by Tony Avent illustration by Ippy Patterson I was first introduced to Aleurites fordii (also known as Vernicia fordii) through the wood sealer called Tung oil, which is made from the plant. That was long before I met Aleurites fordii in person….
by Liza Roberts photographs by Lissa Gotwals Brooks Bell and Jesse Lipson knew what they wanted, and they had a list. Their new house had to have a fenced yard for their terrier, Theo, and a screened-in porch. A freestanding bathtub,…
by Tony Avent The genus cyclamen has long fascinated me, perhaps for its unusual, almost magical-looking flowers as well as its enchanting silver-patterned leaves. I first encountered cyclamen in the flesh in the early 1970s while garden-shopping at the old…
by Stacy Chandler photographs by Carla Williams Before a group of Wake County remodelers came to the rescue last fall, the headquarters of the Wake Interfaith Hospitality Network, which helps people out of homelessness, was worn out. Its carpet was…
by Tony Avent In a world where most plant breeders and nursery folks buy into the mistaken proposition that all homeowners want short plants, I embrace a different notion. I can’t imagine anything worse than opening my front door and…
by Liza Roberts photographs by Geoff Wood When Dan Forest, newly sworn-in as lieutenant governor of North Carolina, walked into the stately Victorian house with the wrap-around porch on Blount Street that was to be his office, he was amazed….
by Tony Avent illustration by Ippy Patterson It was early in the morning, a sunny Monday morning, when Mark Weathington of Raleigh’s J.C. Raulston Arboretum and I sped down the winding roads of Alishan mountain on the island of Taiwan,…
by Ann Brooke Raynal photographs by Mark Petko There’s a house in North Raleigh that is haunted by happiness. Haunted by ghosts, possibly, but certainly haunted by the happiness of its owners. Built in 1890, the Lassiter Farm House has seen births…
by Tony Avent illustration by Ippy Patterson At one time or another, most gardeners have grown African violets, or saintpaulia hybrids. Back in the disco era, we of a certain age also indulged in trying to grow their more challenging…
by Liza Roberts photographs by Nick Pironio Some people build beach houses or mountain houses to get away from it all. Tina Shanahan built a barn. Home to two mares and a filly, the custom barn is the realization of a dream Shanahan,…
illustrations by Laura Frankstone One of the largest and most diverse collections of plants that thrive in the Southeast can be found at Raleigh’s J.C. Raulston Arboretum. This meandering, 10-acre research garden, planted with more than 5,000 different kinds of…
by Tony Avent illustration by Ippy Patterson I’ll never forget the day in June 1997 when I met Canna ‘Phasion’ in person. For normal people, it would be like meeting Elvis or Barbra Streisand. I had long been a fan…
by Liza Roberts photographs by Mark Petko For Monica and Dalip Awasthi, art is the glue. It helped cement their relationship early on, and it links the two of them – and their three young children – to the Indian…
by Tony Avent illustration by Ippy Patterson Spigelia marilandica is another of those great plants native to the Southeast that few people have grown or even heard about. In the wild, I usually see Spigelia growing on deeply wooded slopes,…