If you are driving or walking in the woods in the higher elevations of Western North Carolina at this time of year, you may be treated to the most beautiful explosion of deeply pink azalea flowers blooming in profusion all throughout the woods. And it’s not just any old azalea, but it’s a special and rare species that are often be taken for granted. 

Master gardener volunteers will be on hand at a booth on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month, May through August, at Haywood’s Historic Farmers Market in Waynesville in the HART Theater parking lot. 

Highlands Biological Station is excited to announce the 2024 Native Plant Symposium, scheduled for Sept. 13-14. This two-day event will be packed with engaging presentations, tours, auctions and more, all centered around the beauty and importance of native plants. 

Come out to the Macon County Master Gardener Association’s plant sale. 

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. 

There are so many different native plants and flowers that I have yet to see growing in the wild. And I really want to.

Whoever first wrote down the phrase, “You reap what you sow” was definitely not a farmer or gardener. I’ve started following that phrase with, “…if you’re lucky.”

The seventh annual North Carolina Native Plants Week is underway, running Oct. 16-22, and Audubon North Carolina is encouraging people to celebrate by planting native species in their own yards or gardens. Plants require less water this time of year, but they also still have enough time to establish before colder winter weather.