2010-06 Friends and Roses

From 06-10 Roses at Lake Junaluska, NC

One of the delights we enjoyed while in Waynesville was the opportunity to spend a day with our friends and former neighbors from Lexington, SC - Hal and Beverly Zorn.  The Zorn's have a second home in the mountains near Waynesville - a great way to escape some of the summer heat in Lexington.  They invited us over for a visit.  They have a lovely home with a great view.

From 06-10 Roses at Lake Junaluska, NC

We also went for a ride around Waynesville to get their recommendations for good restaurants and places to visit.  A top recommendation was already a favorite of ours - Lake Junaluska. 

From 2010-06 Roses at Lake Junaluska

We stopped for a stroll along the lake at the section of the walkway lined with beautiful roses.  Here are just a few of the rose varieties we admired:

From 06-10 Roses at Lake Junaluska, NC

From 06-10 Roses at Lake Junaluska, NC

From 06-10 Roses at Lake Junaluska, NC

From 06-10 Roses at Lake Junaluska, NC

From 06-10 Roses at Lake Junaluska, NC

2010-06 Evening Primrose

Evening Primrose

From 2010-06 Evening Primrose

We are easy to entertain! 

We sometimes take a walk late in the evening shortly before sunset. One evening Bob, the manager of Creekwood RV Park, called to us to hurry over.  He pointed to a plant in his yard and told us it was just about to “pop open”.  Several others were already standing there watching.

From 2010-06 Evening Primrose

Bob explained that the flowers on this plant, which he thought was called a “Nicademus Plant”, would pop open in a matter of seconds.  The flowers open at night and only last for one day.  He and his wife had watched it for  the first time the night before, and thought it opened about 8:30pm.  We all stood there staring at the plant for about 15 minutes.   We began to think he had set us up for a joke  - “How long can I get these people to stand here staring at this silly bush?”.

However about 8:45pm the plant began to vibrate, and several leaves along the stem could be seen to move as if blown by a breeze.  Then sure enough, a yellow blossom petal popped out.

From 2010-06 Evening Primrose

Shortly afterward the four pedals of the green pod that enclosed the bloom, snapped down and the four yellow pedals of the bloom untwisted and opened.  The whole process only took a few seconds.  It was marvelous to see.

From 2010-06 Evening Primrose

Here are four of the blooms after they have opened.  All opened within a 5 to 10 minute period.

From 2010-06 Evening Primrose

I came back to the RV and did some internet research.  It turns out this is an Evening Primrose.  You might find it an interesting addition to your garden.

2010-05 NC Arboretum

From 2010-05 NC Arboretum

We love the NC Arboretum and that was the first place we visited after our arrival in Waynesville.

We wanted to see the latest patchwork quilt garden.  They change the design 3 times during the spring/summer/fall growing seasons.  The current one has very muted colors.

From 2010-05 NC Arboretum

But there were other more colorful plants.

From 2010-05 NC Arboretum

From 2010-05 NC Arboretum

The bonsai exhibit is always a delight.

From 2010-05 NC Arboretum

From 2010-05 NC Arboretum

From 2010-05 NC Arboretum

While taking a picture, I heard Monique gasp.  I turned around to find here staring at this young snake (non-poisonous).

From 2010-05 NC Arboretum

He soon slithered away.

From 2010-05 NC Arboretum

This is our 4th or 5th visit.  If you like gardens and forests, do stop by if you are in the Asheville, NC area.

SC Botanical Garden at Clemson University

From 2010-05 Clemson Botanical Garden

We had an especially nice peaceful day touring the Botanical Garden at Clemson University and then enjoying a great lunch at Clemson’s Madren Conference Center. It really reminded me of why we enjoy being able to tour the country in our RV.

We have visited the SC Botanical Garden several times. Our house in Lexington had a very shady yard. One of our successful shade plants was hosta’s. Clemson has the best collection of hosta’s we have ever seen.

From 2010-05 Clemson Botanical Garden

The gardens have some other unique features like the Caboose Garden donated by the Class of 1939.

From 2010-05 Clemson Botanical Garden

Another is the Guard House Bell. It hung in the No.1 barracks and was sounded during the day to announce class changes, etc. A side note - Thomas Green Clemson who donated the land and money to start Clemson directed in his will in 1888 that the University be modeled after Mississippi A&M which is now Mississippi State University. MSU is where Monique and I met and were married. The Clemson founders came to Mississippi State to visit, and I believe some of their first buildings were copied from those at MSU. Both schools were early Land Grant Colleges and started with an emphasis on agriculture and engineering. For many years they were all male military colleges where the students wore military uniforms and were regulated by a military regimen. The Guard House Bell hearkens back to those days.

From 2010-05 Clemson Botanical Garden

There are many lovely aspects to the gardens. A little waterfall:

From 2010-05 Clemson Botanical Garden

A bridge over a small pond:

From 2010-05 Clemson Botanical Garden

Pretty lace cap hydrangeas and ferns;

From 2010-05 Clemson Botanical Garden

Beautiful rhododendron in bloom:

From 2010-05 Clemson Botanical Garden

After our tour, we went over the Clemson Madren Conference Center. It is a very nice complex with a hotel, restaurant and conference facilities.

From 2010-05 Clemson Botanical Garden

It sits on Lake Hartwell and is adjacent to the Clemson golf course.

From 2010-05 Clemson Botanical Garden

I attended several conferences there while working at BellSouth. A nice garden walkway has been added since my last visit.

From 2010-05 Clemson Botanical Garden

They serve an outstanding lunchtime buffet. We highly recommend both the Botanical Gardens and the lunch at the Madren Center.

Carter & Holmes Orchids

From 2010-04 Carter and Homes Orchids

We took an enjoyable day trip from the Barnyard RV Park to Carter & Holmes Orchids. This orchid nursery is about 3 miles outside Newberry, SC, which is about 40 miles north of Columbia.

Carter & Holmes is a small privately owned business. They have been growing orchids for 65 years starting right after WWII. They ship worldwide and have hundreds of varieties.

We were allowed to just wander through the greenhouses. We encountered delightful employees who stopped their work to explain how orchids are grown and what they were doing at the moment. This lady was in the process of selecting plants to be shipped to a man in Chile who is trying to establish the largest private collection of orchids in the world.

From 2010-04 Carter and Homes Orchids

I was surprised to learn how hardy some varieties of orchids are, especially Phalaenopsis.

From 2010-04 Carter and Homes Orchids

From 2010-04 Carter and Homes Orchids

From 2010-04 Carter and Homes Orchids

This is the variety you most often see for sale at places like Lowe’s or Publix in their flower sections. The blooms can last up to 4 months and do well in a typical household environment. They are an excellent plant if you have allergies since they produce no airborne pollen. Orchids depend upon bees, insects or hummingbirds for pollination. We bought a small one that had 3 blooms and 3 buds. You only water the plants every 4-5 days. After a few waterings over a couple of weeks all 3 buds had opened. All the blooms were still beautiful when we got ready to leave. We gave the plant to a lady in the front office of the RV park who has several other orchids at home. We were afraid we would damage the plant when packing or traveling down the road.

Carter & Holmes grows new plants from seeds or from tissue cuttings (clones). Each seed pod will produce 1,000 or so seeds. In the wild only a few will land in the right environment and survive. In the greenhouse, Carter & Holmes can germinate all 1,000. They also cross breed or hybridize new varieties. The man who does this stopped to show us 2 grains of pollen he had collected into a tiny glass vial. He was on the way to use it to pollenate with a different variety.

The seeds germinate and grow in these large vials for a year or more before being transplanted.

From 2010-04 Carter and Homes Orchids

From 2010-04 Carter and Homes Orchids

The plant we purchased was in a small 3” pot and was about 3 years old. Carter & Holmes has orchids with a wide variety of ages. The oldest was collected in the jungles of Columbia, South America in 1888.

If you are in the area, Carter & Holmes is well worth a visit. You might become “hooked” and want to bring a few orchids home to enjoy.

From 2010-04 Carter and Homes Orchids

10-09 NC Arboretum

From 10-09 NC Arboretum

We left Salt Lick and had a long day's drive to Hendersonville, NC. The trip was about 290 miles, about 40 miles more than we like to travel in a day. Plus it rained much of the way. Midway, the driver's side windshield wiper started tearing apart. So we made several stops looking for a replacement. We finally found what we needed at a Camping World in Knoxville. I need to remember to replace those things about once a year. These were about 18 months old.

It continued raining while in Hendersonville, but Tuesday cleared off. So we went to the NC Arboretum which is on the south side of Asheville, about 20 miles north of the Lakewood RV Resort where we were staying. We have visited the Arboretum before, and it is now a favorite stop when in the Asheville area. What better place to go see fall leaves than an arboretum. (Although we were about a week early for peak leaf color)

From 10-09 NC Arboretum

The NC Arboretum has some pretty flowers as well.

From 10-09 NC Arboretum

They have an area they call the "quilt" garden which they arrange like a patchwork quilt. They change the plants several times during the year to reflect the current season.

From 10-09 NC Arboretum

I always stop to photograph bees of flowers when I spot them.

From 10-09 NC Arboretum

One of the highlights is the outstanding Bonsai collection.

From 10-09 NC Arboretum

You can see fall leaves and color in miniature.

From 10-09 NC Arboretum

From 10-09 NC Arboretum

There is a large Bonsai display near the entrance parking lot. But additional Bonsai are in the greenhouses, which are down a pretty woodland walk from the main buildings. Be sure to visit them. (You can also drive to them.)

From 10-09 NC Arboretum

From 10-09 NC Arboretum

The greenhouses have some other plants and flowers like this Bird of Paradise.

From 10-09 NC Arboretum

Here is a view of the mountains along the woodland path to the greenhouses:

From 10-09 NC Arboretum

As we were walking back from the greenhouse, we met a nice woman who was walking a beautiful red golden retriever. We struck up a conversation with her and found out that she had just adopted Bruester from golden retriever rescue about four months ago. Bruester leaned on us and was very happy to let us pet him.
Bruester is about eight years old. We gave his new owner the bed that Clay had used, a Furminator (grooming tool that gets rid if excess fur), and a small cloth bowl we had used to give Clay water when we walked or went for a car ride. We were glad to find a sweet dog who could use these items.


Be sure to visit the Arboretum when in Asheville. Allow several hours to tour the grounds, greenhouses and buildings. There is also a very nice sandwich shop in the main building. We have enjoyed lunch there on tow occasions.