 |
| NO,
this is NOT my new garden, y'all. Wish it were. This is the Sarah Duke Garden
in Durham, N.C.
I
have been home-less, garden-less and blog-less for the past six months since
packing up and leaving my home of over four decades in Chicago and moving here
to Chapel Hill., known as " The Southern Part of Heaven. " My current home is
a rental and my garden is a deck . There's a forest just a few feet away filled
with critters -deer, rabbits, birds of all kinds , racoons, possums, ferile cats
and all sorts of insects.
My
first winter here has been nothing short of heaven with most days being on the
mild side. A pot of annual mums left on the deck have returned and the
ornamental grass in my planter is greening up. My eyes have been dazzled by
Cherry , Magnolia, Camellia, and Pear trees in bloom this winter. Hosts of
bright yellow daffodils greet me everywhere. I have no doubt that one could
garden year round here . I have seen public container gardens with plants
happily thriving despite cold night temperatures .
I
think I'm going to love it here. I know, I know -hot , humid summers. Heck, we
had those in Chicago. It's the mild, warm winters that get me
everytime.
|
" I would like to live in the same soil as my ancestors, and walk under their trees, and do what they did, and think their thoughts. " - Elizabeth Lawrence. After 4 decades in Sweet Home Chicago I moved to North Carolina where my first Irish ancestor landed in the early 1700's. I'm an artist, garden designer and grandma blogging about my life in this " Southern part of Heaven " as Chapel HIll is called.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Welcome To Sweet Home Carolina
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Welcome back to blogging. I look forward to reading about your southern garden.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Carol. So good to be back among my garden blogger buds. I look forward to seeing you in May in Asheville.
DeleteSo glad to see you that you have begun you southern blogging journey. NC is lucky to have you, Carolyn.
ReplyDeleteI am lucky to have NC, too, Helen and am looking forward to my new life here.
DeleteYou do live in a garden mecca of sorts now from what I keep seeing. I bet you can find a way to scratch your garden itch and blog about it even in a rental house.
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed a garden mecca from what I've observed this so-called winter. I am currently scratching my garden itchen, CC by planting up my container boxes. Yesterday I put in an herb garden and assorted perennials.
DeleteCarolyn,
ReplyDeleteGood to see you blogging again. I love that your blog name travels with you. NC is one of my favorite states. It will be so happy when you get your hands in their dirt!
Meems
So happy to be back. Since NC is one of your faves I expect to see you visit here some day soon.
DeleteHi Carolyn,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see you back blogging. What an adventure you are having! I went out for breakfast after church today with a friend who moved to Texas a number of years ago, and is in town visiting family. She is thinking about moving back to Lincoln, but has also considered buying a small motor home, and living wherever it takes her. I told her I won't be moving, but if I did, I would want it to be North Carolina. I think I probably told you that already. After our visit to the Outer Banks in 2007, I would love to live a couple hours from the beach.
The Outer Banks are really beautiful I hear, from my daughter whose been there. I am going to visit it in June this year. North Carolina has so many beautiful areas from mountains, piedmont and seaside.
DeleteWhile it is an adventure it is also a huge life change moving from my home and garden of over 40 years. Just downsizing my belongings in a short period of time was very hectic. I just left my garden as it was , didn't take any plants. It is being overseen , thankfully, by the new resident, who loves to garden so I'm not worried about it.
Welcome back! As a fairly regular lurker of your past blog -- and having been in your Chicago garden during the Chicago 2009 fling -- I look forward to future garden and posts!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jim. I look forward to seeing you again, this time in Asheville.
DeleteI keep thinking I need to downsize right where we are. I have avoided garage sales in order to keep from adding to the stuff we have.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear someone is taking care of the garden that used to be yours.
Just checking your blog from the comment link you made on Phillips blog. My folks came from Ireland in the very late 1800's. Most stayed in NJ. My Grandfather came to Alabama as a guard during the construction of Wilson Dam and married my Grandmother & moved to a dairy farm. I managed to buy 3.5 acres before Mom sold it recently & have 3 rescued Border collies. I'm starting an iris, daylily, Lilium and peony farm when I retire. Just love getting back to my roots. Mary
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mary. How nice that you have 3.5 acres of the old homestead to live and garden on in Alabama and will put it to good use as a flower farm when you retire. I look forward to visiting your blog and reading about your gardens.
DeleteYea Carolyn...you are just down the road from me and I love it. Good to have you in NC. You have such good garden centers down your way. I'm jealous. With your talents and abilities, you'll take this climate and create WOW gardens. I'm looking forward to seeing that. I look forward to walking in your garden with you. We can curse the bugs together.
ReplyDeleteHugs...Anna
Thanks, Anna. Come up and we'll visit the garden centers together. I can't wait until I find my permanent home and garden. I feel like a fish out of water without one but am trying to be patient. I'm arming up against those mean ole' Carolina Chiggers with a new perfume called BUZZ OFF !
ReplyDeleteGreat to have you in the neighborhood - we seem to have picked up stakes around the same time - it gets better and better every day here as spring rolls on in!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Cyndy, it's so good to be here and welcomed by such a mild mannered winter. People here, like most of the South, are so friendly and caring.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the South! I'm also a former Chicago area girl, now an SC gardener...and the winters are wonderful! I definitely don't miss the Lake Effect snow, the -50 degrees wind chill, or the traffic...but I did love Chicago. Still--it's lovely to dig in the dirt in December and eat from the garden year-long. I hope you enjoy your new home and garden! Look forward to meeting you in Asheville!
ReplyDelete