Category Archives: Weekend Gardener

By MIKE RALEYI can remember a time when there were few shade-loving shrubs from which to choose for the North Carolina landscape. In the early years of the "Weekend Gardener," Erv Evans or those who f...

By MIKE RALEY WPTF Weekend GardenerHow many of you have ever heard of the Ninebark shrub or Physocarpus opulifolius for those of you who like to get technical? I hadn't until recently! Since then I ha...

By MIKE RALEY WPTF Weekend GardenerHow many of you have ever heard of the Ninebark shrub or Physocarpus opulifolius for those of you who like to get technical? I hadn't until recently! Since then I ha...

By Mike RaleyIf you want a plant with a scientific name that really rings, then winter honeysuckle is for you. The botanical name for this aromatic specimen is Lonicera fragrantissima. Catchy, huh? Kn...

By Mike RaleyUnfortunately, I never met Dr. J.C. Raulston, the namesake of the world-famous research gardens at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. He was killed in an auto accident in 1996, t...

By Mike RaleyOur friend Rufus delights in discussing his love for Rhododendrons. Rufus, after all, is a learned man with deep North Carolina mountain roots and the rhododendron is a fixture on the sid...

By Mike Raley I can vividly remember visiting Sunset Nursery in Rocky Mount with my mother, from my pre-teen years well up into my 40s. She was not an avid gardener, but she so enjoyed her camellias, ...