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Carolina Gardening

Coming to Carolina soon--t;hanks

17 years ago

I posted awhile ago that we were considering a move to the Charlotte area, well the transfer has gone through we will be moving sometime in November.

I am in the process of finishing closing up my garden in Fargo ND and am thinking I will dig up some perenials--dormant now--as we've already had snow! and bringing them with me to the new location.

I have about a dozen perenials here, I used to live in Wisconsin where I was used to woodland and shade gardening and also gardening both in sandy loam and in clay. Here in fargo it is dark clay. I guess the new place it will be red clay most likely.

I currently have the following plants-- joe pye weed, yarrow, iris, day lilly, dead nettle, hosta, aster, daisy, liatris, tansy, chives, varigated grass, fern, lilly of the valley, purple coneflower, columbine.

I'm thinking most likely all of these could be grown in the Charlotte area. But I"m really excited that I can begin to grow some tropicals too when we move!

Since my plants are mainly almost dormant now I think it will be ok to dig them up and just maybe wrap the roots with plastic bags and stick them in some peat moss padded rubbermaid tubs for the trip. Then they will have to be planted after we get to the new place.

I plan to keep them in the garage until we move--just in case it snows before we leave. It snowed here already once but it melted.

I want to thank all who posted earlier when I asked about gardening there and gave me so much great advice on where to live etc..

I was really inspired by how many of you all (ya'all?) mentinoed how much you LOVE living there.

I've only been in Fargo about a year, we formerally lived in Wisconsin. I have gotten in the Fargo habit of saying 'ya' frequently--I think its a norwegian thing--

so now I'm looking forward to adding the double L to the the ya.

It sure will be awesome to see anything green or flowering in winter-- cuz trust me--in Fargo-- you get black white and shades of gray and that is IT for winter. mary t

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Comment (1)

dottie_in_charlotte
17 years ago
So glad you came back to post! We thought we'd frightened you off with our 'opinions'.
For the most part, everyone has pulled the begonias and coleus and planted pansies by now. You'll see color when you get here.
The plants you bring, don't be surprised if they bloom at a different time than you're used to or they don't bloom at all. At least the first year.
Everything you mentioned digging up will be happy here although you'll need to be careful where you site the lily of the valley. The dappled sun of the far north is nothing compared to the dappled sun of the Carolinas which is much more intense for more months.

Tell us where your new Charlotte house is located. Tell us about the yard and what's already planted.
In November it's a great time to plant daffodils and other small flowering bulbs. Time to plant trees too.

We've already had 3 frosty enough nites to kill off the coleus, impatiens and other tender leaf/stem annuals. Carpet roses are still in marvelous fall bloom.
I think these frosts are a bit early but down here it varies(first frost). I think the lowest temp was 31 so far.
Got any other questions about the area ? Best groceries,best banks, etc.

If you have any regional food preferences stock up and bring it along. Bring your snow shovels but sell your snow blower if you have one. Fergit studded tires..they're banned here. You're not likely to need chains but bring them if you plan to travel to the mountains.
Wool clothing..thin wools(sweaters) you'll use a couple but the thicker wools just take up storage space. I like down in different weights and it doesn't suffer from moth damage like wools do.
You'll find that your wardrobe will rapidly expand in the cotton/linen/silk weight fabrics and you're not likely to put away(store) summer anything except whites and linens.
Doesn't leave much closet room for fall/winter.

Back to gardening..right now we're planting leaf lettuces and spinach. We'll have plenty more 70 degree days so they're sprout and be ready to harvest in March/April.
Expect to be overwhelmed this coming spring as you discover just how much more variety of plants/flowers/shrubs you can grow here.
WELCOME !
Dottie
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