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Features

  • Gardening tips for a productive May

    ‘Full steam ahead‘ for Turfgrass

    Now is the time to get started on the warm season grass activities (e.g. Bermuda, centipede, zoysia and St. Augustine).

    Seed, sprig, plug or plant rolls of sod now and throughout the summer in the Cape Fear region of North Carolina.

    Fertilize, water, mow low and let it grow. Centipede is the exception to the typical lime and fertilizer suggestions, since centipedegrass prefers acid soils and fertilizing just once in early June.

  • A new look for the Chinese fringe...

    There is no plant success story quite like the one for loropetalumor (Chinese fringe flower).

    The traditional plant with green leaves and creamy white flowers languished in relative obscurity for several hundred years.

    Interest in the plant exploded in the 1980s with the introduction of selections with burgundy foliage and hot pink flowers. Now, only 20 years later, pink loropetalums are as common as Dale Earnhardt Jr. T-shirts at Talledaga.

  • Former prisoner pursues new-found...

    A coastal sunrise breaks over the horizon, bathing in vivid hues a Carolina marsh looking very much like one in Brunswick County.

    Other coastal scenes are captured in the acrylic paintings of Brunswick County native Norman “Marshall” Gore, a former prisoner whose work was recently chosen for display and sale at Sunset River Marketplace in Calabash.

    Since his release from a halfway house in March after more than 25 years in prison, Gore, 46, is striving to launch a new career as an artist, in a new direction from his criminal past.

  • Arts & Entertainment

    Ongoing

    Oak Island Art Guild exhibit, Oak Island Recreation Center, 3001 Oak Island Drive, 6:30 a.m. - 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Saturday. Exhibit renewed every 60 days. For more information, call exhibit coordinator Miriam Pinkerton at 278-5562.

    Ongoing through Aug. 3

    Robert Delford Brown, “Meat, Maps and Militant Metaphysics,” Cameron Art Museum, Wilmington. This is the artist’s first solo museum exhibition. For more information, call 395-5999 or visit www.cameronartmuseum.com.

    Ongoing through May 9

  • Art gets folksy at House of Blues

    Outsider art will be celebrated this weekend as the Eighth Annual Summer Folk Art Festival kicks off at House of Blues in North Myrtle Beach, S.C.

    Regional and national artists will display their work around the venue for purchase.

    The festival will open at 9 a.m. and continue until 10 p.m. May 10 and 11. Admission is free.

  • The art of serving tea

    Sunset River Marketplace’s “Creative Exchange” series continues with “The Art of Serving Tea” by Kathy Cody and Anna Arlington, owners of the Calabash Garden Tea Room and Gift Shop. It will be from 11 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 14, at Sunset River Marketplace in Calabash.

  • Isn't grass supposed to be...

    A fellow stopped by the office last week and asked a very pertinent question: “Isn’t grass supposed to be green?” He had a centipede lawn with lots of yellow spots and streaks that turned even more yellow when he added nitrogen.

    If this sounds like your lawn, you’re probably dealing with high pH soils and iron chlorosis. For most folks, talking about the vagaries of plant nutrition is about as exciting as watching the one stoplight change in the little town I grew up in, so I won’t bore you with all of the gory details.

  • Bees in the home? Who ya gonna call?

    Based on the number of calls coming into the office, carpenter bees appear to be gearing up for another season of aggravating homeowners. Carpenter bees resemble bumblebees, but they have abdomens that are entirely black and shiny. Bumblebees have yellow hairs on their abdomens.

    In the spring, carpenter bees drill holes about 3/8-inch in diameter into wood, most notably into decks, eaves and siding. Last year, many of the complaints we received indicated the bees seem to have a real liking for cedar and cypress siding.

  • Lawn Care Part II: Preparing your...

    Spring has started on a dry note along our coastline. Drought conditions are unpredictable and can be difficult to deal with in the landscape. Although droughts are usually thought of as long periods of time, such as months or years, our sandy soils can experience drought conditions after only a few days without rain. Even if we don’t have an outright drought this summer, preparing your lawn for dry weather is smart.

  • Hubcaps and headlights: all part of...

    The Tri-Beach Cruisers Car Club had its annual Bash at the Beach on Saturday in the Home Depot parking lot.

    Club president Fred Taylor said the club formed in 1998 as an outlet for people to show and share their love of cars. An annual fundraiser has been every year since the club’s beginning.

    The first year, the club raised $6,800, which was donated to three local girls who had been injured in automobile accidents.

  • Three local artists to be featured...

    Three local artists take the spotlight in Franklin Square Gallery's new Members Show running from May 12 to June 19. Painters Susan Sokolowski and Ann Thompson and potter Eileen Gordon will be featured in this new exhibit by the members of the Associated Artists of Southport .

    Their diverse styles are the culmination of years of experience and recent classes and workshops, yet each still reflects on her continuing passion for art.

    Susan Sokolowski's detailed oil paintings often capture the immediacy of a scene because many are created from her own photographs.

  • Arts & Entertainment

    Ongoing

    Oak Island Art Guild exhibit, Oak Island Recreation Center, 3001 Oak Island Drive, 6:30 a.m. - 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Saturday. Exhibit renewed every 60 days. For more information, call exhibit coordinator Miriam Pinkerton at 278-5562.

    Ongoing through Aug. 3

    Robert Delford Brown, “Meat, Maps and Militant Metaphysics,” Cameron Art Museum, Wilmington. This is the artist’s first solo museum exhibition. For more information, call 395-5999 or visit www.cameronartmuseum.com.

    Ongoing through May 9

  • Sunset River to feature Kevin Beck...

    Sunset River Marketplace art gallery in Calabash, is featuring works in pastel by Kevin Beck through May 9. Beck is a contemporary artist living in Blowing Rock.

    Known for the vibrancy and resonance of his palette, this well-known colorist sees and interprets the landscape in shades of teal, chartreuse and berry. Viewers are transfixed by the depth and translucence of his work both in pastel and oil.

  • Tree and shrub planting techniques...

    The next step after developing a landscape plan and selecting the recommended plants adaptive to your area is to buy good quality plants free from insects and diseases. Be sure to inspect them thoroughly because if you don’t already have a problem in the landscape then you certainly don’t want to introduce one at this stage in the landscape process.

    People think plants can take care of themselves but giving them the best chance to survive and do well starts with the selection process and buying good quality plants.

  • Here are tips on avoiding the...

    Transplants from other parts of the world already know it is a requirement you include evergreen azaleas in your landscape. Shirk this responsibility and the azalea police will be on your case faster than a Garden-stater can utter “youse guys.” In an effort to help you avoid this unpleasantness, here are some tips on growing azaleas along with some varieties to consider.

  • How to cure dead spots in your lawn...

    The next two articles will attempt to answer questions that seem to be asked every spring. Hopefully, the two will prove helpful to our local residents.

    As soon as the weather turns warm, the lawn questions start. One of the most frequent concerns of gardeners this time of year is a “dead spot” in the lawn. Patches of dead grass in spring are common, can be caused by several factors and are very difficult to diagnosis correctly. Extensive grass loss through the winter is usually caused by something that happened several months ago.

  • Roadside nursery a growing...

    CALABASH—Lois Wilkinson brakes for plants, especially those she saw for sale at Carolyn’s Flowers on Persimmon Road last week.

    “I just heard about this place,” Wilkinson said, browsing the latest spring array of potted flowers and plants Calabash native Carolyn Schreiber has cultivated to sell for another season at the roadside stand in front of her house.

    “I need flowers that need a lot of sun,” Wilkinson said as Schreiber, a natural-born gardener, assisted her.

  • Bopple Race bobs back

    HOLDEN BEACH—It’s that time of year again for spring festivities, a bopple race, and an age-old question by newcomers, “What the heck is a bopple?”

    It’s the high-point event of Days at the Docks, Holden Beach’s annual salute-to-spring festival scheduled for this Saturday and Sunday under and around the Brunswick Island town’s high-rise bridge.

  • Arts & Entertainment

    Ongoing

    Oak Island Art Guild exhibit, Oak Island Recreation Center, 3001 Oak Island Drive, 6:30 a.m. - 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Saturday. Exhibit renewed every 60 days. For more information call exhibit coordinator Miriam Pinkerton at 278-5562.

    Ongoing through Aug. 3

    Robert Delford Brown, “Meat, Maps and Militant Metaphysics,” Cameron Art Museum, Wilmington. This is the artist’s first solo museum exhibition. For more information, call 395-5999.

    Ongoing through May 9

  • Ticks are here; ticks are there--...

    Seems like the ticks are trying to take over the world (at least the Brunswick County portion). If you stay outside much, these pests seem to be everywhere.

    The Extension agents are reporting what seems to be an inordinate amount of these obnoxious little creatures awaiting a meal, and that meal may be you! The Master Gardener Hotline has received calls concerning ticks. Homeowners with natural landscapes will normally have more of a problem than others.

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