Hi Beth,

I live near Raleigh (about 3 hours from Charlotte). I think you'll really enjoy living in North Carolina. It's a beatiful state with a lot to offer. In Charlotte you'll be about 2 1/2 to 3 hours from Asheville (valley in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains) and probably about 4 1/2 hours at the most from the coast. While Raleigh is actually the capital, Charlotte seems more like a capital city to me.

We did have a very beautiful day today (high 50s), but certainly not 84! I've been to Houston before, and it's just too hot there for me :-) It gets pretty humid here also, but I don't imagine it's as bad as Houston gets. Usually in the summer we'll have pretty hot weather, but it doesn't normally hit much over the high 90s for too long anyway. Whether we get snow in the winter or not really varies from year to year. About 5 years ago we got 20 inches of snow here, but that was very abnormal!

Crepe Myrtles are very common around here - they are planted directly in the ground and survive just fine. I'm not sure about the other plants you listed as I don't have those.

This Web site will tell you all about the snakes found in North Carolina:
http://www.herpsofnc.org/herps_of_NC/snakes/snakes.html

There are some poisonous ones - Copperheads, Cottonmouths and several different Rattlesnakes.

And yes, we do have fire ants, unfortunately. I'm sure if you were over towards the coast you'd see some alligators and armidillos, but not in Charlotte :-)

If you like hosta (it's my personal favorite) you should visit the hosta forum here on Garden Web. Lots of great folks there as well who are always willing to share photos, ideas and advice. Hostas grow well here, and in the part of N.C. that I'm in, there are quite a few wonderful hosta suppliers.

I think lots of people are active in garden clubs. I am a member of a local hosta society and need to join the JC Raulston Arboretum - it's associated with NC State University.

There's a big competition that takes place as part of the state fair that I believe there's another thread about in the forum right now. The topic had to do with "Congratulations to John" or something like that. He's going to be in charge of it this year.

As for non-traditional yards, it's really very dependent on where you live. For example, if you live in a newer neighborhood with strict covenants, you may not have as much flexibility with your landscaping as you would if you chose to live in an older neighborhood. One could argue for or against covenants convincingly. I live in an older neighborhood with a bit more personality and no covenants. The trade off is that some of my neighbors' personalities don't quite mesh with mine, but that's okay with me :-) It makes things more interesting.

There are some really good books about gardening in the Carolinas. I think there was a recent post about this as well. It was a post from a lady whose son recently moved to Chapel Hill, NC. The site search doesn't seem to be functioning properly right now or I would find it and send you the link.

Anyway......welcome to the forum! When will you be moving here?

~Angie

Welcome Beth! I moved here over 12 years ago, having dreamed of it all my life as well. Crape myrtles are everywhere, as Angie noted. Hosta and most perennials overwinter, most though not all salvias. Cory just moved from San Antonio last summer, so she will have insights about differences. Plumeria and brugs do not overwinter - actually I think John has overwintered his brugs with many feet of fluffed mulch protection. I just cut my plant in 2 foot sections, mostly wrist-thick and stick them in a bucket of water until spring. A poster on the brug forum recommended this, and I'm amazed to already have a bucket of roots in the garage. Most things overwinter, so it's easier to list some that don't - phormium, coleus, plectranthus. People complain about the heat and humidity, but having lived in New Orleans, I know that this is actaully good relative to N.O. and Houston. Red ants are here, but not as pervasive as in Texas and Louisiana - I haven't seen any in my yard here yet. No armadillos, you'll have to go way south for that. Alligators at the southern end of the NC coast and along the SC coast. More copperheads and fewer mocassins. Lots fewer black widows. Still some huge scary-looking harmless spiders. We have a huge swap and potluck in Raleigh in spring and fall. In general neighborhoods are conservative about lawns here, but I've found them like that from California to here. As Angie noted, it depends on your neighborhood.

I live in Fort Mill which is about 20 miles from Charlotte and overwinter Brugs in pots outside. I lived most of my life in Charlotte and have watched it grow into a fairly cosmopolitan city. We do have hot and humid summers but according to people I know who have lived here and in Houston the humidity is much worse in Houston. I know several people who were transferred to Houston - two of whom have happily returned to Charlotte and one who is just waiting for the day! There are lots of public gardens in North and South Carolina that are day trips from Charlotte. Daniel Stowe Botanical gardens is only a few miles away and I understand the Botanical garden at the University of NC at Charlotte is wonderful. There are many very active garden clubs in Charlotte and the surronding areas. Are you going to live in the city, suburbs or further out? The center city is becoming very residential and there are several new all entailed planned communities. Ballentyne is one of these and very pretty. The town I live in has become a bedroom community for Charlotte and there are some very beautiful wooded developments here and also a great school system. I'm sure you will get some very good suggestions from people here. Take your time looking around and welcome to North Carolina.

Welcome Beth,
I moved from Dallas two years ago. First, about an hour outside Charlotte (Cherryville) now to outside Raleigh and love it. We enjoyed living in texas for 6 years, the people were amazing. Texans are definitely proud to be from the lone star state. There is also another tx / nc person here on the forum.

Heat and humidity is nothing like what you are used to. There are actually distinguishable seasons here. Plants aren't nearly as finicky. The things you had to coax to live in texas will thrive with absolutely no care here. I noticed ramshackled places that had been neglected for years, they had pretty bushes and plantings, maybe full of weeds but still pretty and thriving. Here plants nearly grow in spite of you. It is soooo much easier.

Good luck and hope to see you at the plant swap.
Tanya

Beth, it sounds like your transition will not be shocking at all coming from a zone 9...it's more temperate here, so I think you'll enjoy it. Charlotte is a great melting pot with so much to offer the meltees! If it were closer to the ocean, I wouldn't mind moving there.

I moved to Sanford,NC (geographical center of NC) about 10 years ago from MA/NY...huge changes for me, as Sanford is no Charlotte! But as a gardener I blossomed here with our long growing season and nice weather (the heat doesn't bother this New Englander, so I think you'll be fine).

I don't think anyone mentioned the NC Cooperative Extension Service which is a branch of NC State University. Most counties, including Mecklenberg, of course, have a County Horticultural Agent and a team of trained volunteer Master Gardeners providing homeowners with educational services, such as hotline call-in hours, informative programs, and free soil testing/analysis. Agents/MG's have been known to make home visits in my county.

You'll find NC to be a fabulous gardening mecca...welcome to GW/Carolinas.

Thanks all for your warm welcome and great information. Tomorrow I'm going to clean out the public library of books on gardening in the Carolinas - I am so excited about this move!!!! (No disrespect to Texas, It is a great place and Texans are so generous and friendly, but I can't take six months solid of sweltering heat. "I'm melting!")

Anyway - There are so many plants that I miss desperately such as hostas, lillys and rhubarb - I have just murdered them here. I've been dallying with tropicals, but for some reason I really miss the annual cycle of growth and dormancy. Roses are my main obsession - but I know I can grow roses in Charlotte. Some of the best exhibitors in the country are from North Carolina. How about Clematis? Will that take the hot days?

My husband leaves in a couple of weeks and I will follow as soon as the house sells. I'm coming for a house hunting trip in March, but it sounds like spring won't have arrived
by then. Oh well, I will need to pay attention to business anyway.

Thanks for all your help - will see you at the next swap!
Beth

Beth, clematis are outstanding in NC, great companions of roses, your obsession. They grow by mailboxes under some of the poorest conditions. I can't get enough of them.

Hi Beth, I'm right on the edge of Charlotte in Weddington. I also have a home in Matthews.
I didn't read all the responses but I'm sure by now you know that not only do crape myrtles thrive here but you simply can't kill them. Asparagus does ok if you can amend the soil with goodly amounts of sandy gravel to improve deep drainage.
Rhubarb is tough to grow here. The roots want deeper cold to go dormant. If you can find a protected spot that stays cooler (wait til it snows and see where the snow remains longest) try that for your rhubarb.

About your move, Charlotte is a mecca for folks from everywhere else. No culture shock at all. If you have school children know that Mecklenburg runs its school assignments by neighborhood (zone) and you also have the option of selecting from the many magnet schools and charter schools.

Where is your husband's job location here?

You asked about tolerance for 'non-traditional' yards (landscaping?). Really, very few neighborhoods are so restrictive as to cramp your creative style in gardening. Unfortunately, I just happen to live in one of those highly restrictive ones. Most just are happy if folks keep a tidy yard that's regularly mown and maintained. Usually it's the next door neighbors that cause more issues than homeowner's associations anyway.
There are gobs of homes in all price ranges and lots of folks are lured to buying new construction. That's torture for an avid gardener because it takes a good long time to amend 'new construction' dirt and wait for trees to grow.
It's fun to have everything brand new but tough on homebuyers if they're not here to supervise the construction process.

Maybe someone from your husband's company here will be kind enough to send you a package of real estate books and new construction books, maps and other tidbits about the Charlotte area.
You're moving to NASCAR country and home to the Carolina Panthers and Charlotte Bobcats. Not as many garden clubs as there are specific clubs (roses, camellias, hosta, daylilies etc).
Word to the wise.. learn the Charlotte map before you even get here. When you arrive to look around,get maps of Union, Gaston, Iredell and Cabarrus counties and possibly some of the northern counties of SC so you can get a feel for the distances between hubby's job location and the areas you want to consider for housing.
Talk to people when you get here OTHER THAN REALTORS. Agents are constrained from telling you anything negative about areas and schools.
You can come on here again or in the 'conversations' Carolina forum and ask specific questions or voice concerns if you need more info from Charlotte area locals.
Most agents don't know all that's going on in every part of the metro area in terms of planned development, zone shifts, falling/rising value areas. Some don't know about planned road widenings that could take part of your property here.
When you get here, try and spend a fair amount of time driving around without a Realtor.

For now,go online and google Charlotte and you'll find plenty of sites you can shop for home ideas in the Charlotte area. Unfortunately, what the photos don't show and the Realtors can't tell you are exactly the reason you need to drive around a great deal when you arrive.
Once you're planted here, we can tell you all the great places to shop for your garden plants and landscaping needs.
Dottie

Beth -- The map shows most of Piedmont-area NC in the Zone 7 region but because Charlotte is so far south, just a few miles from the SC border, we're actually 7B/8, depending on what micro-climate you settle in in the greater metropolitan area. That's why cannas survive just fine in the garden so long as they're mulched, ditto for ginger lilies and many other semi-tropical plants. That doesn't mean we don't have a winter, which we do, and the temp dips below freezing for a healthy number of days in Jan-March.

Charlotte is a garden-intensive town, with several long-established public gardens and garden societies. Once you get here call up the info # (in the book) for the Charlotte Council of Garden Clubs. They'll be able to put you in touch with a garden club in your specific community. Also, check out the classes offered and the volunteer opportunities at Wing Haven Garden and Bird Sanctuary in the heart of Charlotte's Myers Park neighborhood. That's an 80 yr-old three acre botanical garden that's a gem, and their nursery is one of the best sources for Carolina plants. Web site is: www.winghavengardens.com.

Daniel Stowe is also a terrific garden -- and very inspirational. They're open year-round and also offer classes and lectures.

The NC Extension office was closed when our county commissioners pulled the plug on funding two years ago, and Master Gardeners org. has downsized considerably -- is now being run out of the Parks Dept. They definitely don't make house calls, but they still do man a hotline during certain hours and days, but I've found that info isn't always reliable. You'd do better to join or attend a local garden club and talk to the Charlotteans who've been gardening for years -- they offer a wealth of sound advice and knowledge.

You will love it here! Think of south of DFW and north of Austin as far as weather. Not as humid (though the locals complain) as Houston. And although it gets hot it is a different kinda hot - like it is only unbearable for a few hours in the middle of the day, not blistering hot first thing in the morning. You'll be further away from the ocean (the outer banks are a lot like Galveston) but very close to the mountains. You won't have much of a snake or alligator problem inside the city (gators are over by the coast anyway). Fireants are here, armadillos haven't made it here YET, but they are on their way. A bit warm for Rhubarb but some years you can get a crop. There are plenty of tropical enthusiasts gardening around this area so all sorts of rules are being broken concerning winter hardiness. Apples and similar crops are grown nearer the mountains. You just need to come see it for yourself. Enjoy