Your Home, Garden and Travel

1.  Jenny's White Garden at Fearrington Village. Pittsboro, North Carolina. March 2012

2.  Duke Gardens, Duke University. Durham, North Carolina. July 2011

3.  Duke Gardens. July 2011

4.  Central Park, New York City. June 2011

5.  Musée des Impressionismes, Giverny, France. May 2009.

6.  In a Paris, France park. April 2011

Sprinkles, masses or entire gardens—the use of white flowers can be a huge success or a total fail. These six inspirations were gathered on visits to gardens at home and abroad.

1. Jenny's White Garden at Fearrington Village changes with the seasons. Since this is located only five minutes from my home, I've seen the changes. In early spring, the white blooms are primarily daffodils and other spring bulbs.
2. I've seen the Page-Rollins White Garden at Duke Gardens only in the heat of July where it was splendid in the 90+°F heat of the summer sun. There are succulents, perennials and annuals as well as foliage plants. I've not located a list of their plantings as this section of the garden is very new.
3. The yucca container in the center was surrounded by sweet alyssum, a plant that I grow from seed that overwintered here in my zone7b garden during our mild winter of 2011.
4. White hydrangeas and large, blue hostas provided a cool vignette in the shade on a hot June day in Central Park, New York City.
5. For more information on the black and white flower garden, see my story about the Musée des Impressionismes in Giverny, France.
6. Walking through a random park in Paris, France, I photographed these white tulips underplanted with white forget-me-nots.

Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel. All company or product or patented names mentioned are registered trademarks, copyrights, or patents owned by those respective companies or persons.

Yes, the Hunger Games movie was filmed right here in North Carolina!

Take a look at the link to the official tourism website, VisitNC.com, if you're interested in visiting the locations. Scenes were filmed in the beautiful western part of our state, including DuPont State Recreational Forest for the "arena" and below the Craggy Pinnacle Trail off the Blue Ridge Parkway.

12 Places To Experience 'The Hunger Games' In North Carolina - What's New In NC – North Carolina Travel & Tourism
There is even a suggestion for a 4 day itinerary on VisitNC.

An article on Huffington Post® provides a good overview of the travel options here in North Carolina.

Are you going to see the movie?
Did you read the books?

Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel. All company or product or patented names mentioned are registered trademarks, copyrights, or patents owned by those respective companies or persons.

Lilac 'Miss Kim' in full bloom in my home garden. Chapel Hill, North Carolina; April 2011.

Fragrant and beautiful, lilacs are perhaps among the most romantic of the spring-blooming shrubs. There are modern offerings of this old-fashioned shrub that make it possible for me to grow lilacs here in my warm, zone 7b garden in North Carolina. Lilacs perform much better in the cooler northern zones. This shrub has been reliably deer and rabbit resistant in my garden. No munching, even though the deer walk right past the shrub year-round as they sneak through my shrubbery to drink from our water feature!

It has taken four years for my 'Miss Kim' to bloom abundantly. I first planted her in full sun and she toasted in summer. I transplanted her to a space between two tea olives (osmanthus fragrans) to give her some shade. Between the fragrance of the lilac and the fragrance from the tea olives, the combined perfume is very heavy and can be enjoyed from all area of my garden. Not unlike walking into a department store and being overcome by the scent of hundreds of perfumes!

Another reason why I squeezed 'Miss Kim' in between the evergreen tea olives is because she gets to be a bit dowdy looking when not in bloom. So, I let her bloom. Take her photo while she is stunning, then cut the panicles of perfume to bring indoors.

Lilac 'Miss Kim' (syringa pubescens susp. patula)
zones 3a-7b
4-6 feet
full sun (partial sun is better in the warmest zone)

While visiting JC Raulston Arboretum in mid-March, I found 'Miss Kim' blooming along with a cutleaf lilac (syringa x laciniata). The cutleaf lilac has an open, airy form and is taller and looser in structure.

Cutleaf lilac (syringa x laciniata)
zones 4-8
6-10 feet
full sun

Cutleaf lilac at JC Raulston Arboretum. Raleigh, North Carolina; March 2011.

Blooms of cutleaf lilac.

Nearly everywhere we went in Paris—tucked into city streetscapes and along the River Seine; or growing in full glory in the parks, such as the Jardin des Plantes—lilacs were in full bloom for the first week of April.  While the shrubs were not labeled, there was no doubt about the fragrance! By the time we reached Provence, I had stopped taking photos of lilacs, but they were still blooming in abundance, especially in our quiet little neighborhood in Aix-en-Provence.

Lilac in full bloom in Jardin des Plantes. Paris, France; April 2011.

Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel. Deer and rabbit resistance varies based upon the animal population and availability of food. All company or product or patented names mentioned are registered trademarks, copyrights, or patents owned by those respective companies or persons.

Travelers, gardeners and bloggers have one thing in common—they take lots of photos. For a few years, I've been in pursuit of a camera that handles the majority of my issues.

When I travel, I don't check bags anymore, but that's another story. I pack all of my clothes and belongings in one bag, but that's also another story. So, I require a small and lightweight camera to meet my limited baggage space. Given my past experience with a SLR camera and the flexibility of multiple lenses, I prefer having wide angle and zoom capabilities.

For the last two years, I've been using a Canon SX10 IS camera with a 20x zoom lens. The body resembles a DSLR, but the zoom and wide angle lens are built-in to the camera, so there are no extra pieces to carry on a trip. The camera weighs 1.5 lbs, uses four AA batteries and does not fit in a pocket. To use the full capability of the zoom, it is best to use a tripod for stability. I don't want to haul a tripod to Europe. After carrying the camera around Paris in 2009, I was "over it" from the inconvenience of the size and weight. That said, the lens flexibility is wonderful and I am very pleased with the quality of the images, both at home in the garden and on trips. My only complaint is in hauling the camera around.

Since then, I've been following camera reviews for "Compact Super Zoom Travel Cameras" that are small, point-and-shoot with manual options, but have a long enough lens to meet my demands. Based upon the reviews, I decided to try the Samsung HZ35W model (but, I got the HZ30W without the GPS capability). I waited months for the camera to go on sale before purchasing it—and the price was so unbelievable that Circuit City has sold out as of the writing of this story! (Use the links to the reviews and to the Circuit City site to read about all the details about the camera.)

I took the camera to the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro to try out the capabilities, image quality, color accuracy, ease-of-use and portability.

For most of the shots, I decided to use the "Automatic" setting so that I didn't have to keep track of any manual tinkering that is possible. The Samsung is 12.2 MP with a lens capable of 24-360mm. There is a 15x optical zoom and a 5x digital zoom. For the longest zoom (the elephants), I used the "Scene" mode in "landscape" to stretch the length as the elephants were far and away across a large pasture from the observation point.

Samsung HZ30W in automatic mode using the optical zoom at 15x. Full sun; moving animals.

Samsung HZ30W in landscape ("Scene") mode using both the optical and digital zoom for 75x! No tripod was used, but the stabilization capability worked well. Full sun; moving elephant.

The wonderful world of true colors! Red is such a difficult color to capture accurately. This Samsung delivers the best color accuracy that I've ever experienced with a digital camera in automatic mode!

For this review, I did no post-processing on these photos to balance exposure, color or brighten shadows. I reduced the size for faster uploading. (click photos to enlarge)

At home--red and white flowers indoors with no flash. Macro setting.

Scarlet Ibis inside the zoo aviary. Automatic mode using 15x optical zoom.

A duck of many colors inside the aviary. Automatic mode with 15x zoom.

Hummingbird in flight; through glass window; indoors; partial zoom; automatic mode.

Macro with automatic setting. Indoors without a flash in the aviary.

I am thrilled with the image quality, macro and zoom results in the automatic setting. However, the Samsung has a big bag of tricks for those who wish to play with the manual settings—adjusting the exposure, compensating for backlighting, shutter speed and more. There is a dual (optical and digital) stabilization capability to reduce camera shake. There are many point-and-shoot options for face detection, smile detection, blink detection and scene composition.

The camera takes 720p HD quality video at 30 frames per second (I tried this out, but didn't want to upload 45mb of an elephant swaying). You can also record memos separately—a handy option when you want to remember what you are photographing during travels or the different flowers in the garden.

There is a HDMI connection if you want to connect to a high-definition TV. The charger uses the USB adapter so that you can charge the battery while it is installed in the camera. An independent battery-only charger is a separate purchase.

Photos can be edited on the camera, or you may upload to your computer to use an editing package of your preference. I've not yet tried in-camera editing, but the options are similar to those in my Apple® iPhoto software.

There is no viewfinder, but the back 3-inch AMOLED screen is large and easy to view, even when wearing sunglasses. The camera allows you to read all of the options in text, instead of just symbols, on the screen. The grip is easy and comfortable, so I don't feel like I'm in danger of dropping the camera.

As for meeting my travel requirements, the Samsung fits easily into my purse when not in use. It's a bit larger (2.38"H x 4.21"W x 1.13" D) than some other compact cameras, but men with a jacket pocket will have no problem stowing this one away. The macro and zoom lens satisfies my desire for a wide range of distance focusing.

Whether snapping garden shots or travel memories, the flexibility of the Samsung and the quality of the images make this camera well worth the sale price of $151, including shipping!

Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel. All company or product or patented names mentioned are registered trademarks, copyrights, or patents owned by those respective companies or persons.

Please enjoy this original music from The Boys from Carolina. Dobro and vocals: Chuck Schutte Mandolin and vocals: Wright Young Standup Bass: Richard Roach (my husband) Guitar and vocals: Larry Nunnery Banjo: Bob Wilkerson Happy Holidays! Freda, Richard, Garrett and Chris Video by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel.

Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel. All company or product or patented names mentioned are registered trademarks, copyrights, or patents owned by those respective companies or persons.

For a great gardener's getaway, visit the Triangle area of North Carolina. The cities of Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill are home to spectacular public and private gardens. It is so easy to fill up a weekend—or a week—with gardens!

Even if you aren't a gardener, there's nothing more pleasant than strolling the many gardens to just enjoy nature and being outdoors. When the sun shines and weather is fine, locals go to the free public gardens at three major universities — North Carolina State University, Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

See private gardens that are open for only a few days each year or by appointment. Plant collectors will enjoy visiting the all the gardens, especially the gardens associated with nationally known nurseries. When the weather is chilly, warm up inside a huge butterfly conservatory that is filled with exotic tropicals.

With ten gardens, all located less than one hour from Raleigh—how many will you see?

Raleigh Gardens

JC Raulston Arboretum at NC State University
If you want to see the perfect plants to grow in the southeast, start at Raulston. In addition to the plant trials and huge perennial border, there is a fabulous Lath House, a butterfly garden, a Japanese Garden, a Xeric Garden and so much more. Every Sunday at 2:00 PM, March-October, you can take a free, guided tour. Admission free.

Juniper Level Botanic Garden
This garden is a must see—but is open only eight weekends a year during the open house days for Tony Avent's Plant Delights Nursery. Group tours can be arranged by calling ahead "WAY in advance." Although admission is free to visit the gardens, you'll have a difficult time leaving the nursery without taking home a plant or two or three...

Rose Gardens of the Raleigh Little Theatre
If you can sneak into this "almost secret" garden between weddings and events, you'll be treated to 56 varieties of roses in the 60 beds at the Rose Gardens. Accredited by the All American Rose Society, the gardens include "hybrid teas, floribundas, grandifloras, miniatures and antiques." Admission free.

Durham Gardens

NC Museum of Life and Science
Not a garden per se, the NC Museum of Life and Science has a glorious butterfly conservatory. The Magic Wings Butterfly House® is home to over 100 species set in a tropical garden. Outdoors, there are wildlife habitats, a rain garden, wetlands and too many children's activities to mention. This is definitely the place to go if you are bringing your children along, but you don't have to be a kid to enjoy the museum. Admission fee.

Sarah P. Duke Gardens at Duke University
Known for one of the best spring color displays in the terraced gardens, there is so much more to the famous Duke Gardens throughout the year. Set among 55-acres, locals stroll the paths through the Asiatic Gardens and the Garden of Native Plants. Admission free.

Chapel Hill Area Gardens

Coker Arboretum at UNC Chapel Hill
Quietly tucked away on the campus of UNC, Coker Arboretum is the perfect place to picnic and stroll the paths to view native plants and special hybrids. A mix of evergreens, dogwoods, azaleas and the famous wisteria arbor serve as garden walls that separate this garden from the hubbub of campus and town activity. Admission free.

North Carolina Botanical Garden at UNC Chapel Hill
To see North Carolina natives, visit the Botanical Garden in Chapel Hill. Native wildflowers, trees and grasses are in both natural settings and display gardens to enthrall and educate gardeners and visitors. There are also acres of hiking trails adjacent to the gardens. Admission free.

Fearrington Village and Gardens
Just ten minutes south of Chapel Hill, Fearrington Village and Gardens are reminiscent of an English country village. Set in the rolling countryside with Belted Galloway cows grazing the pastures, the gardens are perfect for a stroll after lunch or coffee at one of the restaurants. A home and garden decorating shop is filled with garden items while the grounds include folk art sculptures from local artists. Admission to the gardens is free.

Montrose Gardens
Wander the streets of Historic Hillsborough and stop in at Montrose Gardens of 19th Century origin. The Garden Conservancy is planning for the future of these gardens, that may be toured on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings by appointment, so call ahead. There is a fee to tour the gardens.

Niche Gardens
The nationally known mail-order nursery, Niche Gardens, is also open to the public. Native plants are the specialty of this nursery, open seven days a week from spring and fall. On Saturday mornings, visitors can take a free garden walk or groups can schedule an in-depth paid guided garden tour.

More information about the gardens can be found at www.visitnc.com Gardens & Arboretums. If you are interested in visiting the Triangle, download the free itinerary Love our Triangle of Gardens: 3-day itinerary for the Raleigh area, written by Freda Cameron. The itinerary also includes suggestions for restaurants and lodging, many with a garden theme.

Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel. All company or product or patented names mentioned are registered trademarks/copyrights/patents owned by those respective companies or persons.

Go beyond bottle trees in your garden! If you are fascinated by glass bottles of every color and shape — be amazed by the Bottle Chapel at Airlie Gardens in Wilmington, North Carolina. The Bottle Chapel was created by area artists as a tribute to Minnie Evans, a visionary artist who was the gatekeeper at Airlie from 1949 until 1974.

Bottle Chapel, photo taken February 2009

Of course, bottle sculpture of that magnitude is typically reserved for larger places than home gardens. The chapel is a great example of bottles as mosaic materials to create images of trees, faces and butterflies. The ideas can be transferred to smaller scale objects such as garden walls.

There are other fanciful and fun ideas to inspire gardeners that won't require so much work, artistry and imagination.

Spouting fountains are usually reserved for water gardens and formal pools. Why not use a pair of heron sculptures to create the motion of water in a dry stream — until the rains come along? This idea requires a catch basin and pump (hidden under the stones) to recirculate the water.

If you have no place for hanging baskets, you can "column-ize" your containers! Take a concrete column, add a concrete planter and your garden will reach new heights. The vertical accent draws attention to the colorful winter-time flowers set against a backdrop of evergreen trees. A perfect way to foil deer and rabbits, too!

Salvage a rusty garden gate or iron headboard to use as a back to a bench. The ironwork does double-duty as a trellis for climbing vines. A concrete bench can be left to weather naturally, or stained by diluting a bit of paint with a lot of water. Inexpensive concrete "yard art" can be found at many roadside stands. A little powder, a little paint — make it look like what it ain't.

Whether you follow straight paths in formal gardens or winding paths in the many casual gardens, there are wondrous and whimsical ideas throughout Airlie.



More information on visiting the gardens and Wilmington area can be found in the itinerary that I wrote for visitnc.com. Cool Coastal Gardens is a free download. Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel. All company or product or patented names mentioned are registered trademarks/copyrights/patents owned by those respective companies or persons.

There is a growing concern over deer as homeowners are having their landscapes destroyed. In Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the issue of deer damage is appearing on town council agendas. Citizens are asking for the town's help to control the deer.

I don't live in the city limits of Chapel Hill, so I have no opinion on what the town should/should not do regarding the deer pressure for the residents. I don't have a vote there. Nonetheless, I do empathize as it is a sensitive and controversial topic on both sides of the deer fence.

My gardens (and house) began as acres of meadow and woodland. When we bought this property we knew deer would be a problem. They slept in the meadow every night before we built, and still sleep there every night since. I had to become an expert in deer resistant gardening and landscaping.

During our first year (2005), we counted twenty deer crossing our front meadow at the same time. Every year since, 3-5 fawns have been born here.

Last night as my husband and I were pulling into the neighborhood and had to wait for a few deer to cross the road, we remarked at how we recognize those deer! No, we haven't named them. We don't love them. We don't hate them. We had to learn to co-exist.


Now, imagine that you've lived in your neighborhood for many years without any deer damage to your landscape. You never had to worry about deer resistant shrubs and you could grow deer delicacies like hostas and roses.

As deer populations grew and as neighborhoods, businesses and roads took up more and more land, the deer moved into your previously deer-free yard in search of food. Your landscape is being picked clean by deer. The costs are huge and the emotional upset runs deep.

There isn't one solution for protecting existing landscapes. It may take a combination of methods that include fencing, herd culling, repellents and/or replacing shrubs and plants with deer resistant varieties. None of which are inexpensive.

The point that I've learned from this is - things change with the forces of nature. Wind, rain, drought, ice... and animals.

Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel.

Is armeria cinerea hiding out under an assumed name? Or, is it so rare and exotic that I will need to offer up a huge bounty to bring it to my garden?

This plant was last seen during a visit to JC Raulston Arboretum, Raleigh, North Carolina in April 2009. The short, slender green foliage with white pom-poms was hanging around in the gravel-mulched xeric area.

All I have is the mugshot that I took of the plant and the name tag and arboretum tag number. Given the location, I don't believe this is a case of mistaken identity.

I can't find armeria cinerea listed anywhere in my search of the virtual world. There are many types of armeria (aka 'sea thrift') and even pseudoarmeria (aka 'false sea thrift').

If any gardener knows the whereabouts of armeria cinerea, please let me know!

Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel. Location: JC Raulston Arboretum, Raleigh, NC.

Walking along the street, I see a colorful patchwork of cottage garden flowers. I want a closer look at the front yard of a quaint stone cottage.

A white-painted bird feeder rises up from the blooms. A brick path invites me to an open patio circled with brightly painted Adirondack chairs. Can I really go into this garden and take a seat?

Yes. This isn't a home garden after all! The patio, garden, bird feeder and colorful chairs are actually in front of the Bob Timerlake® Gallery in Blowing Rock, North Carolina.

The garden objects can easily be adapted for home gardens, but are there bigger surprises in this flower-filled town?



The town of Blowing Rock is known to be pretty. On the August day that we visited, hanging baskets donned every lamp post. The storefronts and the parks were overflowing with flowers.

Veterans Park flanks one side of the downtown street where The Blowing Rock Garden Club maintains a gorgeous garden. The sloping bank has both sun and shade where shrubs, annuals and perennials are used together to provide interesting vignettes for strolling visitors. In addition to the flowers, the town is filled with galleries displaying works of local artists. But, not all art is displayed indoors...

Among the masses of flowers, I see the head of a gardener! I can relate to her sitting there among her flowers. I can see that she has paused from her gardening to take in the results of her work before moving on to her next delightful task.

She is you. She is me. We are gardeners.

"The Gardener" is a beautiful bronze sculpture by Alex Hallmark. She was commissioned in 2006 to recognize the work of The Blowing Rock Garden Club.

Alex says:

She is composed close to the ground. She has a sense of pride in her work, but she is also humble, knowing that she is only a simple tool working in a medium she did not create. Her neck is slightly elongated to give her a feeling of vulnerability.

She seems so real to me. I want to chat with her about the flowers in her garden. Maybe you'll want to visit with her, too.

-----

Words and flower photos by Freda Cameron. Bronze sculpture and photo by Alex Hallmark. Location: The Town of Blowing Rock in the mountains of North Carolina. No incentives were provided to the writer for mentioning the products or businesses.

Sunshine and blue skies brighten many cold, winter days from the Piedmont to the Coast of North Carolina. Sparkling crystals of frosty mornings melt with the first beams of sunlight. Snowfall and ice are rare events. Some years, we have no white precipitation. Most years, we'll have a light dusting of snow that disappears quickly. Once in awhile, we'll get a deep snow.

Evergreens, both native and ornamental, provide evidence of year-round life in the gardens, parks and woodlands. We watch the bare, graceful branches of maples and willows for the first buds that indicate spring is coming. Camellias and hellebores bloom. Holly berries provide rich color.

Ducks and swans still swim on ponds while herons, egrets and ospreys continue fishing without barriers of ice. Songbirds sip and splash in the shallow, rocky edges of streams.

While we can have days of rain, our winter months are interspersed with sunny days that lure us outside to break the doldrums of cabin fever. Get up, bundle up and go for a walk.


Photo taken by Freda Cameron at Sarah P. Duke Gardens, Durham, NC in January 2009

When it comes to focal points in the garden, Helen Yoest knows what goes and grows well together! Perfectly placed objects partner with plants to create delightful vignettes as you meander along the charming paths.

I had the pleasure of visiting Helen and her garden, Helen's Haven, during the Garden Conservancy Open Days in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Helen is, as my husband stated, "a ball of energy" as she is a mom to three children, a gardener, a garden writer, a volunteer, champion and organizer of many charitable and worthwhile causes.

I first met Helen back in the winter, and she's great fun. I know that I could easily spend hours upon hours hanging out with Helen! After a warm greeting, all it took was "you have society garlic" and "love the castor bean plants" for Helen to present me with paper bags and seeds to bring home.

A flowing fountain in the front yard garden is framed by architectural plants, ground covers, perennials and annuals.

The curb appeal of Helen's garden is quite dynamic and I'm sure her neighbors must be thrilled to have such a beautiful view when driving past her house each day. This section was on the right side, while the left side included some beautiful roses along with the other plants. Boxwood hedges curve along the paths to carry you into the side gardens.

The tall, bending stems of cleome echo the shape of the bottle tree "branches" in the backyard garden.

Her backyard garden includes several connected "rooms" to enjoy, each one with welcoming paths. Among the different rooms, Helen has an herb garden, a formal section, and a mixed border that slopes down to create a colorful display for enjoying from her fabulous porch (that I'd call a loggia). Interspersed are places to sit as well as spaces for her children to play.

The birds, bees and butterflies find both homes and food in Helen's garden. During my visit, I noticed hummingbirds, a downy woodpecker and goldfinches darting among the flowers and feeders. Helen had a few interesting "garden friends" enjoying time on her back porch in their chrysalis houses. One interesting character was a saddleback caterpillar moth.

The gardens are filled with ornamental trees, shrubs and vines that work together to give the gardens a sense of lushness while serving as "walls" to separate the garden rooms.

I understand why the garden is called "Helen's Haven" as it is indeed a welcoming sanctuary for all who are fortunate enough to spend a little time there. My thanks to Helen for opening her garden to inspire and encourage gardeners. What a delightful visit!


Words and photos by Freda Cameron; Location: Helen Yoest's Garden (Raleigh, NC); September 2009

This fantastic bicycle planter caught my attention on a recent trip to Blowing Rock, North Carolina. Propped against a big shade tree in front of a garden shop, it looks perfectly placed and perfectly suited. On close inspection, you'll see that there are no pedals. Is it intentional? A thief could ride off with the bicycle planter if the pedals were on the bike!

Do you suppose that this may not be a real antique bike, but rather a replica intended to be a planter? I know nothing about antique bicycles. I controlled myself and didn't look at the price and I didn't ask about it at the garden shop. Nonetheless, I think it's a fabulous planter!

What's in your garage? A gardener with the right old bicycle, the right old shade tree, could have a right pretty planter filled with flower petals.

Words and photo by Freda Cameron; Location: Blowing Rock, NC; August 2009

Enjoy your Labor Day holiday! Hope you have a wonderful time with your friends and family.







Photos by Freda Cameron; Location NC Zoo™, Asheboro, NC; August 2009