MARK YOUR CALENDAR – UPCOMING GARDENING EVENTS
Want to see your garden event here? Send your events to info@trianglegardener.com.
DECEMBER
Fundamentals of Composting
December 1, 9am-11:30am
Workshop on how to compost food and yard waste in the home or community garden. 1192 US 64W Business, Pittsboro. chatham.ces.ncsu.edu.
Japanese Tea Gathering: Shiwasu
December 1, 10:45pm-12:15pm
Join us for a moment of respite in the Duke Gardens teahouse, where you will experience the centering calm of a traditional Japanese tea gathering with Chizuko Sueyoshi and members of the Japanese Tea Practitioners of Durham. Enjoy the aesthetics, poetry and serenity of this rich tradition over an enticing bowl of whisked green tea and a Japanese confection. Guests will meet at the Doris Duke Center to be escorted on a 10-minute walk to the teahouse. Seating is on the ground unless a chair is requested during registration by emailing GardensEducation@duke.edu. Capacity of eight; for ages 12 and up. Fee. Registration at https://rsvp.duke.edu/g1nKqO. 919-668-1707, gardenseducation@duke.edu. Duke Gardens, Durham. gardens.duke.edu.
Holiday Wreath Workshop
December 1, 1pm–3pm
This holiday workshop will provide hands-on instruction and all the materials needed to create a wreath of your own, including a vast assortment of greens. Participants are also encouraged to bring items for your wreath that will showcase your personal style. Advance registration and fees apply. For more details visit jcra.ncsu.edu/calendar/. JC Raulston Arboretum, Raleigh.
Wine and Wreaths Workshop
December 1, 7pm–9pm
Enjoy hors d’oeuvres, wine and other beverages as you make a wreath to decorate your home for the holidays. This holiday workshop will provide hands-on instruction and all the materials needed to create a wreath of your own, including a vast assortment of greens. Participants are also encouraged to bring items for your wreath that will showcase your personal style. Advance registration and fees apply. For more details visit jcra.ncsu.edu/calendar/. JC Raulston Arboretum, Raleigh.
Japanese Tea Gathering: Shiwasu
December 2, 10:45pm-12:15pm or 1pm-2:30pm
Join us for a moment of respite in the Duke Gardens teahouse, where you will experience the centering calm of a traditional Japanese tea gathering with Chizuko Sueyoshi and members of the Japanese Tea Practitioners of Durham. Enjoy the aesthetics, poetry and serenity of this rich tradition over an enticing bowl of whisked green tea and a Japanese confection. Guests will meet at the Doris Duke Center to be escorted on a 10-minute walk to the teahouse. Seating is on the ground unless a chair is requested during registration by emailing GardensEducation@duke.edu. Capacity of eight; for ages 12 and up. Fee. Registration at https://rsvp.duke.edu/g1nKqO. 919-668-1707, gardenseducation@duke.edu. Duke Gardens, Durham. gardens.duke.edu.
A Wing and a Prayer: Author Talk and Book Signing
December 2, 11am-12:30pm
Join veteran journalists Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal to hear highlights from their book, “A Wing and a Prayer: The Race to Save Our Vanishing Birds”. This is the story of scientists, birders, hunters and ranchers working to save birds, set against the loss of a third of North America’s bird populations in the past 50 years. The Gyllenhaals traveled 25,000 miles chronicling experiments, politics and new technologies to save birds from extinction. They found inspiring and encouraging rescue missions all across the hemisphere, but they also discovered how much more can and must be done to the halt these dramatic declines, and that any one of us can get involved. Books will be available for sale. Presented in collaboration with Durham County Library and the Durham Library Foundation. Free; no registration required. 919-668-1707, gardenseducation@duke.edu. Duke Gardens, Durham. gardens.duke.edu.
Holiday Greenery: Build Your Own Wreath
December 2, 9am-11am
Make your own fragrant holiday display and bring nature indoors, with guidance from Beth Hall, Paul J. Kramer Plant Collections Manager, and Duke Gardens horticulturist Michelle Rawlins. Beth and Michelle will demonstrate techniques for turning greenery, colorful stems, berries and pods into scented holiday displays. Each participant will then create a holiday wreath. Please bring a pair of hand pruners and any embellishments you would like to include. Fee. Registration at https://rsvp.duke.edu/g1nKqO. 919-668-1707, gardenseducation@duke.edu. Duke Gardens, Durham. gardens.duke.edu.
Christmas Holiday Shoppe Craft Show
December 2, 9am- 4pm
St. Thomas More Catholic School will hold its 18th annual Christmas Holiday Shoppe craft show. Enjoy one-stop shopping and find the perfect gift for everyone on your holiday shopping list! A wonderful array of unique, handmade gifts for the gardener in your life await you: gardening aprons, garden art, soaps and more. Holiday music, a raffle, bake sale and food trucks offering delicious hot lunches add festive flair. Free admission. St. Thomas More Catholic Church, Chapel Hill.
Holiday Wreath Workshop
December 2, 1pm–3pm or 4pm–6pm
This holiday workshop will provide hands-on instruction and all the materials needed to create a wreath of your own, including a vast assortment of greens. Participants are also encouraged to bring items for your wreath that will showcase your personal style. Advance registration and fees apply. For more details visit jcra.ncsu.edu/calendar/. JC Raulston Arboretum, Raleigh.
Wine and Wreaths Workshop
December 2, 7pm–9pm
Enjoy hors d’oeuvres, wine and other beverages as you make a wreath to decorate your home for the holidays. This holiday workshop will provide hands-on instruction and all the materials needed to create a wreath of your own, including a vast assortment of greens. Participants are also encouraged to bring items for your wreath that will showcase your personal style. Advance registration and fees apply. For more details visit jcra.ncsu.edu/calendar/. JC Raulston Arboretum, Raleigh.
Plant-lover’s Tour – Cut Greens for Decorating
December 5, 1pm–2pm
Join us for this Plant-lover’s Tour where our director Mark will take you around the Arboretum and show you the plants you’ll want in your landscape to take your winter decorations to the next level. Fee. Pre-register. Meet at the Bobby G. Wilder Visitor Center for a fun-time! JC Raulston Arboretum, Raleigh. jcra.ncsu.edu.
Elevating Your Decorations with Bows and Balls
December 6, 10:30am-1:00pm
Bess Treadwell, the Raleigh Garden Club Floral Design Chair and nationally accredited master flower show judge, will show us how to elevate your fresh holiday flowers with the creative use of bows and bright colored balls. Fee, pre-register. Raleigh Garden Club held at the NC State University Club, Raleigh. raleigh-garden-club.org.
Hybrid Lunchbox Talk: Biocultural Diversity Conservation for our Collective Future
December 6, 12pm-1pm
Biocultural diversity conservation is an approach to conservation that centers the deep relationships between human cultures and the natural world. Contained within the world’s diversity of languages, systems of medicine, ritual traditions, and artistic expressions is culturally-specific knowledge about the natural world and its stewardship. Many cultural practices are dependent upon a diversity of biological species, and the continued practice or revitalization of practices maintains the cultural value of nature, and promotes the conservation of biological diversity. A global shift toward a biocultural approach to conservation is vital for biological and cultural diversity, and the health of both humans and ecosystems. Free; preregistration required. In person and online options. North Carolina Botanical Garden, Chapel Hill. ncbg.unc.edu.
Gardening 101 – December Gardening Tasks
December 6, 3pm–3:30pm
Our horticulture crew always has something they’re working on to keep the gardens beautiful, no matter what time of year. Free online program. Register at jcra.ncsu.edu/midweek/. JC Raulston Arboretum, Raleigh.
Holiday Creations (children’s program)
December 7, 10am–12pm
Our gardens are full of inspiration and materials to make holiday crafts. Come create holiday cheer with 5 festive craft projects using materials from the Arboretum’s gardens. Participants will take home their creations to decorate their homes. Parents/caregivers stay with their children and guide their children through the activities. Advance registration and fees apply. JC Raulston Arboretum, Raleigh. jcra.ncsu.edu.
Midday Meander: A Strolling Conversation
December 7, 12:15pm-1pm
Join Kavanah Anderson, director of learning and engagement, for a conversational stroll in the garden that deepens your relationship with plants. Swap plant stories, dig into horticultural history, question what you know, and practice multisensory observation on a playful amble through the Gardens that delights and disrupts your understanding of what a garden can be. Expect to learn from each other, share what you know and leave with more questions than you started with. Meet on the patio behind the Doris Duke Center. Free. Registration at https://rsvp.duke.edu/g1nKqO. 919-668-1707, gardenseducation@duke.edu. Duke Gardens, Durham. gardens.duke.edu.
Cottage Gardening from Seed
December 9, 10:30am–1pm
Local gardening expert Brie Arthur will share her more than 20 years of experience growing lush, unique cottage displays in central North Carolina, all from seed! In this one-of-a-kind, hands-on class Brie will dive deep into how to prepare your site, what plants to select, and how to maintain them. Advance registration and fees apply. JC Raulston Arboretum, Raleigh. jcra.ncsu.edu.
Your Portrait is a Landscape: A creative exploration of identity through wild pigments
December 10, 1pm-4pm
This workshop is a creative invitation to have intentional conversations about our relationship to place and plants at a time of much ecological and social grief. Instructor Claire Alexandre is a Queer Afro-Caribbean artist and decolonial ecology storyteller based in Durham. Through mixed media paintings and public art, she creates detailed works that highlight the myriad ways QTBIPOC freedom is intimately intertwined with practices of sovereignty and safety between people and landscapes. In this workshop, we will learn how to turn soil and plants into inks and pigments in order to create unique self portraits that celebrate the beauty and complexity of our beings. This workshop is part of the programming for the Durham Palette artist collective’s new exhibit titled “Grounded and Growing: Tales Of Our Lives Through Wild Pigments.” The show will open at the De Berry Gallery of the N.C. Botanical Garden in Chapel Hill on November 12 at 5 p.m. and run through December. The workshop is open to all but will center the experiences of Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous and people of color. Two full scholarships are available to BIPOC participants. Request by emailing GardensEducation@duke.edu. Fee. Registration at https://rsvp.duke.edu/g1nKqO. 919-668-1707, gardenseducation@duke.edu. Duke Gardens, Durham. gardens.duke.edu.
Girl Scout Program Cadettes: Tree-iffic Trees(children’s program)
December 10, 2pm–4pm
Spend the afternoon with activities all about trees! Learn about the parts of a tree and their functions, how trees are used in everyday life, create a craft with trees, and try your hand at pruning as part of this tree-iffic program. Advance registration and fees apply. For more details visit jcra.ncsu.edu/calendar/. JC Raulston Arboretum, Raleigh.
Holiday Gifts From the Kitchen Virtual Workshop
December 11, 12pm-1pm
One of the best gifts to give someone is a homemade gift. Making food-related gifts for your friends and family can be a wonderful way to put a personal touch on the holiday and get creative while doing it. If you are looking for some ideas for holiday gifts, join us for our “Holiday Gifts from the Kitchen” workshop. Learn how to save money with handmade gifts this holiday season. This session will feature demonstrations on how to make a variety of handmade gifts. granville.ces.ncsu.edu.
Triangle Orchid Society Orchid Auction
December 11, 6pm
The Triangle Orchid Society invites you to their holiday end-of-the year celebration covered dish dinner and orchid auction. Many plants donated by our members; others purchased out of the area. Bring a dish to share and check out the plants you’d like to bid for in both the silent and live auctions. JC Raulston Arboretum, Raleigh. Free admission and visitors welcome. triangleorchidsociety.org.
Winter Tree Ramble
December 12, 2pm-4pm
Join Katie Rose Levin, International Society of Arboriculture board certified master arborist, on a winter walk where we’ll learn how to identify trees while they are fast asleep! You’ll learn about a mix of evergreen and deciduous trees by closely observing buds, bark and other clues that reveal tree identity. Meet at the Gothic Gate. Fee. Registration at https://rsvp.duke.edu/g1nKqO. 919-668-1707, gardenseducation@duke.edu. Duke Gardens, Durham. gardens.duke.edu.
Midweek with Mark – Well-mannered Replacements for Garden Thugs
December 13, 3pm–3:30pm
Join us for this Midweek with Mark where our Director, Mark, will spotlight some of the nicest well-mannered replacements, both native and exotic, for some of our most familiar garden thugs! Free online program. Register at jcra.ncsu.edu/midweek/. JC Raulston Arboretum, Raleigh.
Garden Conversations
December 20, 3pm–4pm
We love talking to our fellow plant nerds! Janice Swab is a botanist, a Professor Emerita of Biology at Meredith College, and a world traveler. In addition to Fulbright Grants in Egypt, Sudan, Zambia, and India, she has taught four semesters by invitation in China and done research in the USSR as an exchange scientist through the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. Free online program. Register at jcra.ncsu.edu/midweek/. JC Raulston Arboretum, Raleigh.