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First of all, how do we at Painters define a groundcover?  We think of groundcovers as low growing, spreading perennials that require moderate to minimal maintenance to succeed.  You may choose a groundcover for attractive foliage and to add some lushness to an area. You may want a pop of color with blooms or to simply fill a large space. Sometimes, groundcovers can include a mass of mid-sized plants to cover a larger area and we've included a few of those here too. Areas needing groundcover could be full sun, full shade, steep slopes, or flat rock gardens. And ideally, you are probably interested in something that requires minimal care and that will self-multiply or spread for affordability! We’ve chosen plant recommendations here that address these many needs. Sometimes you may be able to fill part of the area by sowing seed, but it’s typically well-worth investing the upfront cost and time in planting established groundcover-friendly plants as your foundation. This is a dual investment in time and ecology, as it can mean less lawn, lawn care, or aggressive invasive plants. In this blog, we've made sure to grow, market, and include only groundcover plants that are currently considered to be non-invasive, and many are in fact native. One overlapping category of groundcover plants are those that are helpful in preventing erosion on steep hillsides or stream banks .  While some of our suggestions will work for such situations, there are also many deeply-rooting grasses, shrubs, and trees that are ideal but do not spread like groundcovers, so we will treat those as another topic. Read our blog about erosion control and plants we recommend for this . Here are some of our favorite perennial groundcover options organized from sun to shade: Pinks -- Dianthus 'Baths Pink' (Also love 'Flashing Lights', 'Arctic Fire' & 'Firewitch' - bu t not available this spring.) Perennial, full/part sun 6" tall, 8-12" wide Dainty pink blooms in late spring Grass-like blue-gray foliage Silene 'Carol Jean White' or 'Carol Jean Pink' Perennial (z5-10) full sun 3-5'' tall, 2' wide A flower-power evergreen groundcover that picks up blooming late spring where creeping phlox leaves off, providing a cheerful blanket of color right through to the end of summer Excellent heat tolerance; thrives in evenly moist soil Creeping Speedwell -- Veronica peduncularis 'Georgia Blue' Perennial (z6-9) full sun 4-6'' tall, 18-24'' wide Petite cobalt-blue flowers with white centers bloom in spring Semi-evergreen foliage turns burgundy in cold weather Excellent groundcover for sharp-draining soil Deer and rabbit resistant Blue Rug Juniper -- Juniperus horizontalis 'Wiltonii' NATIVAR evergreen shrub (z3-9) full sun 6" tall, 6-8' wide Thick, dense, silvery blue foliage, at home in rock gardens or spilling over walls Drought tolerant, unlike many junipers; perfect groundcover for sunny, dry, sloped sites Creeping Thyme -- Thymus serpyllum 'Magic Carpet' or 'Pink Chintz' Perennial, full sun 1-2'' tall, 1-2' wide Aromatic foliage, rarely used for cooking, spreads in a tight, ground-hugging carpet; emits an invigorating scent when trodden upon (tolerates light foot traffic) Smothered in pink blooms in summer, adored by bees! Must have sharp-draining soil; thrives in sunny herb or rock gardens, perfect between stepping stones Caraway Thyme - Thymus herba barona Perennial, full sun 3-6'' tall, 1-2' wide (one of the fastest spreaders of the thymes) Useful and delicious, with the fragrance of caraway seeds, serves as both a culinary herb and an evergreen groundcover Clusters of pink flowers bloom in summer, beloved by bees Must have sharp-draining soil to thrive; tolerant of drought and light foot traffic, deer resistant (We also grow and love Red Creeping Thyme, Thymus praecox  'Coccineus' - similar to Caraway in size, it offers rich reddish blooms, but is a bit slower to spread.) Elfin Thyme -- Thymus serpyllum 'Elfin' Perennial (z4-8) full sun 1-2'' tall, 12-18'' wide Extremely tiny leaves, lavender-pink blooms early summer Mat-forming habit; perfect carpeting for fairy gardens or tucked around stepping stones Thrives in loose, gritty, nutrient-poor soils with sharp drainage Candytuft -- Iberis sempervirens 'Summer Snowdrift' Perennial (z6a-9b) full sun 5-8'' tall, 9-12'' wide Fragrant, pure white flowers bloom spring to summer atop evergreen, carpet-forming foliage Low maintenance, deer resistant; works wonderfully in beds or containers Cotoneaster -- Cotoneaster dammeri 'Lowfast' Evergreen shrub (z5-8) full sun-part shade 1' tall, 8-12' wide As the name suggests, grows low and fast, covering problem areas quickly Trailing stems root wherever they touch the ground; great choice for slopes or erosion control Small white flowers in spring, followed by abundant bright red berries Deer resistant, drought tolerant; aka bearberry cotoneaster Dwarf Blue Plumbago -- Ceratostigma plumbaginoides Perennial (z5-9) part-full sun 6-8'' tall, 12-18'' wide Profuse, vivid, sky-blue flowers mid to late summer, dark green foliage turns a beautiful bronze-red in fall Deer resistant and durable -- even produces chemicals that inhibit the growth of weeds, making this a most excellent and attractive groundcover choice Lamb's Ear -- Stachys byzantina 'Silver Carpet' Perennial (z4-9) full sun 3-8'' tall, 1-2' wide Velvety soft, silvery foliage has a pleasing look and texture; excellent for sensory gardens Can suffer in high humidity; benefits from a bit of light afternoon shade in hot summers Great groundcover for dry, well-drained, rocky areas Creeping Phlox or Thrift -- Phlox subulata (Multiple Varieties and Colors) NATIVE cultivar, part/full sun 3-6" tall, 12" wide Semi-evergreen foliage spreads into a dense groundcover, often out-competing weeds & grass Profusion of early blooms welcomes spring to the garden Hardy Ice Plant -- Delosperma cooperi Perennial (z6-10), full sun 3-6" tall, 12-24" spread Evergreen succulent foliage makes great ground cover Magenta pinkish-purple flowers late spring-frost Drought tolerant, low maintenance Northern Sea Oats -- Chasmanthium latifolium NATIVE perennial grass (z5-9) full sun-part shade 2-3' tall and wide Clump-forming, good for naturalizing and stabilization Dangling oat-like seedheads in fall and winter Self sows Native Stonecrop -- Sedum ternatum 'Larinem Park' NATIVAR perennial (z3-9), full sun-full shade 3-4'' tall, 1-2' wide More tolerant of shade and moist soil than other sedums Excellent groundcover for rock gardens, woodland edges, or dry shade (needs more moisture in full sun) Dainty white spring blooms support early season pollinators Stonecrop -- Sedum 'Angelina' Perennial (z3-11) full sun-part shade 4-6'' tall, 6-12'' wide Evergreen lime-green needle-like foliage turns orange in cold weather Yellow flower clusters in summer Low maintenance, year-round color; thrives in sharp-draining soil Known for being able to out-compete weeds Carolina Campion -- Silene caroliniana 'Hot Pink' NATIVAR perennial (z5-8) full sun-part shade 1' tall and wide Semi-evergreen groundcover, bright pink spring blooms Must have excellent drainage to thrive; prefers sandy, gravelly soil and a bit of afternoon shade Tiny sticky hairs discourage predation from insects; aka wild pink or sticky catchfly Ornamental Clover  -- Trifolium repens   Perennial (z4-10) full-part sun, 2-4'' tall, 5-7'' wide Grow your own luck with this eye-catching groundcover, where every clover is a four-leaf clover! White flowers bloom spring to summer, loved by bees Spreads quickly; cascades beautifully over edges of containers or walls Short Toothed Mountain Mint -- Pycnanthemum muticum 2025 Perennial Plant of the Year - for good reason! NATIVE perennial (z3-9) full-part sun 2-3' tall and wide -- a bit taller than other lower growing plants but great en masse at a woodland edge Fragrant leaves smell of spearmint A phenomenal pollinator plant with lovely silver bracts and blooms Not overly aggressive but will spread Appalachian Mountain Mint -- Pycnanthemum flexuosum NATIVE perennial (z6-8) full-part sun 2-3' tall, 3-4' wide -- a bit taller than other lower growing plants but great en masse at a woodland edge Aromatic, silvery white flowers on sturdy, upright stems summer-long Red-tinged foliage in fall Dwarf-Eared Coreopsis -- Coreopsis auriculata 'Nana' NATIVAR perennial (z4-8) full sun-part shade 6-9'' tall, 1-2' wide Easy care, deer resistant groundcover with yellow spring-summer blooms; evergreen foliage turns burgundy in fall Thrives in moist, well-drained soil; not as drought tolerant as other coreopsis species Hardy Geranium 'Bevan's Variety' -- Geranium macrorrhizum 'Bevan's Variety' Perennial (z3-8) full-part sun 10-12'' tall, 18-24'' wide Abundant clusters of pink-purple flowers late spring through summer Semi-evergreen, fragrant, light green foliage takes on purples tones in fall Effective at choking out weeds; ideal attractive groundcover Cranesbill Geranium 'Midnight Ghost' -- Geranium pratense  'Midnight Ghost' Perennial (z4-8) full-part shade 6-8'' tall, 1-3' wide Exquisite white flowers positively glow against rich, dark chocolatey, purple-red foliage, blooming all summer long An excellent drought tolerant, deer and rabbit resistant, attractive groundcover Bearberry -- Arctostaphylos uva-ursi NATIVE evergreen shrub (z2-6) full sun-part shade 6-12'' tall, 3-6' spread Slow-growing groundcover; drought tolerant White-pink blooms, red berries Creeping St. John's Wort -- Hypericum calycinum Perennial (z5-9) full sun-part shade, 12-18'' tall, 1-2' wide Cheery yellow-blooming groundcover Best blooms in full sun, but tolerant of a wide range of conditions Rapid spread by underground stems; evergreen in mild winters Spreading Bellflower -- Campanula carpatica 'Pearl Deep Blue' Perennial (z3-8) full sun-part shade 8'' tall, 1-2' wide Blue-violet, upward-facing bells of flower spring to summer Dainty, compact, mounding foliage, excellent for edging and containers Prefers well-drained soil and cooler summer temperatures Lithodora -- Lithodora diffusa 'Blue Star' or 'Grace Ward' Perennial (z6-8) part shade-full sun 6-12'' tall, 2-3' wide Vigorous semi-evergreen groundcover with brilliant blue star-shaped blooms; a lovely summer-blooming complement to the spring bloom of creeping phlox Tolerates full sun in cooler climates; appreciates afternoon shade in hot summers Thrives in rich, moist, acidic, well-drained soil Bugleweed or Ajuga -- Ajuga reptans (Many varieties and colors) Perennial, full-part shade Most varieties at Painters this season are 3-6'' tall and 12'' wide Dense, rapidly spreading groundcover Spikes of lavender-blue flowers bloom in spring, adored by pollinators Dead Nettle -- Lamium maculatum 'Orchid Frost' (Dead Nettle) Perennial (z3-8) part-full shade 6-10'' tall, 1-2' wide Mat-forming groundcover with variegated heart-shaped foliage Pink-purple flowers in late spring and later rebloom Green and Gold -- Chrysogonum virginianum NATIVE perennial (z6-8) full-part shade 3-6'' tall, 18-24'' spread Yellow blooms April-October, with a lull during hottest months A great shade groundcover and one of our most popular Sweet Woodruff -- Galium odoratum Perennial (z4-8) part-full shade 6-12'' tall, 10-18'' wide Fragrant and vigorous groundcover for moist, shady areas White star-shaped flowers in late spring Creates a carpet of green foliage, can naturalize if conditions are right Barrenwort -- Epimedium 'Pretty in Pink' Perennial (z4-8) part-full shade 1-2' tall, 2-3' wide Marvelously attractive groundcover for dry shade; covered in whimsical pink flowers in spring, foliage takes on dramatic bronze tones in spring and fall Vigorous, low maintenance, durable; drought tolerant, deer and rabbit resistant Aka fairy wings Allegheny Spurge -- Pachysandra procumbens NATIVE perennial (z4-9) full-part shade 6-10'' tall, 1-2' wide Semi-evergreen, silvery mottled foliage Fragrant flower spikes in spring Slower growing but so worth it! Pennsylvania Sedge -- Carex pennsylvanica NATIVE perennial (z4-8) part-full shade 8-12'' tall and wide Tiny brown flowers in spring mature to sac-like bracts Semi-evergreen; deer resistant and easy to grow Ostrich Fern -- Matteuccia struthiopteris NATIVE perennial (z3-7) part-full shade 2-5' tall, 3-4' wide -- while a tall groundcover option, beautiful en masse as an understory plant Tall, majestic fronds resemble ostrich feathers Thrives in rich soil with constant moisture Hostas Perennial (z3-9), part-full shade in general, though some are bred for more sun tolerance Leaf sizes range from 2" long to over a foot, and most varieties feature mid-summer bloom spikes of white or purple, many quite fragrant. The size of the plant can range drastically, but most range from 1-2.5’ tall and 1.5x3.5’ wide.  While hostas can handle our native soils, they do best in richer, more fertile soils and with good drainage - so for best performance and size, you definitely want to amend your soil. Hostas are often beloved by both deer and slugs - we carry many cultivars that are slug resistant, but deer are another story (we recommend frequent applications of   Green Screen   around your beds).  We carry a range of leave colors, shapes, and sizes along with variation in the total plant size.  Some unique options we have this year include: Captains Adventure (a true collector’s hosta with very unusual leaf variegation), Blue Mouse Ears (tiny, adorable, rich blue-green), Blue Umbrellas ( an immense variety with thick, blue-green, corrugated leaves), and Beach Boy (their thick leaves have good resistance to slug onslaught). Woodland Phlox -- Phlox divaricata 'May Breeze' or 'Blue Moon' (Spring 2025 stock SOLD OUT. Watch for these favorites in future seasons at Painters!) NATIVAR perennial (z4-8) full-part shade 12-15'' tall and wide Lovely, fragrant, white or purple-blue spring blooms, perfect for filling in around bulbs or perennials Forms large colonies over time; drought tolerant once established Wild Ginger -- Asarum canadense (Spring 2025 stock SOLD OUT. Watch for this one in future seasons at Painters!) NATIVE perennial (z4-6) full-part shade 6-12'' tall, 12-18'' wide Cup-shaped, purplish brown flowers appear in spring Attractive groundcover for shade Meehan's Mint -- Meehania cordata NATIVE perennial (z4-8) part-full shade 6'' tall, 12-18'' wide Low maintenance, deer resistant, shade tolerant groundcover, with lovely lavender-blue blooms in spring A unique mint that spreads politely, not thuggishly; thrives in rich, moist woodland soil Click here for a printable list: Updated and republished 05/2025

Two quintessential classics!   Philodendron Cordatum , a.k.a. Sweetheart Philodendron and a brighter cultivar, Philodendron Cordatum “Lemon Lime”   These two varieties of hanging basket philodendrons are Painters’ staff favorites and likely some of the easiest houseplants to grow. Perfect for novice plant lovers, but sophisticated and elegant enough for houseplant connoisseurs. You could choose from the philodendron cordatum’s dark emerald-green hue or the bright chartreuse-colored leaves of the “Lemon Lime.” Or maybe choose both! Whether your style is traditional, eclectic, or super modern, with their lush and opulent foliage, they can fit into any décor.   Place them nearly anywhere except direct sunlight. Both varieties can be quite tolerant of lower light and some neglect! Our Painters houseplant specialist recommends them as even easier to grow than a pothos—an oft-prescribed beginner plant.   Philodendron cordatum’s heart-shaped glossy foliage can grow and trail up to 6 feet or more. Hanging philodendrons appreciate occasional trimming. Pruning back new growth right after a leaf node will encourage new leaves and more fullness at the base.   And while lush hanging baskets are a favorite way to display these beauties, they will readily climb a moss pole or trellis. In fact, in the wild, they more commonly grow as epiphytes or semi-epiphytes–climbing up the trunks of trees in tropical forests. Encourage larger leaves with a climbing pole and check out our Painters-made moss poles !   They appreciate warmth and humidity and moderate watering—only needed when the soil feels dry. Be mindful of locale and access, as these sweethearts are toxic if ingested. Both philodendron varieties are available at Painters in 8” hanging baskets and they are stunning specimens! We also have a select number of lush “Lemon Limes” in 6” growing pots. A perfect holiday present!

It’s the first day of Spring! In WNC, March brings sunny days that can reach into the 70s, but keep in mind that temperatures can still dip below freezing (like last night!),  and a fluke snowstorm is not unheard of. Now is a great time to start cleaning up the yard, prepping beds for spring, planting cool-season veggies and annuals, and adding hardscaping elements.  PREP YOUR GARDEN Test Your Soil – Healthy soil is the basis of a healthy garden and the first step is getting your soil tested!   Here's how you can test your soil through the NC State Extension Office .  Folks often are advised to do this when moving to a new property, but it's a great idea at any point if you want more information on what you're working with! Fertilize and Amend Based on Your Results – Your soil test will tell you the acidity of your soil as well as which nutrients you may be lacking. Based on the results of your test and what you want to grow you can amend your soil and fertilize it more accurately! CLEAN UP Garden Clean up – You may be tempted to remove all the old leaves and twigs that have settled in beds, but most of this organic matter is a benefit for your garden and soil health. We recommend selective clean up of leaves, leaving a thin covering over areas where new growth is emerging to serve as protection, and leaving some mounded at the base of known plants as additional protection (last night was evidence that tender new growth needs that!).   You can clean up fallen limbs, small branches, and some of the leaves without raking and manicuring everything. Remember that these leaves provide homes and protection for many insects and small creatures. If moving some leaves, pile along yard edges so that the insects within can still emerge rather than running over leaves with a mower and chopping them up. And if you do uncover a chrysalis or nesting/semi-hibernating insect, reptile, or amphibian, you can gently tuck them back where they were or gently move them and recreate their environment so that they are able to continue their cycle!  Try to keep leaf blowing to a minimum as insects and other creatures will obviously be disrupted.   As for cutting plants back, we encourage folks to read this article by the NC Extension. They give specific guidance on certain species that are better housing for solitary bee pollinators (with hollow stems), and suggest cutting your gardens back modestly in early to late March. Be aware that most nesting bees need 8-12” of growth for nesting so restrained trimming is helpful! As your plants put out their new growth, it typically covers up the old growth, plus the old stems often help support new ones in addition to providing housing for pollinators. TREES & SHRUBS Certain shrubs and trees do best when pruned at this time of year, as we move out of winter and before they start flushing with new growth, but you have to do your research! Some shrubs and trees cannot be pruned at this time without sacrificing future blooms. Watch for future blog posts on proper techniques and best practices! Fertilize and mulch existing trees and shrubs. We recommend top dressing with a good broken down compost, working it into the top layer of the soil a bit, then covering all with a couple inches of mulch. Avoid applying mulch directly up against tree or shrub trunks. Plant fruit trees and vines as well as other container-grown shrubs and trees. Spring is a great time to find a wide variety of choices at Painters and also the perfect time to set them up for a great start–it is much easier to keep them well-watered and happy before the hotter days of summer.  COOL SEASON PLANTS Do Your Research – Here is a   WNC planting calendar  for vegetables, fruits, and herbs. Greens like spinach and kale, peas, and root veggies such as radishes and carrots are some examples of cool-season veggies that can already be planted outside! Plant cold-tolerant annuals such as pansies, violas, and cool season veggies Fertilize & Mulch – Now is a great time to add top dressings of compost to perennial edibles such as asparagus (before the first spears begin to emerge), and to mix in compost when planting your cool season annuals and veggies for a slow release food source. Mulch can provide a little extra protection for your early crops when we get a cold snap. Make sure to use natural mulches such as straw, pine needles or shavings, or undyed bark.   Check out what’s available at Painters this season! BLOG UPDATED FROM 02/21/2023.

You may hav e heard the term “hardening off” regarding seedlings you start indoors, but many folks don’t realize it’s also important for mature plants grown inside a greenhouse. To harden off a plant means to slowly acclimate it to a new environment so that they don’t go into shock and suffer damage or even die.  When plants are raised indoors in early spring and then moved outside for planting, they have to adapt to direct sun, cooler temperatures, lower humidity, and increased air movement and winds–let alone different pest and disease pressures–all of which are now out of your control and highly unpredictable.   If a plant is properly hardened off, the cell walls and leaf structure literally thicken. More energy is put toward root development and reduction of excess water in the plant, which means it will be stronger, more rigid, and less susceptible to freeze damage. As plants harden off, they will grow less quickly than indoors but that slower growth will create a firmer and less floppy plant that can handle the stresses of outside. If a plant is not hardened off, wind, sun, or cold can lead to significant wilting, browning leaf edges, or even death. (Note that even with thorough hardening off, frost-prone plants can still get frost damage.) If you are following most guidelines for hardening plants off, especially if you’ve started your own seedlings and are adapting them to outdoor conditions, it is a pretty time intensive process and ideally done over two weeks. While this is certainly a good rule of thumb, we tend to simplify it a bit when moving crops outside for sale as well as at our own homes. Generally, adapting seedlings to the outdoors is a much more sensitive process than bringing home well-rooted more mature plants from a greenhouse and acclimating them to your new environment.  For less cold-sensitive crops, such as many perennials or cool-season annuals and veggies, we use this process throughout early spring, but for the more frost-tender crops (Boston Ferns, most annual bloomers, tropicals, tomatoes and warm-season veggies, etc), we tend to wait to harden off until risk of frost is unlikely. At the greenhouse, we often bring warm weather crops out in mid April rather than the recommended mid May due to our merchandising needs, but may still have to cover or even move the more sensitive crops back indoors in the case of freezing nights. If you want to be extra safe at home and avoid having to move plants back and forth, the general rule of thumb is to wait until temperatures are consistently in the low 50’s. In our area, the tradition is to wait till after Mother’s Day, but with warming temperatures over the last few decades (the US zone map has relabeled Asheville area as a zone 7 rather than a zone 6), we rarely have to wait that late to be safe from hard frosts.  When we bring plants home to plant outdoors, we try to follow the below protocol: Our absolute best piece of advice for hardening plants off–as well as just a great rule of thumb for when to plant–is to wait for a string of overcast and lightly rainy days if possible. This will both protect plants from sun scald and help with watering them in but also encourages healthy root growth as they harden off.  (This is our go-to method when moving large numbers of plants outdoors from a heated greenhouse at Painters.) Try clustering the pots of plants together so that they can protect one another from wind gusts and being knocked over. Plus, this makes it easier to cover them with shade cloth and/or frost cloth as needed. Group the pots in an area with protection from high winds as well as protection from full sun. The edge of a covered porch, the entrance to a garage, or a spot on the south side of a building that stays warmer but still has some wind and direct sun protection is best. If you don’t have a spot that protects from full sun, drape netting that offers 10-20% shade above the plants for the first 4-5 days.  Wind can be just as damaging and drying as the sun, so we recommend watering the plants deeply (or dipping the pots into a bucket of water to saturate them) prior to taking them out to harden off. Over the next week or two, you can gradually reduce the amount of water you give the plants–just be aware that while adapting to outdoor conditions, they are likely to dry out faster… if you see them starting to wilt, check to see if they’re dry (wind or sun damage can also cause wilting, so only water them if they are actually drying out).   To be extra careful, bring the plants back inside for the nights during the first week if predicted to be lower than 40 deg. Then the following week, cover plants with frost cloth or fleece each night. If you do manage a week of overcast and wetter weather, you may not have extreme cold, so leaving them outside with some additional frost protection for 40 or below should be adequate.    After 1.5 to 2 weeks, you should be able to plant your hardened off plants wherever you plan to keep them (assuming you’ve chosen spots suited to their needs). Just watch for late frosts and cover if needed.    *NOTE: When protecting plants with heavy material or frost cloth, you should prop the cloth up above foliage and blooms with stakes or supports–if thicker cloth or frost blanket lays on the plants, they can still burn from the cold where it touches the foliage.  So what plants at Painters are safe to plant outside right now and how do you know if something needs hardened off?   A general rule of thumb is that if you see something  outside on the retail tables  at Painters, it’s safe to plant it outside at home. We do often cover crops on the outside tables even if hardened off when the temps are predicted to be 34 or lower, as customers aren’t as likely to want a frost-burned plant (even if the roots and majority of growth are healthy, it doesn’t look so good until the new growth overtakes any damaged).  If you see crops on   tall carts   but not on tables, they are likely frost-tender items that want fresh air and sun, but we aren’t ready to unload them permanently, instead wheeling them back inside until chilly nights are done.  Our shrubs and trees  are all container-grown and kept outside throughout the year, so they are safe to plant at any time (ideally before the heat of summer as they are much harder to keep well-watered and happy when planted at that time).  Perennials from our cold frame  (the large, low greenhouse sans tables, adjacent to the parking lot) are able to handle light freezing temps, but do need some protection against hard frosts and lower temps until acclimated. When purchasing items from inside our main greenhouse  (the tall, heated greenhouse with tables), you may want to double-check with staff regarding when to plant outside. It is safe to assume that anything purchased from the main house has not been hardened off. We have perennial ferns and shade perennials that may be ready to go outside right now and will just need to be hardened off per the above rules (knowing that a hard frost can still cause leaf and bloom damage but plants will be OK once hardened), but we also have tender tropicals, hanging ferns, and succulents that prefer not to be left outside until nighttime temperatures stay above 55 degrees. Signs should tell you if it’s a perennial or annual and have a listed growing zone, but if in doubt, ask a Painters team member!   In general, the warmer the environment the plant is coming from, the longer the hardening off process should be–plants in our cold frame have had moderate protection from cold and therefore mild hardening off already, whereas plants from our heated greenhouses have not been exposed to temperatures below 55 and will need a longer introduction and more protection as they adapt.  Don’t want to bother with any of this? Then wait until mid-May to plant everything!  The only risk is that you may miss out on many of our popular items, as some crops sell out by late April or early May at Painters. The bottom line for us is that we want you to have success with anything you bring home from Painters. A lack of proper adaptation to its new environment (including proper planting and watering), can lead to poor plant health or even failure. We are here to help, and if you can’t find a staff member available during your shopping, feel free to email us with questions! Sources: https://www.harrisseeds.com/blogs/homegrown/what-hardening-off-seedlings-means-and-how-to-do-it https://extension.psu.edu/hardening-transplants https://extension.psu.edu/vegetable-planting-and-transplanting-guide

Hydrangeas are a deciduous shrub that can flower from spring through summer and oftentimes into fall. They quickly fill in and can become a showstopper within just a year or two of planting. There are several different species of hydrangeas that grow in our area and understanding the differences between the four different types can help you become a successful gardener and ensure that you plant a hydrangea in the right spot and prune at the right time for the best results. Below you'll find a description of each species and a few examples of varieties that we have in stock this season. To see a full list of available hydrangeas, please reference our tree and shrub availability list. HYDRANGEA ARBORESCENS, aka Smooth Hydrangea This species is very adaptable and can handle a wide range of soils and moisture conditions. Native to North America, it's the most cold tolerant of the hydrangea species. No need to fuss with soil pH - the flowers stay true to their color. Prefers part shade or full sun. In the south, smooth hydrangeas can still bloom in areas where it receives as little as 4 hours - further north hydrangeas prefer increased hours of sunlight (6 hrs). These blooms make great cut flowers, or feel free to leave the blooms on the shrub to dry to add winter interest. Allow the shrub to establish for a couple years before performing any hard pruning. Trim down to the ground in early spring or not at all if you want a larger shrub in the landscape. ANNABELLE One of the oldest and most popular smooth hydrangea cultivars. This classic shrub has huge white round heads of flowers often blooming throughout summer. Known for its vigorous blooms on sturdy stems. Grows to 4-5' tall and 3-5' wide. INVINCIBELLE WEE WHITE Compact, dwarf variety growing 1-3' tall and wide.  Strong, upright stems are topped with big summer blooms - essentially a mini-Annabelle. INVINCIBELLE RUBY This nativar reaches 3-4' in height and 2-3' in width.  Sturdy stems support the ruby red/silvery pink blooms.  Makes an excellent cut flower, fresh or dried! HYDRANGEA PANICULATA, aka Panicle Hydrangea The easiest and most adaptable hydrangea to grow. They are sun-lovers and perform well in urban plantings. They can handle part-shade, but bloom best in sun. "Panicle" references the pyramidal or cone shaped bundles of blooms. Panicle hydrangeas are known for their long blooming times. Most panicle hydrangeas bloom white and as the flowers age they turn to shades of pink or red. If blooms are left to dry on the plant they will fade to a beige color and add winter interest to the landscape. All panicle hydrangeas, regardless of variety, can be pruned the same since they all bloom on new wood - pruning should be done in winter or early spring and will ensure that blooms each summer. LITTLE LIME A dwarf variety of Limelight growing only 3-5' tall and wide. This is a great option for a lower height mass planting or in containers. LIMELIGHT PRIME An improved variety of 'Limelight' with a more compact stature (4-6' tall and wide) and an earlier bloom time for an extended bloom season and stronger stems to support the large heads of flowers.   LITTLE LIME PUNCH A dwarf variety of 'Limelight' only reaching 3-5' tall and wide with a unique twist of color.  Flowers emerge green and gradually progress through white and pink to fruit-punch-red. Makes a great container shrub! FIRE LIGHT A large, sturdy variety reaching 6-8' tall and wide.  The long-blooming flowers emerge creamy white and age to deep red-pink. LITTLE QUICK FIRE A dwarf form of the variety 'Quick Fire', reaching 3-5' in height and 2-4' in width.  The loose, fluffy blooms emerge white and mature to red-pink.  This is the earliest blooming panicle hydrangea! BOBO A dwarf variety only reaching 3' tall and 3-4' wide.  Sturdy, upright white blooms engulf the shrub throughout summer.  The blooms may take on a subtle pink hue in fall. PHANTOM A large variety reaching 6-10' in height and width.  The huge blooms can reach 15" in size!  This variety has sturdy stems to hold up the large blooms. SILVER DOLLAR A compact variety reaching 4-5' in height and width.  Regardless of the shrub's size, the white blooms are full-sized and present from mid-summer through fall. HYDRANGEA QUERCIFOLIA, aka Oakleaf Hydrangea Named after the leaf shape, oakleaf hydrangeas are the most heat tolerant of the hydrangea species that grow in our area. Another native to North America, this species blooms a little later than the other hydrangeas, but makes up for it by offering rich maroon red leaves in the fall. This is the one hydrangea I would hold off on pruning, unless it's necessary to prune out dead stems. This is a multi-stemmed, suckering shrub that often grows wider than tall. Looks great along woodland edges or in a natural/non-formal garden. Because oakleaf hydrangeas bloom on old wood, planting in a spot where it may have some winter protection can help save next-season's flower buds. This hydrangea prefers a little more shade, but can tolerate full sun. As the shrub matures, older stems exfoliate to reveal a rich brown inner bark that is attractive in winter. QUEEN OF HEARTS* A hybrid of 'Snow Queen' and 'Pee Wee' varieties, matures to 6' tall and 9' wide. Noted for its large, upright conical flower heads (up to 9" long) which open white and gradually turn a deep pink. *Not currently available. Will be available at Painters during the Fall 2024 Season. MUNCHKIN A dwarf variety reaching 3-4' in height and width.  White summer blooms mature to mahogany red in fall. Photo by David J. Stang , CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons PEE WEE A dwarf variety with a compact, rounded habit.  Reaches 3-4' tall and 2-3 wide.  White summer blooms mature to pink in fall. SNOWFLAKE Flower heads are formed with clusters of double blooms, resembling snowflakes. Bloom season is much longer than single flower species as florets continue to open throughout summer. Grows up to 6-10' tall and wide. HYDRANGEA MACROPHYLLA, aka Bigleaf Hydrangea* This is the most common garden hydrangea shrub, also called French hydrangeas. This species is showy and popular and there are two different types of blooms, lacecap or mophead. Mopheads are the shrubs that bloom large, dense, pom-pom-type flower clusters. This group has the ability to change flower color based on soil pH. ( Click here to dig deeper on an explanation on how soil pH controls bloom colors in Bigleaf Hydrangeas). Lacecap shrubs form flattened, round flower heads of tight fertile buds, resulting in an airy, delicate look. Bigleaf hydrangeas don't fare too well with hot summer afternoons, they may respond to the heat by drooping their leaves. Since blooms appear on old growth wood, make sure to plant in a spot where they have some winter protection. NIKKO BLUE* When planted in acidic soil, blooms have a beautiful Dutch blue coloring. Offers great cut flowers and makes a great statement in the garden, especially if planted along fences or as a border. Reaches 4-6' tall and wide. ALL SUMMER BEAUTY* This compact variety grows in an upright and mounded habit reaching only 3-4' tall and wide.  The ball-shaped blooms are present on both old growth and new growth which allows this variety to bloom through spring and summer since the flower buds are produced in fall and spring/summer.   *Not currently available. Will be available at Painters during the Fall 2024 Season. PLANTING The best time to plant hydrangeas is in fall, the second best is in spring. The idea is to give the shrub plenty of time to establish a healthy root system before blooming. The best time of day to plant is in early morning or late afternoon to protect the plant from heat stress. Please refer to our Tree and Shrub Planting Guide to better understand hole size and depth as well as proper mulching. Hydrangeas prefer evenly moist, well-draining soil. If you have heavy clay soil, make sure to amend the site with compost and plant the shrub shallow/mounded to promote better drainage. Mulch will help keep hydrangea roots cool and moist. Make sure to choose a planting site that will suit your hydrangea - Most all hydrangeas like warm morning sun and some afternoon shade. WATER Bigleaf and smooth hydrangeas require more water, but all varieties benefit from even moisture. Water hydrangeas deeply in the morning (sometimes needed up to 3x a week while the plant is getting established). Deep waterings promote root growth. PROPOGATION Do you have a hydrangea in your landscape that is a great performer or is sentimental? Do you wish to slowly build out a border in your landscape? Here are some techniques to help you save money and try your hand at asexual propagation! Panicle and Bigleaf hydrangeas are propagated best through "layering". In early to midsummer, dig a small trench near your hydrangea plant and bend a branch down to the trench so the stem makes contact with the soil. Make sure 6-12" of the branch is extended past the trench. Make scratches on the bark where the branch touches the soil and back fill the trench with soil and place a rock on top to hold the branch down. With time, the branch will form its own root system and can be separated from the main plant and transplanted. Oakleaf and Smooth hydrangeas put out new shoots through underground stems. Dig up the new young plant and carefully separate it from the main plant then transplant to a new location. FERTILIZER The best way to determine your fertility needs is by using a soil test, but the basic rule of thumb for fertilizing hydrangeas is as follows: Bigleaf prefers several light fertilizing applications in March, May and June Oakleaf and panicle do best with two applications in April and June Smooth hydrangea only need fertilizer once, in late winter PRUNING Both Bigleaf and Oakleaf Hydrangeas bloom on old growth, if pruning is necessary to promote fullness or maintain size then prune in late summer after the shrub has finished flowering. Make sure your pruning cuts are made just above a node (where a bud or lateral stem is present on the branch). Panicle and Smooth Hydrangeas bloom on new growth, if pruning needs to be done it should be done in late winter. Smooth hydrangeas can be cut all the way back to the ground. HYDRANGEA TYPE WHEN TO PRUNE FLOWERS APPEAR Bigleaf (H. macrophylla Summer, after flowering On old growth Oakleaf (H. quercifolia) Summer, after flowering On old growth Panicle (H. paniculata) Late winter, before spring growth On new growth Smooth (H. arborescens) Late winter, before spring growth On new growth

Gardens are all about timing! It's never too late to plan yours using these quick monthly checklists: January What's showing color : Witch Hazel, Winter Jasmine, Winter Daphne, Hellebore, Twig Dogwood Chores : Prune fruit trees & grapevines Remove unwanted weeds & overgrowth that died back during winter February What's showing color : Crocus, Hellebore, Winter Honeysuckle, Carolina Jessamine, Witch Hazel, Camellia Chores : Fertilize shade trees & spring flowering bulbs Prep garden beds for early season veggies Prune summer flowering shrubs such as Crape Myrtle, Rose of Sharon, and Panicle Hydrangeas Cut back ornamental grasses Divide clumping perennials such as Daylilies and Shastas March: What's showing color : Crocus, Hellebore, Carolina Jessamine, Daffodils, Violas, Pansies, Mahonia, Saucer & Star Magnolias, Flowering Cherry, Pieris, Fothergilla... Chores : Mark your calendar for Painters Greenhouse opening day! Fertilize shrubs & trees Fertilize Asparagus beds Fertilize veggie garden beds prior to planting Plant fruit trees & vines and other shrubs & trees Plant early season veggie starts Begin organic pest treatment on fruit trees April What's showing color : Crossvine, Peony, Daffodils, Amsonia, Lungwort, Jacob's Ladder, Columbine, Coreopsis, Woodland Phlox, Trillium, Dwarf Crested Iris, Globe Flower, Bleeding Heart, Jack in the Pulpit, Foamflower, Meadow Sage, Baptisia, Carolina Silverbell, Dogwood, Redbud, Viburnum, Rhododendron, Lilac, Carolina Allspice, Pieris, Azalea, Kerria, Leucothoe... Chores : Mark your calendar for Painters Greenhouse Herb Fest! Fertilize any remaining shrubs not fed Watch veggies (especially cruciferous crops) for caterpillars and treat as needed Mulch garden beds as needed May What's showing color : Clematis, Honeysuckle, Yarrow, Chives, Amsonia, Blanket Flower, Calla Lily, Columbine, Milkweed, Baptisia, Bearded Iris, Goat's Beard, Peony, Lavender, Catmint, Penstemon, Salvia, Indian Pink, Spiderwort, Coreopsis, New Jersey Tea, Southern Magnolia, Kousa Dogwood, Lilac, Rhododendron, Viburnum, Mountain Laurel, Virginia Sweetspire, Azalea, Deutzia, Weigela... Chores : Mark your calendar for Painters Greenhouse Mothers Day Weekend! Time to get some hanging baskets Fertilize summer flowering plants like Crape Myrtle Wait to cut back spring bulb foliage until it turns brown Fertilize veggie starts Plant tomato, sweet potato, pepper, & eggplant starts (still watching for late frosts) and sow melons, corn, cucumbers, okra, & summer squash Repot houseplants needing it and begin giving houseplants regular, deeper watering June What's showing color : Yucca, Hypericum, Milkweed, Daylily, Balloon Flower, Stokes Aster, Coreopsis, Red Hot Poker, Salvia, Agastache, Bee Balm, Veronica, Russian Sage, Catmint, Southern Magnolia, Mimosa, Smoketree, Oakleaf, Bigleaf & Mophead Hydrangeas, Sweet Azalea, Rosebay Rhododendron, Gardenia, Roses, Clethra, Southern Bush Honeysuckle... Chores : Stop at Painters Greenhouse one last time before closing for the summer Fertilize veggies, shrubs & trees Plant okra, beans, pumpkins, and later batch tomatoes Prune needle evergreens like Juniper & Arborvitae Prune Bigleaf & Mophead Hydrangea blooms once faded Deadhead Shastas, Phlox, and Daylilies for 2nd bloom flush Trim dead bulb foliage Watch for Japanese Beetles and veggie pests July What's showing color : Coneflower, Agastache, Milkweed, Garden Phlox, Black-Eyed Susan, Russian Sage, Coreopsis, Shasta Daisy, Gaura, Bugbane, Hardy Geranium, Bee Balm, Catmint, Mountain Mint, Buttonbush, Clethra, Smooth, Mophead, Panicle, & Oakleaf Hydrangeas, Steeplebush, Hypericum, Lilac Chaste Tree... Chores : Give landscape plants second rounds of fertilizer Plant beans, carrots, and tomatoes for late season harvest Prune fruiting canes of raspberries and blackberries after harvest Deadhead flowers for second bloom flush Keep veggie and flower gardens well-watered during periods of extreme heat and drought August What's showing color : Coneflower, Lobelia, Agastache, milkweed, Turtlehead, Culver's Root, Hosta, Garden Phlox, Black-Eyed Susan, Coreopsis, Guara, Hardy Geranium, Bee Balm, Catmint, Passionflower, Obedient Plant, Mountain Mint, Ironweed, Boneset, Asters, Goldenrod, Swamp Hibiscus, Buttonbush, Clethra, Smooth, Panicle, & Oakleaf Hydrangea, Steeplebush... Chores : Maintain irrigation during heat and periods of drought Prune fruit trees for shape and to remove suckers Sow cool season veggie seeds September What's showing color : Belgian Mums, Violas & Pansies, Toad Lily, Anemone, Hardy Mums, Hardy Asters, Sedum, Goldenrod, Joe Pye Weed, Ironweed, Helenium, Heliopsis, Helianthus, Boneset, Turtlehead, Gentian... Chores : Mark your calendar for Painters Fall Season Opening Day! Plant groundcovers and perennials so they have time to establish before winter Start planting shrubs and trees Prep houseplants to move indoors (pest check, wipe down, transplant) Plant legume cover crops if not planting fall gardens October What's showing color : Goldenrod, Fall Asters, Belgian and Hardy Mums, Toad Lily, Franklinia, Oakleaf Hydrangea, Beautyberry, Dogwood, Itea, Chokeberry, Fothergilla, Holly, Sumac, Viburnum, Maples... Chores : Finish planting shrubs, trees, and perennials before cold sets in Divide dense perennials and spring-blooming bulbs Plant new spring bulbs Leave spent blooms and grass heads for birds and pollinators to have shelter and food through winter Leave the fallen leaves when possible for pollinator habitat November What's showing color : Witch Hazel, Camelia, Franklinia, Beautyberry, Holly, Dogwood, Viburnum, Chokeberry, Sumac, Oakleaf Hydrangea... Chores: Watch for pop-up events at Painters Greenhouse. Houseplants are a lovely treat! Plant spring flowering bulbs, if not already done Remember to leave frost-killed perennials and grasses for wildlife (cut back after last frost in spring) Water evergreen shrubs and trees thoroughly before winter December What's showing color: Camelia, Beautyberry, Holly, Twig Dogwood, Sumac, Hellebore... Chores: Mulch strawberries with wheat or pine straw Reduce watering of house plants and avoid feeding unless an active winter bloomer, such as Cyclamen and Christmas Cactus Assess garden tools and equipment to see if any need repairs Start dreaming and planning for next year...

Each year Painters offers a variety of mature combination pots to add instant color to a front porch or patio. And this year they are stunning! But for those who might be interested in the creative endeavor of planting and designing your own, it can be as simple as 1-2-3. The design idea behind basic container planting starts with a time-honored three-step template: Thriller - Filler - Spiller: Thrillers are plants with height . They add drama; they add splash; they constitute the vertical element of the container. Thrillers might be a showy bloom or ornamental grass or bright, tall foliage. They are generally placed either in the center of the container with plants all around or towards the back to set a front-facing scene. Read further down to find a list of Painters favorites. Fillers are just as they sound. They are plants that create the center of the design and make it look full . They tend to be plants with a mounding habit and generally are placed in front of or around the tall element. There are many choices in this category so choose from your favorite colors or foliage. Spillers are also easily self-explanatory! They are the plants that spill over the lip of the container. They are plants with trailing habits and are placed along the front or the edges of the planter so they can spill over the sides. We always grow a wide variety of favorites including those listed below. But first here's a quick photo tutorial on creating a very simple Thriller-Filler-Spiller design for a sunny spot: Thriller = Dahlia 'City Lights', Filler = Purple false shamrock, Spiller = Glitz euphorbia You can start with just the basic three items, but add additional Fillers and Spillers depending on how full you want your pot to be. For example, in this pot, you could add two of the false shamrocks and two glitz euphorbia to create more lushness. Or you can add a different fourth or a fifth component to really punch it up! Maybe a spike plant or an additional color component. Then just make sure to water it all in and enjoy your new creation! Find your full selection of Spillers and Fillers in Aisle 3 of Painter's Main Greenhouse! Some Recommended Thrillers For a Tropical Vibe: Taro, Canna, Ensete (False Banana), Asparagus Fern, or a Spike Annual grasses for showy seed-heads or intense color contrasts: Purple Fountain Grass, First Knight, Fireworks Perennial grasses for a more natural look & year-round interest:  Northern Sea Oats, Everoro Sedge & Orange Sedge are favorites along with Japanese Forest Grass Herby Options: Lemongrass, Rosemary, a tall ornamental basil like African Blue Some Favorite Fillers For sun, Geraniums, Zinnias & Lantana are great Hens and Chicks Dahlias (shorter cultivars such as City Lights series are ideal) Petunias - especially Potunia, Crazytunia and others bred for compact container-friendly habit Fan Flower Persian Shield Shrimp Plant Duranta for bright color Salvia farinacea or Salvia guaranitica Rex Begonia Lavender African Blue Basil Torenia, Polka Dot Plant, or New Guinea Impatiens for shade Coleus (We have compact, large leafed varieties that do well in both shade and sun.) Fuschia Gartenmeister, Mexican Heather, or Plectranthus Velvet Elvis for part shade Oxalis, False Shamrocks Caladiums Ferns - especially Japanese Painted, Autumn Fern, Japanese Holly, and Limelight Lady Fern And Spillers Dichondra 'Silver Falls' Wire Vine  Licorice Plant Sweet Potato Vine Sedum - 'Angelina' is a favorite! Bacopa Red Stem Pilea Portulaca  Golden Oregano Mint Thymes Trailing Tradescantias Turtle Vine *Make sure to check signage, tags, or do a little research to ensure you are combining items that have the same sun and moisture preferences. A Painters pet-peeve is seeing combo pots sold that contain a mixture of sun and shade loving or drought and moisture loving plants - we want you to have combos that last all season and are designed to thrive! And finally, for those of us who learn by examples, check out these combo pots at Painters this year for some inspiration! Shady Hummingbird Combo - Part Shade Gartenmeister fuchsia, New Guinea impatiens (about to bloom!), Coleus Cool and Classy Combo - Part to Full Shade New Guinea impatiens, Coleus, Wire vine Made in the Shade Combo - Part to Full Shade Impatiens, Polka dot plant, Torenia (about to bloom!) Enchanted Combo - Part to Full Shade Asparagus fern, Polka dot plant, Dichondra 'Silver Falls', Oxalis 'False Shamrock' Icy Combo - Part Shade Caladium (just starting to emerge), Lobelia, Swedish ivy, Dichondra 'Silver Falls' Chartreuse Combo - Full Sun to Part Shade Dahlia (about to bloom!), Sweet Potato vine, Coleus Sapphire Combo - Full Sun Black & Blue Salvia, Fan Flower, Angelonia (all about to bloom) Blaze Porch Combo - Full Sun Geranium (about to bloom), Bidens, Melampodium Glitz and Glam Combo - Full Sun Taro, Black petunia, Sweet potato vine, Dichondra 'Silver Falls' Sunny Hummingbird Combo - Full Sun Salvia, Pentas, Million bells Desert Divas Combo - Full Sun Craspedia, Portulaca, Gazania Gloriously Gothic Combo - Full Sun Celosia 'Dracula' (about to bloom), Black petunia, Rudbeckia And a few more for innovation ... from previous years at Painters.

Summertime evenings are some of the most cherished in my mind. The work is done; the heat is waning; and the fireflies are starting to glimmer at the edges of the yard. I've turned on my own twinkling solar lights if the moon is not full and poured a cold drink. And now is when I reap the second shift of beauty in my garden. Now is when the moon garden--the night garden--shines! For those who plan them, evening gardens are a pure secret delight. And what a treat to unwind in this remarkable space. Often referred to as Moon Gardens, they are all about using darkness and reflecting light. Some even call them White Gardens for the white blooms that reflect the moonlit night. Whether you are looking to create an entirely monochromatic artful oasis or just adding some features for cooling, shaping, or adding texture to your evening backyard, read on for a few tips, a few photos, and some suggestions to get you started! White Blooms! Whether you choose some sharp annuals for the edging or a big pop of white in a perennial filler, white flowers can glow gloriously once they catch the moonlight or lighting we place in our garden. And there are so many to choose from! Annual Vinca Impatiens Zinnias Fan Flower White Petunias White-blooming Wax Begonias (Bonus: their glossy leaves are extra reflective!) White Bleeding Heart Hydrangeas White-blooming Hibiscus Garden Phlox 'David' Woodland Phlox 'May Breeze' Anemone (spring and fall blooming) White-blooming Lilies (Painters favorite: Casa Blanca Lily) White Liatris 'Alba' (Great for the back of the garden!) White-blooming Hollyhock Bear's Breeches Shasta Daisy Miss Bateman Clematis White Iris 'Immortality' (limited stock 2024) Whorled, Common, and White-blooming Swamp Milkweeds (They glow and attract nighttime pollinators!) White-Silver Foliage Greys and silvers can soften white flowers and help them blend rather than stand out. They are also fabulous in their own right! Adding a silvery element to a moonlit corner is a centerpiece of its own merit. Artemisia 'Silver Mound' or Powis Castle' Curry plants, Helichrysum Dusty Miller Dichondra 'Silver Falls' Japanese Painted Fern 'Godzilla' Big Bluestem (native, tall and silvery) Brunnera Sea Holly Lamb's Ear 'Silver Carpet' Rose Campion Lamium 'White Nancy' Mountain Mints Balkan Yarrow And remember that not all whites are the same. Cool whites are different than creamy whites. Some might pair better with silver foliage, some with warmer green hues. Play around until you get the color combinations you prefer! Dynamic Shapes and Leaf Variegation When you remove petal color from the equation, the eye can focus on the contrasts. Simple plant variegation becomes a star! Or contrast can be found in the shape of the plant habits--bending/waving, straight upright, or spilling elements. Play around with adding contrast: Caladium Variegated Carex (i.e. Japanese Forest Grass 'Aureola' or Variegated Sedge 'Everest') Jacob's Ladder 'Stairway to Heaven' Purple Fountain Grass 'Fireworks' Dappled Willow Northern Sea Oats Glitz Euphorbia (semi-spilling) Creeping Baby's Breath Scent Evening gardens are famous for using scent to add to our sensory palate. Scented geraniums could be placed along paths where you might brush against the foliage or try some of these favorites for end-of-day fragrance: Moonflower (The scent attracts night pollinators!) Peppermint Scented Geranium (also reflective!) Jasmine 'Fiona Sunrise' (Its bright chartreuse foliage could also be great contrast) White Fringe Tree Cherry Laurel 'Otto Luyken' (or other strongly floral scents) End-of-day Blooming The penultimate Moon Garden plant is one that will either open in the evening or hold their blooms open through the night. Four O'Clocks Evening Primrose Moonflower (scent will attract night pollinators) Elements of Dark Don't forget the backdrop! Bring bright elements forward by adding thoughtfully placed segments of dark contrast: Ornamental Rice 'Black Madras' Fountain Grass 'First Knight' Taro 'Black Coral' (reflective!) Ninebark 'Red Baron' Any dark Heuchera (i.e. 'Black Forest Cake') Hardscaping As in any garden, you can add a lot with some key elements of hardscaping. For nighttime use, think peripheral lighting, some seating, and clearly marked pathways. Stepping stones are key for passage! But it doesn't just have to be utility; my close friend built a gorgeous stepping-stone labyrinth in her yard to add a quiet activity in the winding down hours. As with so many garden designs, let your own taste and your own creativity lead! And if you have already created your Moon Garden refuge, send us your favorite night garden photos... we love to be inspired by you! If you are interested in learning more about night pollinators, check out the Moth Night event at Painters on July 26th, 2024 from 8:00-11:00. Join us for a lecture and collection demonstration with a professional moth light.

We really ARE making a difference! Keep making backyard pollinator gardens, keep planting milkweed, and keep adding ponds and rain gardens! Each one is contributing to restoration success - ecologist Doug Tallamy recently highlighted several amazing studies showing just how important it is to add beneficial plants and water sources to your home gardens. We all knew it was important, but it’s incredibly encouraging to learn that scientists (and citizen science data) are showing that our backyard oases are indeed making a difference in biodiversity. Very promising news showing how important our pollinator gardens are to monarch populations! Keep up the native plantings, and petition your community leaders to stop spraying and misting for mosquitos, and to change white street lights to yellow bulbs to minimize stress to pollinators. When we increase our natives, especially shrubs and trees, then we not only support pollinators, but also those who rely on them for food! And of course, creating small ponds and water features (without chemicals or invasive plants), is another critical part of supporting our ecosystem - plus you get the benefit of added beauty and adorable residents! There has been some concern amongst conservation biologists that creating butterfly gardens or water features in backyards, in particular in cities and suburban environments with minimal natural habitat nearby, could cause ecological traps . Analysis by Jesus Zuniga Palacios and colleagues of almost 40 studies and 15 countries indicates that urban habitats are not creating ecological traps for most species studied, but we of course need to fight for more supportive environments in developed areas so that the creatures we are attracting and supporting in our backyards aren’t then harmed by issues such as light pollution or mosquito/pest treatments. If you aren't familiar with the nonprofit Homegrown National Park, founded by Doug Tallamy and Michelle Alfandari, check out their website for more information and for great guides and tips. The mission of HNP is “to regenerate biodiversity because all humans need healthy, productive ecosystems to survive.” The HNP “raises awareness and urgently inspires everyone to address the biodiversity crisis by adding native plants and removing invasive ones where we live, work, learn, pray, and play.” Make sure to get on their biodiversity map - a fantastic interactive tool for the community to see the total area of the U.S. and Canada occupied by native plants! T he more data we have the more we can learn about the difference we are making!

The Cecropia Moth is perhaps one of the most visually magnificent of our native species, but is not in fact a pollinator as the adults do not have mouthparts. Help celebrate National Moth Week!  This week, folks from all over the world are participating in a global citizen science project, taking photos of moths they attract or find, and   sharing their pictures with conservation organizations . The Owen family has always been moth appreciators and are thrilled to see them getting more media exposure for their importance not only as bioindicators but as critical pollinators ( see Brad's Pollinator Week blog ). Moths account for over 90% of the Lepidoptera class (12,000 moth species versus 825 butterfly species in North America!), and we've learned that moths pollinate at a faster rate than day-flying insects. They also work harder to get to nectar, visiting many plants that day-flying pollinators ignore. In addition to pollinating lesser-visited plants, they also feed from many of the same species that butterflies, bees and other daytime pollinators visit; this overlap in pollination could be critical at a time when we are observing major declines in pollinator populations. When we consider the massive population of moths combined with their speedy pollination skills and diverse plant selection, that’s quite the argument for planting to attract and feed moths! We often think of pollinator gardens as full of nectar-producing, colorful blooms covered in butterflies, bees, and other pollinating insects. But in order for pollinating insects to get to the life stage where they can do that essential job in our gardens and native habitats, they have to have something to eat when young! Host plants are those you plant for moths, butterflies, and other insect pollinators to lay their eggs on, and they then provide food for the larval/caterpillar life stage. Host plants are essential in supporting a diversity of moths and butterflies, and even indirectly, birds–a baby bird can eat over 500 caterpillars in one day. Conveniently, many host plants offer food for caterpillars as well as food for adult pollinators - in addition to providing beauty in your landscape. It can sometimes be challenging as an environmentally conscientious gardener to be willing to share with wildlife and let go of a need for plant perfection. Many of us plant native berry and seed producing plants to support migrating birds, and we then have the dual benefit of providing them food as well as getting to enjoy birdwatching. When gardening to support moths, the reward is not as obvious - we rarely witness the adults feeding and pollinating under cover of darkness, and their young often leave their host plant's leaves full of holes (some thank you!). Rest assured that much of the hungry, hungry caterpillar damage is covered with new foliage after they've had their fill, and when you plant a full, diverse garden, you barely notice. Please never spray your plants when you see them getting munched on - while it may sometimes be a Japanese Beetle or other invasive insect causing damage (look for pheromone traps for specific species), even organic-safe treatments will kill all insects feeding from the leaves and blooms - including the ones you are trying to attract! Holes in your native plant leaves is a good thing, it just takes some mental adjustment and acceptance of imperfection in our landscape. The host plants that make the biggest impact are native trees, but many shrubs, grasses and perennials are also vital (and easier to fit in smaller yards). Note that if planting in the heat of summer (during Moth Week), you may want to wait on shrubs and trees till fall as they require more water and can therefore be more challenging to keep happy during times of drought or extreme heat. Check out this list of favorite native plants for supporting WNC moths, including both host plants and nectar-producing plants.  For a much more extensive list of plants for moths, we highly recommend the book  Gardening for Moths . White or Red Oak, Quercus alba or Quercus rubra Zone 4-8 50-80’ tall & wide Full Sun Dry to medium water, good drainage ideal but can handle a range of soils Oaks are incredible host plants – providing food to over 550 species of moths and butterflies (including the below Rosy Maple)! Oaks provide beautiful fall color and serve as excellent shade trees once mature (which can take a bit, so be patient!). Acorns are an essential food for a variety of bird and mammal species. The Rosy Maple Moth is an adorable, vibrantly colored favorite - look at that fuzzy head! River Birch, Betula nigra Zone 4-9 40-70’ tall & 40-60’ wide Full sun to part shade Medium to wet soil (great for rain gardens & streamline restoration) River Birch hosts almost 320 species of moths and butterflies (including the infamous Luna Moth)! It grows relatively fast, so can be a faster way to add shade and height to your landscape. The attractive bark, growth habit, silvery leaves, and pretty blooms make it ornamental as well as beneficial. The famous Luna Moth. Photo Credit: Painters staff member, Betsy The Imperial Moth is a gorgeous, uniquely colored large moth! Photo Credit: Painters staff member, Betsy Witch Hazel, Hamamelis Vernalis or Hamamelis Virginiana Zone 4-8 H vernalis = 6-10’ tall & 8-15’ wide, H virginiana = 15-20’ tall & wide Full sun to part shade Hamamelis vernalis likes moister soils (great for rain gardens), while Hamamelis virginiana prefers lightly moist but well drained soils A great larval host plant as well as nectar source for over 60 species of moths (including the below Friendly Probole), Witch Hazel also serves as a nesting site and provides seed to several bird species. Various parts of the plant have been used for a range of medicinal purposes by Native Americans as well as modern commercial uses. It’s also beautiful – the yellow or orange, feathery, fragrant blooms cover the branches in late fall to early winter (Common Witch Hazel), or late winter to early spring (Ozark Witch Hazel & many cultivars). The Friendly Probole is a dainty moth with lovely scalloped wings and detailed patterning. Swamp Rose Mallow, Hibiscus moscheutos Zone 5-9 3-7’ tall & 2-4’ wide Full sun Medium to wet soil (great for rain gardens) Blooms July - September This native hibiscus supports 28 species of moths and butterflies. Easy to grow in a range of soils as long as it isn’t allowed to dry out completely. Blooms best in full sun, featuring large showy flowers in shades of white to pink (and cultivars include blooms in rich reds, ombres and deeply contrasting throats). Blooms are also critical for bees, hummingbirds, orioles and more. The Delightful Bird Dropping Moth definitely fits its name! Secretive & hard to spot, Rose Mallow is a host plant. Photo Credit: Jim Brighton Pussy Willow, Salix discolor Zone 4-8 Height 6-15’ & Spread 4-12’ Full sun to part shade Medium to wet soils (great for rain gardens & streamline restoration) Blooms March-April Pussy Willow hosts 18 butterflies and moths. It’s also a lovely ornamental shrub, and can be pruned to more of a bushy shape if desired. The catkins, which look like fuzzy kitty toes and make cut flowers, produce an abundance of pollen appreciated by early foraging bees, Lepidoptera and other pollinators, while the foliage creates a dense cover that serves as nesting sites for a variety of birds. Varied parts of the plant have been used for centuries for medicinal purposes as well as weaving and wickerwork. An Io moth - famous for it's massive eyespots. Pussy Willow is one of its many host plants. Buttonbush, Cephalanthus occidentalis Zones 5-9 Height 5-12’ & 4-8’ spread Full sun to part shade Moist to fully wet soil Blooms June A Snowberry Clearwing Moth enjoying the nectar of the Buttonbush bloom. Great for wet areas, placed prone to flooding, rain gardens etc. In June, they’re covered in spherical, fragrant white blooms resembling ornaments, which will be as covered with butterflies, hummingbirds, bees and other pollinators during daylight hours as they will be with moths at night. A fabulous ornamental for naturalizing, preventing erosion, or creating a rain garden , with many wildlife benefits. Buttonbush is a host plant to over 25 species of Lepidoptera, including several sphinx moths. The lovely Hydrangea Sphinx - Buttonbush is a host plant to it along with (gasp!) hydrangeas. Photo credit: Moths of North Carolina Highbush Blueberry, Vaccinium corymbosum Zone 5-8 Height 6-12’ & spread 8-12’ Full sun to part shade Consistently moist soil w/good drainage & acidic pH is ideal Blooms May, Fruits Summer Native highbush blueberries host 223 species of Lepidoptera (including beautiful, giant silk moths), and the nectar supports many bee species as well. The berries are critical food for native and migrating birds, bears, and mammals, and in our diet offer many medicinal benefits in addition to being delicious. Blueberries offer lovely blooms in spring and fall color in addition to the berries; they can be used as hedges or incorporated into an ornamental landscape for both beauty and ecological benefit. The Polyphemus, a large, showy Silk Moth with giant eye spots to deter predators. Blueberries are one of many of its host plants. Joe Pye Weed, Eutrochium sp. Zone 4-8 NATIVE perennial 4-7' tall, 3-4' wide Full sun Purply blooms summer to fall; thrives in moist, fertile soil, great height for wet spaces Deer and rabbit resistant Joe Pye is a host plant for more than forty species of moth and butterfly caterpillars, including the Clymene Moth, Three-lined Flower Moth, Ruby Tiger Moth, and the Great Tiger Moth.  Just like any host plant, you can expect some leaf damage, but know that on healthy plants, the damage will soon be hidden by new foliage and you can feel great about the mature moth or butterfly that will be sipping on the nectar of the Joe Pye come late summer and fall! Joe Pye is also an excellent source of nectar for a huge diversity of pollinators - you can't have a butterfly and moth garden without Joe Pye!! The Clymene Moth's austere black and white upper wings hide bright orange-yellow underwings. Aromatic or Smooth Aster, Symphyotrichum oblongifolium Zone 3-8 Height 1-3’ & spread 1-3’ Full sun to part shade Dry to medium soil moisture Blooms August – September This aster is host to dozens of Lepidoptera as well as many bee species. Blooming in early fall, it is an important nectar source for a wide range of pollinators during a period when many other plants are fading. Aromatic aster is a tough native plant that can tolerate a range of conditions. It is often used in ornamental landscaping as a taller border and is a popular flower for wildlife habitat restoration. The lovely daisy-like blooms are a rich purple-blue, and the foliage is fragrant, making a great cut flower. If you want the wildlife benefits but a less rangy growth habit, there are many lovely nativars with more compact habits. The Wavy Lined Emerald Moth - small, delicate, and stunning coloration. Asters are one of many host plants. Showy Goldenrod (and most Solidago), Solidago speciosa Zone 3-8 Height 2-3’ & spread 2-3 Dry to medium soil moisture Blooms July – September Goldenrod is a host plant to over 120 species of Lepidoptera, provides nectar to a range of pollinators including many long and short tongued bees, and the seeds are excellent food for a variety of songbirds. Like asters, it is commonly used in wildlife habitat restoration. Depending on the species, it may bloom anywhere from mid summer to mid fall, and will produce more blooms if deadheaded. The showy, gold blooms will attract and support butterflies galore as well as supporting many moths. The False Crocus Geometer - a small, delicate moth with unique patterning. Goldenrod is one of several host plants. Little Bluestem, Schizachyrium scoparium Zone 3-9 Hieght 2-4’ and spread 1.5-2’ Full sun Dry to medium soil moisture Seed heads/blooms August – Winter Up to 50 moth species will feed and house in Bluestem and other native prairie grasses. Very ornamental, with a variety of colors within one clump of grass and airy seed heads. A great medium to taller border. Good in rain gardens but can also be drought tolerant once established and overall tolerates a range of conditions. Great support for bees, pollinators and birds alike both providing food and housing. The Large Yellow Underwing - very camouflaged until it flashes the bright mustard lower wings. Little Bluestem is a host plant to the yellow underwing as well as many skipper species (Fun fact: skippers are a sort of intermediate species between moths and butterflies). Additional herbaceous perennials that also serve as great host or nectar plants include: Bee Balm, Milkweed, Coreopsis, Mountain Mint, Helenium, Coral Honeysuckle, Ironweed, Sedum telephium, Northern Sea Oats, Rudbeckias & Echinaceas Charismatic Megafauna Champions! What's funny about moths is that many of the showiest adults are not pollinators (several pictured above don't have mouthparts) - we like to see this as nature's little lesson in seeing beyond beauty. Of course, even if the adult moths aren't pollinators, their caterpillar young are essential to the food web - one baby bird can eat upwards of 500 caterpillars a day! Charismatic megafauna is a term used to describe animals that are deemed more attractive and appealing to the general public - they are often essential to conservation organizations when advertising and fundraising. For instance, the giant, fuzzy-headed, vibrantly orange Royal Walnut Moth (who isn't able to pollinate and is only interested in mating) is much more likely to garner interest than a small, grey-brown Grieving Woodling Moth (obviously sad because nobody knows how hard it pollinates!). That said, we have to close with one of our favorite charismatic non-pollinating species - they can't help it they're beautiful! The Hickory Horned Devil Caterpillar (Host plants include Ash, Walnut, Sumac, Sweetgum and Persimmon trees ) And the adult form - the Royal Walnut Moth (which has nonfunctioning mouthparts). Photo credit: Painters staff member Betsy Plant a diversity of host and nectar plants and you can attract and support a wide range of moths, including those that act as critical pollinators as well as those that act as food for other wildlife and food for our souls! Sources ‘Gardening for Moths – A regional guide’ . Jim McCormac & Chelsea Gottfried ‘Moths are more efficient pollinators than bees, shows new research’ https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/03/230330102153.htm ‘ Moths do the pollinator night shift – and they work harder than daytime insects’ https://theconversation.com/moths-do-the-pollinator-night-shift-and-they-work-harder-than-daytime-insects-138472 ‘How moths keep our world blooming, pollinating in the night’ https://www.oneearth.org/how-moths-keep-our-world-blooming-pollinating-in-the-night/#:~:text=Overall%2C%20moths%20interact%20with%2047,as%20a%20natural%20biodiversity%20backup .

The key building blocks for a wildlife garden. Many of us are familiar with native plants and are taking steps to add more to our gardens. Some of you may be new to planting with pollinators and wildlife in mind, some of you may have been doing it for years. It can be overwhelming when diving into a new garden space, or feeling pressure to 'edit' your existing one to be more wildlife conscious – there are SO many beautiful and beneficial native plants out there... how do you even know where to start?! That's where keystone plants come in! So, what is a keystone? The term keystone comes from architecture – the keystone in a bridge is the final stone to get placed in the center of a bridge arch and is the most important stone in the structure. As each stone in the curve leans/presses on one another, they are then locked into place by the final keystone piece – without that keystone, the entire arch would collapse.  Keystone image source Wikipedia A 'keystone plant' was coined by ecologist Robert Paine in the 1960's. Keystone plants are native species that generate a network of beneficial relationships, providing critical sources of food and/or shelter for a large number of other species. Keystones help stabilize their ecosystem and have a large effect on the diversity of other species–many insects, birds and even mammals depend on these keystone species, some relying on them to complete their lifecycles. If you remove keystone plants from an ecosystem, it can cause a major shift or even collapse of the ecosystem. You can have a garden full of native plants, but if you don’t have keystone species included (or close by), your garden habitat will be not be performing to its fullest potential. Only 14% of our native plants (keystones) are responsible for the vast majority of our wildlife--without keystone plants in the landscape, butterflies, native bees, and birds will not flourish. Large trees have the biggest impact If you have the space, keystone trees are going to have the largest impact by FAR. Think size if nothing else–that's a lot of foliage (and habitat)! But also, some species are simply better food, and support a much larger number of caterpillars and native bees–the white oak tree is a host plant to 436 species of moths and butterflies ! Planting one or more of these will have the biggest impact, and you're truly planting (and planning) for a better future when you do so. White Oak (above left), River Birch (center), and Basswood (right) are known to be excellent keystone trees for our area.   Oaks - host to 488 caterpillar species in the SE There is no question that planting an oak tree is saving (and fostering) MANY lives! If you're worried about them blowing over, plant in a group of 3 so the roots hold each other up (Judy West references this in her excellent presentation , quoting Doug Tallamy). You can find both Red and White Oak at Painters this fall–both grow into beautiful shade trees and provide lovely fall color. Birches - host 299 caterpillar species We have River Birch this fall, and highly recommend them not only as keystone plants but for streamline restoration and erosion control in moist or poorly drained areas. The bark is extremely shaggy and provides a lot of textural interest. Pines - host 232 caterpillar species We have White & Table Mountain Pines at Painters this fall–both beautiful trees as well as excellent keystones. White Pines grow pretty quickly for evergreens, so are also a great privacy screen option. Basswood - host 132 caterpillar species These amazing native trees enrich the soil, have medicinal properties, the fragrant summer blooms providing excellent food for bees, and foliage is a rich yellow in fall. Beech - host 116 caterpillar species Beech become tall, dense trees (providing shade & privacy), provide many ethnobotanical benefits, and offer lovely orange fall color with leaves persisting late into the cold months. Shrubs & smaller trees are also essential Not everyone has space for one or more large shade trees–and that’s where keystone shrubs and smaller trees come in!  Below are some of our favorite keystones recommended for our area. Blueberries (above left), Black Raspberries (center) and Florida Dogwood (right) are all excellent keystone shrubs and smaller trees for our area that provide lovely flowers and edible fruit along with essential wildlife support. Willows - host 289 caterpillar species Commonly seen along riverbanks, we are currently in between crops at Painters, but Black Willows especially are extremely beneficial keystone plants! Blueberries host 237 caterpillar species We have cultivars of V. corymbosum & ashei; you can also look for the straight species of tenellum, stamineum pallidum or fascatum for the best wildlife support. Raspberries & Blackberries - host 127 caterpillars Choose one of our native straight species or cultivars of red raspberry, black raspberry or blackberry as opposed to the hybrids to have the best wildlife support–our favorite for both our own eating and wildlife is black raspberry! American Hazelnuts - host 108 caterpillars We have American Hazelnut this fall–an incredible wildlife resource & food for us too! Native Roses - host 105 caterpillars Currently in between crops at Painters. Look for Carolina Rose, Virginia Rose, or Swamp Rose, but be aware that they can spread quickly and give them room to breathe to reduce mildew issues. Dogwoods  - host 101 caterpillar species Native Flowering Dogwood has berries containing 25% fat vs the Japanese Dogwood’s berries which have 2% fat–a huge difference for migrating birds especially! We currently have three species of native dogwood at Painters. Serviceberries - host 101 caterpillar species We have a couple species of this amazing native as well a few hybrids which have also been shown to have great wildlife benefit.  Fluffy spring blooms are great for bees, the berries are delicious for people as well as wildlife, and the fall foliage is stunning. Keystone Perennials Fill in between your larger keystones with herbaceous perennials! There are many highly beneficial perennials for our area, but a few really stand out as true keystones.  If you can, plant five or more for the best wildlife benefit–just a couple plants won't attract or support as many insects. Plus, bigger groupings of plants look much better in the garden–a bigger swath of color and texture! We have several species of goldenrod (left), asters (middle) and Helianthus (right) at Painters this fall . Goldenrods - host 104 caterpillar species & 42 native bees Commonly mistaken as the source of fall allergies but rarely the culprit, you simply cannot choose a more beneficial native perennial for your pollinator garden! We grow several species and hybrids offering a range of sizes and blooms shapes, and we guarantee adding them throughout your yard will dramatically increase the health of your ecosystem and the numbers of your pollinators and birds. Asters - host 100 caterpillars & 33 bees Perhaps our favorite keystone perennial as there are SO many beautiful asters of every imaginable color, size and habit–spring as well as fall blooming, and always covered in pollinators! We grew 12 different asters this fall! Helianthus - host 66 caterpillars & 50 bees We have 3 species and several cultivars of native sunflowers, offering different shades of rich yellow and orange and varied heights. Always a showstopper for people as well as pollinators! Rudbeckia - host 20 caterpillars & 29 bees Everyone loves Black-eyed Susans–people, pollinators & birds alike... plus they usually spread, so it's not hard to establish larger patches affordably (much more visual appeal and better wildlife support). We have several species and cultivars, with one of our favorites being the Henry Eilers–there's simply nothing like it! Coreopsis - host 7 caterpillars and 22 bees We grow a range of Coreopsis at Painters, but if you want to ensure keystone support, look for the C. auriculata 'Nana' or the C. lanceolata. We absolutely love the Nana as a low growing border/groundcover–the foliage forms a dense semi-evergreen mat, and the lovely rich mustard yellow blooms simply coat the plants in early spring before much else is blooming. This chart by the National Wildlife Federation is our favorite keystone resource: Also, see Homegrown National Park for their recommended keystone shrubs & trees for our region. Once you have a few Keystones, fill in with more beautiful beneficials! The NC Native Plant Society provides a detailed list of recommended native plants, and the Blue Ridge Audubon Society provides a list of natives essential to birds.  Some of these listed species may not be considered keystones, but are still very important to our pollinators, birds, and ecosystem as a whole.  This includes our plant of the week, the American Beautyberry , and last week’s featured plant, Black Chokeberry (both on sale right now and truly excellent wildlife plants as well as beautiful additions to your landscape).    NOW IT'S TIME TO PLAN AND PLANT! Sources https://homegrownnationalpark.org/keystone-trees-and-shrubs/ https://nwf.org/keystoneplants

Concerned about soil washing away on the slope in your yard, in that bank by your driveway, or on the newly cleared land by your back garden? Then this is a quick list to get you started! Note: If you're concerned about major landslides, then stabilization with plants is not your first step - you'll need to address drainage and slow stormwater flow. Immediately consider regrading, terracing, retaining walls, and erosion mats before planting.  While not simple or fast solutions, if you start from square one, you 'll sleep easier! Check out this blog by the NC Extension Master Gardeners for some great information to get you started. So, we'd all like quick control. You might have heard your uncle say to plant English Ivy or Vinca.  These cheap invasives have no trouble covering ground, but at what cost to you AND the environment?  They grow unchecked, overrun their boundaries, and choke out ecologically significant plants. For such a "low maintenance" plant, you may be in for more work than you ever imagined. Also, these plants get boring to look at. Choose the right plants for your location that you and the birds and pollinators love, and you will be enjoying this space for a long, long time. Give your bank the respect you would a normal landscape bed.   You have many plant options at your disposal and, with a little creativity, you can have a low maintenance slope full of color, texture, ecological significance, and  stability. A successful example at a team member's home includes St. John's Wort, Goldenrod, and River Oats --bright, beautiful, beneficial, and beyond effective! This list features plants that can naturalize small areas by suckering roots; plants that have a tendency to spread by self-sowing ( great for your pocketbook too! ); and those that have deep fibrous roots that hold banks. Plants with well-developed root systems can inhibit erosion by securing the soil from runoff in rainstorms or from blowing away. Plus many of these are native plants which are especially well-suited to the climate and soil conditions, making them excellent choices for erosion control. Eroding banks are not all one and the same--watch for the asterisk denoting plants that need/thrive in moist soil, and the italics indicating those preferring part shade. Grasses Blue Fescue Feather Reed Grass Little Bluestem Love Grass Northern Sea Oats Pennsylvania Sedge Pink Muhly Grass Prairie Dropseed Switch Grass Rhizomatous (UNDERGROUND STEMS) Bee Balm Daylily Fern (Ostrich, Christmas, Lady, etc) Dwarf Crested Iris* Lamb's Ear Lemon Balm Red Hot Poker Wildflowers Aromatic Aster Black-eyed Susan Blanket Flower Blue Flag Iris* Butterfly Milkweed Coneflower Coreopsis False Sunflower Hoary Vervain Ironweed* Mountain Mint Spotted Bee Balm Sunflower 'Maximilian' Wild Bergamot Yellow Coneflower White Wood Aster Small-scale Groundcovers Ajuga Creeping Phlox Foamflower Creeping Speedwell Green and Gold Heuchera Pachysandra Lamium Hardy Ice Plant Sedum ('Angelina', 'Blue Spruce' ...) Woodland Phlox Upright Suckering Shrubs Arrowwood Viburnum Beautyberry Blueberry Bush Honeysuckle Buttonbush* Swamp Rose* Doghobble* Elderberry* False Indigo Forsythia Inkberry Itea Ninebark Red Chokeberry Redtwig Dogwood Serviceberry Shrubby St. Johns Wort Smooth Sumac Summersweet Willow Winterberry* Sprawling Shrubs Bearberry Blackberry Cotoneaster Fragrant Sumac Creeping Juniper Raspberry *Prefers wet feet, [italics] Prefers shade Click here to download a copy of this list: Given our recent events here in Western NC, we need to say explicitly that this document is not to address large scale landslides. We are not experts at geologic solutions or slope gradations. If your embankment or slope is extreme, please first consider physical mitigations and perhaps professional support. This article is to offer plant solutions for smaller scale, residential slopes.

This blog is intended for those of us in WNC who have lost a lot of plants or had damage to our property from Hurricane Helene. That said, this guidance can also be helpful for anyone starting a new garden or restoring depleted soils! Since opening up this spring, we’ve been both heartened and saddened to hear of all of the shared experiences from Helene and how the destruction has affected customer gardens and yards, woods and views--not to mention loss of entire homes or worse. This is definitely a time of shared intense emotion; the last 6 months were some of the hardest many of us have experienced, and the recovery is just starting--both of the land and our homes, and of our hearts and minds.   We are perhaps the most eager we’ve ever been to get into our outdoor spaces and get our fingers in the dirt, yet we also may be struggling with feeling overwhelmed, unsure of how or where to start, or simply not having our usual energy and focus as we dive into the growing season. As we feel all of this with you, we are so incredibly grateful to be in the business of providing things that grow, heal, give beauty and nourishment, and foster joy! We will do all we can to support you--offering younger, more affordable native plants for restoration planting, adding to our gardening guidance resources (both on the website and posted around the greenhouse), or simply by lending a compassionate ear as you share your experiences. Whether you’re facing a blank slate with significant changes to your outdoor space, or simply starting a new garden, these tips should help--remember--Rome wasn’t built in a day! P lan Properly Consider changes to your light, soil, and air flow, and try not to rush into things. We cannot possibly over-emphasize the benefits of choosing the right plant for the right place ! Do you have significantly more sunlight in your space than you had before?  (If you lost plants, keep in mind that your favorites may not work in the same spots as they flourished before.) Silver lining--if you were lacking sunny spots before and now you have a lot more, there are so many new options available to you: coneflowers, butterfly milkweed, tomatoes & peppers to name a few! You may now have the option to install a full sun pollinator bed or a successful summer veggie garden where you weren’t able to sustain them before.  Alternatively, if you really love shade plants and want to have them again, don't lose hope--plant a few larger/fast-growing shrubs strategically and you can quickly recreate a shaded area. Did you lose a lot of top soil? Did your yard get buried in sand?  Make sure to give any washed out or buried areas several more weeks to be sure that any surviving plants have time to emerge - you may be surprised! We highly recommend doing a soil test if your soils were altered by the flood. You may have very different acidity and drainage now. Dig holes throughout your gardening space to see how much of it was altered and see how far down the change in soil goes--maybe you just have a few inches of sand deposited but still have some good top soil left underneath. If you have areas where you lost most top soil and were left with a lot of sand and rock, consider installing more of a rock garden/desert garden. There are many amazing plants that we often can't manage in our clay soils that thrive in rockier areas with good drainage, and this allows you to work with what is there rather than starting from scratch to recreate prior soil structures.   You may have more air flow than before--a good thing as it prevents disease and mildew! But you could also have higher winds if you had a lot of tree loss and you may want to consider planting a wind screen. Or maybe you have to look at neighbors and neighboring properties that you used to have hidden from you? Read more about shrubs and trees for screening here . If you’re working with a ‘blank slate,’ try to see the positives. Consider changes you've always wanted to make, update these as needed based on how your space has been altered, and make a plan of attack. Try to be realistic about the stages required--don’t try to do it all in a year! Consider not just the expense of tackling it all at once, but the labor of digging (may be more than before if you have a lot of rock deposited), how much time and expense will be needed to amend your soils, and don’t forget the time watering and caring for it all. A whole new landscape takes a heck of a lot more time for planning, installation, AND maintenance than a single garden or smaller area!  If lots of work is needed for your soil to be restored, a great option is to start with just a few shrubs or trees that work for your space. Digging and amending a few large holes is much easier than tackling entire garden beds. Then perhaps add some planters with annuals and edibles to bring some color, fresh food, and fun to the space as you work through the bigger picture. P rep Your Space Soil building takes a lot of time and effort if you're doing it yourself, and can be very expensive if getting deliveries of supplemental top soils and compost--but if you skip this step you may not have success with your plantings.  We like this discussion of soil testing and her recommendations. If you're pacing yourself and planning on rebuilding the soil at least in part yourself, then check out th is guidance from NC State.  If you’re looking to buy soil and amendments and not wanting to spend 1-3 years rebuilding your soil, we’ve had good experiences with Asheville Mulch Yard (keep in mind that due to very high demand, they may have periods where they’re out of stock).  We still recommend doing a soil test on any soil or compost mix you plan to buy in bulk to ensure it's healthy (t here are no state regulations on topsoil quality in North Carolina, so it is buyer beware). You may need to incorporate more amendments than you'd typically use depending on how depleted your soils are even if you have new soil brought in. If you’re digging deeper than the new layer of soil, consider adding additional compost, soil conditioner, worm castings, Mycorrhiza and other root boosters and foods like Triple Super Phosphate (this is where the soil testing can be essential to see what is most needed). Add a layer of mulch to your new plantings ( always leaving room around base of trunk or plant ) to hold any new soil and amendments in place and protect from drying out excessively. If you have been left with a lot of dead trees, limbs and branches, consider building a Hugelkultur bed --a great way to use up wood detritus (as long as it’s not Black Walnut) and organic material already on your property. They can take some work to build, but once established are pretty low maintenance, often less water needy, and can produce very healthy plants! Be P atient (with your gardens and yourself!) Your end result will be so much better if you take the time to plan, choose the right plant for the right place , and not try to rush into it or redo everything at once.  Be patient and give yourself some grace! There is so much we are all processing and so much we are still having to do outside of restoring our yards (for instance calling FEMA for the 50th time to see if that support money is ever coming!). If you lost your gardens, many plants may have had meaning to you on a personal level--you may have even lost memorial gardens or plants that were gifted to your by loved ones. If you have a lot of downed trees nearby, it's hard to deny the visual and visceral impact of that loss. Take time for these feelings. Remember to pace yourself and instead of rushing to have a perfect, finished landscape, take time to enjoy the planning and rebuilding. And while we encourage thoughtful planning so that you have success with your plants, we also encourage planting some things for immediate gratification and joy--planters, baskets, annual color--whatever brings you happiness and solace as you enter this new garden season!

I don't know about the rest of you but I am smitten. Well actually, no... head over heels! I LOVE looking at plants , talking about plants, thinking about plants , and helping other people fall in love with plants too . ( Maybe it's how I ended up at Painters? ) And I LOVE learning more about plants too. But we all know how learning goes. It's a slow game. And each of us does it differently. Some of us learn by reading or listening; some by teaching or doing; some alone or in groups... and most all of us need some repetition. So at this time of year where I am just sitting here reading about plants and dreaming of plants , I thought I would put together a compilation blog featuring the Painters Greenhouse 'Words of the Week.' I thought it would be a great resource to return to (I always need to look things up!) and that needed repetition! For those with a growth mindset! But before I go further, props to team member John B. for this idea. We've been posting a Word of the Week in our seasonal weekly newsletter since spring of 2024. It's been an edifying experiment. From the start of the process where I get to chat with my fellow Painters' staff and learn from these great brains here, to those moments where customers drop their new vocab word in conversation--learning together is so rad! Bonus points to my kind and silly partner who reads the newsletter and never fails to insert the word in context sometime during the week. It's a jolly game for nerds in the know. So if you want to be a "nerd in the know" with me, click the side arrows to review the 'Words of the Weeks' from 2024 and 2025 . See which ones you've mastered, how many you remember from the newsletter, or unearth something entirely new! Remontant /rəˈmäntnt/ (of a plant) blooming or producing a crop more than once a season From the French for “rise again” You may have heard of remontant roses. But there are many other examples, such as Encore Azaleas or Group 2 Clematis . W.O.W from 2024.06.11 Lepidoptera /le-pə-ˈdäp-tə-rə/ a large order of winged insects made up of certain butterflies, moths, and skippers as adults, lepidoptera have four broad or lanceolate wings covered with overlapping and often brightly colored scales as larvae, lepidoptera are caterpillars this order has more than 180,000 species, with most of these being moths. Only the Coleoptera (Beetles) form a larger order of any animal W.O.W from 2024.06.18 Biennial /bīˈenēəl/ any herbaceous flowering plant that completes its life cycle in two growing seasons During the first growing season, biennials produce roots, stems, and leaves. During the second growing season, they produce flowers, fruits, and seeds, and then they die. All the reproductive growth is in the second season. Examples: hollyhocks, foxgloves and some rudbeckia species W.O.W from 2024.06.25 Proboscis /prōˈbäskəs/ an elongated feeding mouthpart attached to the head of an animal–typically tubular and flexible the most well known example of a proboscis in insects is the feeding tube used by adult butterflies and moths W.O.W from 2024.07.18 Inflorescence /ˌinflōˈresns/ simply, the group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem it's the complete flower head of a plant that includes stems, stalks, bracts, and flowers Inflorescence is categorized by the arrangement of flowers on the main axis and by the timing of its flowering. W.O.W from 2024.09.05 Self fertile /ˌselfˈfərd(ə)l/ fertile by means of its own pollen or sperm For example, a self-fertile fruit tree can pollinate itself and produce fruit without needing pollen from another tree. Click to find our pollination charts on our Edibles Page! W.O.W from 2024.09.17 Keystone Plant Plants that have a very large impact on ecosystem health and vitality. Generating a network of beneficial relationships and providing critical sources of food and/or shelter for a large number of other species, they are truly native plant superstars! Read more in Dana's blog: W.O.W from 2024.09.24 Nativar /ˈnay·tuh·vär/ a cultivar of a native plant that has been selected for specific traits Nativars can be natural variants found in the wild or developed by plant breeders. At Painters, so customers can make the most informed purchases, the dark maroon signage indicates that the plant is a Nativar. Red is for Natives. (Green is Ornamental.)   W.O.W from 2025.02.26 Herbaceous /(h)ərˈbāSHəs/ describes plants with soft rather than woody tissues. They include many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials.  Find a wide selection of herbaceous plants at Painters: Herbaceous houseplants, some select perennials and annuals, and accent plants are in the main greenhouse. In early spring, the cold hardy herbaceous perennials and annuals are out on our retail floor. And as the weather warms, you'll find more! Our Cold Frame (the building to the left of the parking lot) is available for shopping, but remember that many of these herbaceous perennials might still be dormant in early spring W.O.W from 2025.03.04 Rhizome /ˈrī-ˌzōm/  photo credit: University of Florida A modified plant stem which grows horizontally, under the surface of the soil. New growth then emerges from different points of the rhizome. Bee balm, ostrich ferns, and mint are examples of rhizomatous plants. (Not to be confused with rhizomic or rhizomatic...) W.O.W from 2025.03.11 Drupe  /droop/ a simple fleshy fruit consisting of an outer skin, a usually pulpy and succulent middle layer, and a hard and woody inner shell enclosing a single seed As a simple fruit, a drupe is derived from a single ovary of an individual flower.  Examples are cherries, peaches, and plums. Check out our current availability: W.O.W from 2025.03.18 Catkin /kat-kin/ slender, spikelike, drooping flower clusters, often resembling kitten tails, that are typically found on trees like oaks, willows, and birches, and are known for releasing pollen via wind pollination Pussy willow catkins are some of our favorites! W.O.W from 2025.03.25 Raceme /ray - seem/ A single stemmed inflorescence with flowers on individual short stalks along a stem. The bottom flowers open first as the raceme continues to elongate. Snapdragon and Delphinium flowers grow on racemes W.O.W from 2025.04.01 Trichome /ˈtri-ˌkōm/ An epidermal hair structure on a plant. Trichomes, particularly glandular trichomes, are directly related to a plant's aroma because they are the structures that produce and store the volatile compounds that give plants their characteristic scents.  In addition to aroma, trichomes also serve as a defense mechanism for plants, deterring pests and herbivores with their sticky resin and strong scents.  Some of our favorite herbs (with vigorous trichomes!) are Mandarin Lemon Balm, Honey Melon Pineapple Sage, and Cinnamon Basil! Plus all the mints! Mmmmmmmmm! W.O.W from 2025.04.09 Mutualism /myoo-choo- uh -liz- uh m/ a symbiotic relationship where two species benefit from each other in a close and prolonged association it can occur between species of the same or different species For example, pollinators and flowers engage in mutualism where bees obtain nectar for food and flowers benefit from pollination.  Mutualism is a common and important phenomenon in ecosystems, playing a significant role in shaping biodiversity and the evolution of species. Mutualism is thought to have played a major role in the diversification of life on Earth. It's vital to life itself.  Read our blog about Figs and Wasps: W.O.W from 2025.04.15 Bract /brakt/ A specialized leaf or leaflike part that protects a flower or other reproductive structure on a plant. Usually growing just below a flower or flower cluster, it is often confused with petals or sometimes the flower itself, as in the case of dogwoods or bougainvilleas. The large pink dogwood bracts surround the smaller greenish flowers W.O.W from 2025.04.23 Emergent Plant /ih-mur-juhnt/ Emergent plants grow in shallow water areas like marshes, along lake shores, and in wetlands, where they form a transitional zone between wet and dry environments. These plants are rooted in the substrate (like the bottom of a pond or lake) but their stems, leaves, and flowers grow above the water surface. They provide habitat for fish and wildlife, provide food for waterfowl, and they can help reduce shoreline erosion. Sometimes called Marginal plants as well. Read more about these plants at Painters: W.O.W from 2025.04.30 Fasciated flowers /fash-ee-ey-shuhn/ flattened, elongated shoots and flower heads that look like many stems compressed together into a band or bundle while not common, it is not considered rare across plant species and usually not of concern This strange-looking development may be ugly or attractive, but is always interesting! W.O.W from 2025.05.06 Understory /uhn-der-stohr-ee/  A forest layer between the canopy and the forest floor, typically composed of small trees, shrubs, vines and other lower-lying vegetation. It receives less sunlight than the canopy and is often characterized by a humid and sheltered environment. It plays a crucial role in ecosystem functioning by influencing stand development, fire behavior, and providing habitats for various wildlife species. In a garden, the understory refers to the layer of plants that grow beneath the taller canopy of trees or other large plants. These plants are shade-tolerant and can contribute to the overall beauty and complexity of a garden. W.O.W from 2025.05.13 Anemochory  / uh -nem- uh -kohr-ee/  the dispersal of plant seeds or spores by wind A common method of seed dispersal, anemochory relies on the wind to carry seeds and fruits away from the parent plant. Plants that rely on anemochory often have adaptations like wings, hairs, or plumes on their seeds or fruits to facilitate their transport by wind.  Examples include dandelion seeds with pappi, milkweed seeds with fluffy hairs, and maples with winged fruits. W.O.W from 2025.05.20 Samara /sə-ˈma-rə/ a type of winged, dry fruit that helps disperse seeds through wind, as of the elm or maple Popularly referred to as helicopters! The shape of a samara with its thin, dry, wing-like projection at one end and an enclosed seed at the other enables the wind to carry the seed further away from the tree than regular seeds would go, and is thus a form of anemochory (see above).  W.O.W from 2025.05.27 Monoecious plant /muh-nee-shuhs/ Plants bearing separate male and female flowers on the same plant potentially leading to self-pollination and fertilization. i.e. Tuberous begonias are monoecious. Tuberous begonias bear male and female flowers on the same plant. Produced in clusters of three, with two smaller female flowers next to the larger, usually double, male flower. W.O.W from 2025.06.03 Soft Landings Soft landings are diverse native plantings under keystone trees (or any other regionally appropriate native tree). These plantings provide critical shelter and habitat for one or more life cycle stages of moths, butterflies, and beneficial insects such as bumble bees, fireflies, lacewings, and beetles. In addition to plants, soft landings also include leaf litter, duff, and plant debris. Read more here: W.O.W from 2025.06.17 Phalaenophily  /fuh-lay-NAH-fuh-lee/ pollination by moths, specifically when moths act as the primary pollinators of a plant It's a type of pollination syndrome where plants and their pollinators have co-evolved traits that attract and facilitate moth pollination. Some examples are nocturnal blooms, pale or white colors, strong sweet scents, or large, funnel-shaped structures. W.O.W from 2025.07.21 Vernalization /vərnəˌlīˈzāSHən/ The induction of a plant's flowering process by exposure to prolonged cold—either from winter or artificially. After vernalization, plants have acquired the ability to flower but may require additional seasonal cues or weeks of growth before they will actually do so. Critical for the bulbs we love to sell in the fall! W.O.W from 2025.09.16 Cold Stratification /strat- uh -fi-key-sh uh n/ The process of subjecting certain seeds to a period of cold, moist conditions to break their dormancy and prepare them for germination. This mimics the natural overwintering process seeds undergo in the wild, where cold temperatures soften the hard seed coat and trigger the embryo. Find native plant seeds and seed mixes in stock from Sow True Seed. Or maybe scoop up any of the many plants that reseed readily for natural cold stratification: northern sea oats, hardy ageratum, rudbeckia, frost aster, coneflower, and more! Read more in our seed-sowing blog: W.O.W from 2025.09.23 Cauliflory /kaw-li-flawr-ee/ from the Latin caulis = stem and flory = flower a botanical term for when flowers grow on mature trunks and branches rather than at stem tips and new shoots It is an adaptation that allows for pollination and seed dispersal by animals climbing on the limbs and trunks to feed on nectar and fruits–an important support for pollination in a forest understory specifically. Redbuds are trees that do this, although they also bloom on stems. Check out the availability of redbuds at Painters: Redbud cauliflory W.O.W from 2025.09.30 Aggregate fruit /ˈaɡrəɡət ˌfro͞ot/ a single fruit formed from a single flower that has numerous separate ovaries, each developing into a small fruitlet These individual fruitlets, such as the drupelets in a blackberry or raspberry, merge or appear clustered together into a single, larger fruit structure. find (potential) aggregate fruits in the fruit trees and shrubs at Painters One of our new favorites: the ‘Glencoe’ raspberry–a cross between black and red raspberry strains. Its sweet purple berries are delicious fresh or cooked! W.O.W from 2025.10.07 Marcescence /mar-CESS-enss/ when deciduous trees hold on to much of their dead leaves until spring Done mainly by oaks and beeches, but also witch hazels and hornbeams and occasionally Japanese maples. The leaves often change color in the fall but won’t fall off the branch. They stay, wrinkled and brown, until new growth pushes them off the branch.  As we celebrate the season of dormancy and quiet, the marcescent leaves are the backdrop to the soundtrack of winter. The cold, quiet rustling of held leaves. See you soon in the spring! When the oak leaves fall… W.O.W from 2025.10.14

Our third annual Little Crafty is Saturday, December 14th, and we cannot wait to see you. Supporting artisans and small business owners is always a laudable effort, but this year in WNC, it's critical. Joining together to support one another, we work towards a quicker and more robust recovery, ensuring that our local businesses and artisans continue to thrive despite the challenges of Helene. And Painters is so thrilled to present this gifted group of local artists at Little Crafty; your gift shopping will be a joy! This holiday season, you can feel good about your choices, knowing that your gifts are not only beautiful but also contribute to the livelihoods of some truly remarkable creators. Swipe through the photos below for a sneak peak at what we have in store: FOR THE BIRDS ADD SOME HOLIDAY SPIRIT FOR THE HARDCORE GARDENERS FOR THE GLAM GARDENERS STOCKING STUFFERS SMALL HUMAN APPROVED FOR THE HOST PAINTERS GEAR FOR THE BIRDS For the bird lover in your life, choose from an array of fun or functional gifts: delicate paper quilled ornaments, whimsical garden accessories, unique stickers and prints, or practical bird homes and feeders. And for the voracious birder, an Audubon bird call to imitate and attract a variety of birds! Preview a few favorites from the photos below: (CLICK ON THE PHOTO FOR PRICES AS AVAILABLE) ADD SOME HOLIDAY SPIRIT From holiday ornaments to jolly adornments, there is an abundance of cheer at Painters Little Crafty. Find paperwhite terrariums and handwoven wreaths from talented vendors, choose from paper, wooden, glass and metal ornaments in all styles, or shop a plethora of pottery and seasonal plants galore. Your home is going to be gorgeous. FOR THE HARDCORE GARDENERS The diehard growers will always find their crew at Painters. And we know what you need to get going: Gauntlet gloves, Spearhead Spades, and leatherwork bags and holsters for all the tools you pick up (hand weeders, shears, spray wands, plant markers, and more!) Plus pots, soil, native seed mix, and select native shrubs & trees for restoration. Flaunt your hardcore spirit with ( temporary) tattoos from NatureTats and post up at Painters. FOR THE GLAM GARDENERS For those of us who really just appreciate the finer things in life, we've got gifts for you! Glow up with Chevron pottery, golden mushroom trays, copper garden art, and the most exclusive plants. We have stately statuary, pretty cast iron hose guards, and stunning metal & glass artwork from vendors to dress up your space! Peruse these glam goods to find a variety of goods to indulge in: STOCKING STUFFERS Botanical treats and treasures come in all sizes. Enjoy browsing Painters' favorites to fill the stockings of those you love. Gorgeous jewelry from some of our best-loved vendors, all kinds of stickers and prints, small-batch craft chocolate, propagation stations, magnets and more! SMALL-HUMAN APPROVED There is so much joy in finding gifts for the little ones this time of year, and we have so many options. Find scores of tiny succulents and mini animal pots; there are sticker books and animal playing cards; or choose among delightful prints and presents from talented vendors. We have so many choices for the young ones or those still young at heart. FOR THE HOST Bring the host or hostess in your life a one-of-a-kind gift of art, pottery, or stunning plants from Painters. Maybe a paperwhite terrarium or hanging air plant, a wreath from Mackey Meadows, a delicious treat from Houston House Bakery, lotions or soaps from Earth Echoes... check out these photos to preview some of our favorite gifts! PAINTERS GREENHOUSE GEAR For all the biggest fans of Painters Greenhouse, we've got Painters' gear to flaunt this favorite space. Plus you can support restoration at Painters and at home: purchase a gift card for future plants! Find all of these treats and treasures and so much more at Painters Little Crafty. We can't wait to see you there. Tickets to Little Crafty are donation based ($5 minimum, kids under 18 do not need a ticket) with all proceeds benefitting Old Fort residents and businesses in need via www.oldforthelp.org . While you shop, enjoy music from local Appalachian folk string band Bull Moose Party from 12:00 to 3:00 . Plus you can fuel up at our favorite food truck Arepitas on the Go from 11:00 to 4:00. Their cuisine is true nourishment for our bodies and soul! Click the link for tickets and to see a full list of vendors. It's going to be a lovely event.