Practice
French Garden - Outstanding Southern Appalachian Garden
The garden of Joe and Beverley French in Flat Rock, NC won the Millstream Garden Award in the in the Outstanding Special Garden category in 2013. The focus of the garden is the pond and the garden was built up around it.
An overview of the garden can be seen in the Rock Garden Quarterly, volume 71, number 1, pages 24-25, in the article "Gardens of the Southern Appalachians.
Whittemore Garden - Tall Pines
Ev Whittemore's one acre garden, "Tall Pines", in Penrose, North Carolina won the Millstream Garden Award for Outstanding Rock and Alpine Garden in 2013.
Ev wrote about preparing the garden for the AGM garden tour in "Fools Rush In ..." in the Rock Garden Quarterly, volume 71, number 1, pages 34-38.
Cryptomeria japonica and Lantern
Cryptomeria japonica with (white tips on emergence) and lantern placed to draw the eye to the lower part of the garden.
Troughs at the Entrance of the Property
A group of women made troughs placed at the entrance of the property. The large rectangular one is of concrete blocks with a hypertufa exterior. It encloses the well that is the source of water for the property.
"Forest of dwarf spruce"
The 'Forest of Picea abies (dwarf Alberta spruce)" is at the top and one side of the rock garden that demarcates one end of the rock garden.
Martin House
Martin house on a pole sunk in concrete on the property when purchased. It is incorporated into the lower garden.
Mini Hypertufa Mountains
View showing mini mountains of hypertufa. As Ev was working by herself while her husband recovered from surgery, these replaced regular rocks. When the house was placed on the property, it would have blocked future rock delivery.
Rock Garden with Two Types of Mulch
Two types of mulch were used on this rock garden. We are looking up from the bottom of the garden with a Japanese maple on the left and woods in the background.
Collecting and Cleaning Seeds
Collecting seeds
In most cases, you will want fairly large envelopes or even small paper bags in which you can place entire capsules. People who collect a lot in the wild sometimes use small cloth drawstring bags, either home-made or purchased from scientific or geological suppliers. The cloth bags will not fall apart if exposed to moisture, and they allow the plant material to "breathe" and dry naturally. Do not place seeds in plastic bags; they are likely to mold and rot.