I am vacationing at my cousin Janice's house in the beautiful mountains of western North Carolina. The weather has been a relief from the Florida summer temperatures. Maggie is loving her walks. She greets every dog she sees in this neighborhood.


Today we went to the Arboretum. Janice has lived in this area for 47 years and had never been.

Here she is in front of the Education Building.

They have a special Bonsai collection which we learned, can be any woody plant grown in a special way.



Notice the shallow containers. You would think the plants would be so root bound that they would just die. We learned that they remove the plant, trim out the root system, and then replant it in the same size container. This allows the trees to stay small and healthy.



You may also be able to see the wire used as a training devise to manipulate the shape of the plant. The wire is only left in place as long as it does not constrict the plant growth, but by then the plant has already started to take the new shape. This can take a month or even as long as a year. It depends upon which plant is being trained.



In another area, they have the quilt garden. Here, plantings are done to mimic the patterns of a quilt.



These are just a few of my favorite flower pictures.





We also stopped at the Farmer's Market. Not only do they have fruits and vegetables, but they also have many crafts from the region. We bought a loaf of Apple Bread like the kind we bought in Amish Country a few years ago. YUM!

Until next time......