Carolina Gardens

Encore Performer

Lady tulips can stand the test of time

Story and photos by L.A. Jackson

Most hybrid tulips, while gorgeous, are fleeting flowers in North Carolina — planted in the fall, they are one-shot wonders that usually grace gardens for only a single spring. This is because, in our region, there are usually not enough winter days of extended cold to stimulate tulip bulbs into flowering spring after spring.

However, exceptions exist, and one particularly pretty example is the lady tulip (Tulipa clusiana), variously categorized as a species, botanical, heirloom or miscellaneous tulip. Although humble in height — about a foot tall — and with smallish flower heads, it can still be a real cutie in the spring garden. And a definite plus the lady tulip has over bigger, fancier hybrids is that, true to its temperate East Asian origins, it doesn’t need an extended winter chill to wake up its inner flower power spring after spring.

In short, with just a little care, lady tulips can become reliable repeat performers in the spring garden. If kept happy, they can even naturalize and spread by way of stolons or offsets.

Lady tulips love full sun, and they prefer neutral soil, which can be easily pH-balanced in acidic growing grounds with an annual light dusting of lime in the winter. Good drainage is essential, meaning these springtime dazzlers will perform well in raised beds, rock gardens and even containers.

If deer are a problem in your area, stay vigilant because they could munch on these pretties. Planting them close to the house can help keep Bambi at bay, and an early spring spraying of a commercial deer repellent will add an extra layer of protection. There are many lady tulip variations. For starters, “Lady Jane” is a charmer with its bicolor coat of outer red and inner white petals — an appealing look that is echoed by the similar, well-named “Peppermint Stick.” “Tinka” also has comparable colors, but it blushes more, having its rich red contrasted with a pale yellow. For a real zinger, go with the popular “Cynthia,” a sassy selection that combines stop sign red on the outside of the petals with taxi cab yellow on the inside.

Although an oddity, the lady tulip won’t be that hard to find. I have even spotted “Cynthia” at big-box garden shops in the early autumn. There are, of course, online avenues, and three good e-retailers to check are: Brent and Becky’s Bulbs (brentandbeckysbulbs.com); Terra Ceia Farms (terraceiafarms.com); and John Scheepers, Inc. (johnscheepers.com).

Cynthia is a species tulip that can be a beautiful repeat performer in spring gardens.

L.A. Jackson is the former editor of Carolina Gardener Magazine. Contact L.A. at lajackson1@gmail.com.

L.A.’s website of the month: MrMaple Nursery (MrMaple.com) is an online garden shop in East Flat Rock specializing in Japanese maples as well as many other ornamental trees and shrubs.

“Lilac Wonder” is another pretty species tulip.

Garden To-Do’s for October

There are other species of tulips that, like the lady tulip, can settle into a southern garden and flower for many springs to come. Tulipa bakeri “Lilac Wonder,” with its pinkish petals surrounding simmering yellow flower centers, is a fairly common offering at garden centers in the fall. The bright yellow blooms of Tulipa sylvestris make this cutie worth considering, too, but while it is more of an online find, this European native is worth the hunt for history buffs because it was a garden favorite of Thomas Jefferson at his Monticello home.

F Vegetable plants that were afflicted with cucumber or tomato mosaic virus this growing season should be pulled up and tossed away —not composted. Also, these diseases can overwinter in perennial weeds, so do a fall cleanup in the veggie patch to remove these pesky plants as well to help prevent the reoccurrence of mosaic virus. F Shrubs and small trees that need to be relocated can be transplanted now. Moving them in the fall will give their roots time to establish themselves before leaf growth starts next spring.

QUEEN DRIVE-IN OF THE

BY LORI GROSSMAN

Sherry Barnes turned tragedy into a triumph

Life can change in the blink of an eye. No one knows that better than Sherry Barnes.

Before November 2011, Sherry was a land developer for a Myrtle Beach real estate agency. One afternoon, she and a friend were hit by a drunk driver. Sherry’s friend died the next day. Sherry’s injuries were so severe that doctors told her if she did survive, she would never walk again.

“My spinal cord was severed in several places,” Sherry remembers. “Plus, I had head, neck and hip injuries. I still need to have more surgeries on my hands, too.”

Sherry was both saddened and inspired by the sick children she met while slowly recovering in Duke Hospital, and later in physical and speech therapy.

“When I was in speech therapy, those kids didn’t laugh at how I sounded,” Sherry says. “I wanted to do something for them and their families when I got better, but I didn’t know what. So I prayed on it.”

She wanted to do something outdoors that was family-oriented. Something that would get the kids away from their phones and laptops for a while. When the idea of a drive-in movie theater came, it was a total surprise.

“Never in a million years did I think I would do this,” she says.

The glory days of drive-in movies were in the past, but Sherry, a Brunswick Electric member, was determined. And she knew just where to build it. She already owned some land on Dothan Road between Tabor City, North Carolina and Longs, South Carolina, but some trees had to go first.

“I called some contractors and they brought out four pieces of heavy equipment — dozers and things,” Sherry

says. “But they said they were running behind on another job and they would come back in 10 days.” She needed to get it done, so the next morning, she cleared out those trees herself. She graded the surface so rainwater would drain, and then spread crushed rock. Sherry researched how to construct berms (mounds of earth) that also helped drainage. As if that wasn’t enough, when the 40-foot-by-50-foot movie screen had to be repainted, she did that, too, suspended in a harness. “I look back and think it was like a dream that I did all this,” Sherry marvels. “God was looking over me. I prayed over it and it happened.” As the opening night approached, she acquired a state-of-the-art digital projector, which she nicknamed “The Beast,” and put it in her “she-shed.” Sherry’s drive-in, State Line Movie Time, opened on May 9, 2019. Besides first-run movies, there are plenty of fun activities, such as hula hoop contests, Stateline’s Haunted Trail pennies from heaven, bubble mania, fireworks, and a roasting pit for cooking STATELINE MOVIE TIME DRIVE-IN hot dogs and marshmallows. Special 3851 Dothan Rd., Tabor City events include live bands, car shows statelinemovietime.com and a haunted trail, and Sherry is always 910-499-1756 thinking of new events and games for her customers. Her health isn’t 100% yet, but you won’t hear her complain. “I’m grateful,” she says. “God gave me the surgeons who put me back together. It’s been girl-power, backed by God.” Lori Grossman currently lives in Texas, but carries memories of North Carolina in her heart.