dwell on the scarier aspects of what lie ahead, i've just come back from a wonderful vacation with my friends at the beach, and i've got some cool things to share. my friend eleanor's parents live in wilmington, on the intercoastal waterway, in a beautiful house with a possibly even more beautiful yard.  i had the pleasure of staying there this past weekend and spend just about every afternoon on wrightsville beach swimming and reading. it was the jam.

in addition to the lush garden right outside the back door, we also visited the hanover county aboretum and airlie gardens. i am grateful for eleanor's patience while we visited these places: i took over 250 photos! every two feet there was something else to document, and i was so glad to have the opportunity to see everything.

today i've got some photos of the amazing retreat that is the yard of eleanor's house. seriously. i could live on the backporch with bob, the cat, who patrols the grounds. bob showed up a few years ago and, in return for some food, assists in yard maintenance and upkeep. he has the endearing habit of following you around the yard, and he finds great pleasure in bulldozing your face with his nose.

behold bob's kingdom:

view from the back porch.

after a beach rain shower.

and finally,  bob:

bob lurking.

bob stare-down.

tomorrow: the hanover county aboretum! complete with koi pond!