Dear reader, yeah, I mean you. You who are reading this while holding the paper in your hands or scanning through on your computer, tablet or phone. Yeah, you. I am so deeply grateful to you for reading my articles. This marks the 52nd column that I have written for The Smoky Mountain News, with one running every couple of weeks for the last two years or so. That’s one for each week in the year. One for every card in a deck.  

People interested in gardening will have the chance to join a network of like-minded folks across the state dedicated to learning and sharing research-based information, enhancing their communities through horticulture and connecting people with benefits of gardening. 

There are a few native plants whose names I call out loud like a prayer whenever I see them. This is especially true since the crazy times of the global pandemic and resulting shutdown. One of those is the whorled loosestrife (Lysimachia quadrifolia) whose name I slowly pronounce out loud as a benediction, “world, lose strife.” And I mean it. 

Join a network of passionate community members across the state dedicated to learning and sharing research-based information, enhancing their communities through volunteer service, and connecting people with the benefits of gardening through education and outreach by becoming an NC State Extension Master Gardener volunteer. 

Please don’t get me wrong, I love the orchids of springtime. Love them. They tend to be as big and showy and beautiful as springtime itself.  Ladyslipper orchids, both yellow and pink (Cypripedium acaule and C. parviflorum) and showy orchis (Galearis spectabilis) are certainly beautiful and fun to see blooming in the woods in the spring.  

Established more than 20 years ago, the Haywood County Farm Bureau scholarship program assists graduating seniors who have a financial need as well as a demonstrated history of community service with the cost of obtaining a college education.

Our culture tends to celebrate youth and youthfulness above all other life phases. Growth and vitality are venerated over age and wisdom. This wasn’t always the case.

After a botanical survey identified the location of several invasive species in Jackson County’s Pinnacle Park, work has begun to manage the ecologically threatening pests. 

On May 18, Haywood Waterways Association and Haywood Community College will lead a moderate 6-mile hike in the Sunburst area of Haywood County. 

The Haywood County Extension Office is presenting a free class on “square-foot gardening,” a simple, versatile system that takes up less space and requires less work and water to cultivate.