native plants
Here Comes Fall Y’all by Carol Bales
This is the ninth of a series of Cape Fear area native plant articles to appear in Going Green. The articles will include stories about common native plants that would enhance any coastal North Carolina garden or landscape.
quarters, or seasons, and we mark the four days when seasons change as solstices (Sun standing still) and equinoxes (day and night of equal length). Those dates are around March 21, June 21, September 21, and December 21, but the exact date of each quarter day depends on where the Earth is in its orbit around the Sun.
“There’s a late summer feel to the garden. The summer cross-quarter day has passed, and the days are getting shorter. Store displays feature pumpkin spice and sweaters. School has started. I’m expecting Christmas decorations any day now…”
The cross-quarter days are halfway between these dates—so roughly February 2, May 1, August 2, and October 31. The ancient Celts recognized these dates as the end of one season and the start of the next and had traditional festivals to mark each of these dates. We still celebrate some of these: February 2 is our Ground Hog Day, May 1 is our May Day, and October 31 is... well, you know! There is no longer a celebration of the summer cross-quarter day around the beginning of August, but to the ancient Celts it was known as Lammas, or Loaf Day, and marked the beginning of the wheat harvest.
Alice explained what the summer cross-quarter day is. The calendar is divided (by the folks who invented it) into
Here in New Hanover County, we celebrate the arrival of fall with public events such as the Native Plant Festival that is
Anticipation of cooler weather, less humidity, and fewer mosquitos is a welcome change to our summer’s blistering heat. I was looking on Facebook this morning and found a post about early fall from my sister, Alice, who lives in Albuquerque. Here it is:
Wikimedia commons photo
Copper Beech (Fagus sylvatica f. purpurea) is a slow growing, tall (120 ft) specimen tree with gorgeous golden fall foliage.
scheduled for September 18. The festival consists of Arboretum exhibits by organizations involved in the promotion of native plants, guided tours of the Arboretum gardens, and children’s activities such as the Koi Pond feeding station and the Junior explorer’s backpack program. In addition, there will be a self-guided tour of local native plant nurseries and presentations by local experts about native plants and their value to our environment. All of this is complemented by colorful fall foliage that graces our parks, gardens and public landscapes. A dozen coastal native trees that provide vibrant color are listed below along with their scientific names: • Red maple (Acer rubrum “October Glory”) – red • Downey Service Berry (Amelanchier arborea) – red, orange, and yellow • Pawpaw (Asimina triloba) – true yellow • River birch (Betula nigra) – gold and yellowish • Sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua) – orange, red, and deep burgundy • Red buckeye (Aesculus pavia) – yellow • Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis) – yellow • Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) – rich red
Wikimedia commons photo
Sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua) turns fiery red in the fall, bringing a sharp contrast to our evergreen pine foliage.
Fall 2021
• Sourwood (Oxydendrum arboretum) – reddish wine with white flowers (continued on page 14)
Cape Fear’s Going Green
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