February in North Carolina is a study in contrasts. One day brings bright sun and false-spring optimism; the next delivers freezing rain, wind, or a hard frost that snaps us back to winter reality. In the garden, this is a month of watchfulness more than action. Beds rest, soil temperatures hover on the edge of activity, and gardeners once again learn that timing and restraint matter.
One of my big goals for the year ahead is to reactivate this blog and return to sharing monthly gardening tips inspired by the rhythms of my own landscape. After a whirlwind of travel, teaching, and home projects, it feels good to carve out space again for thoughtful, practical garden guidance.
Each month, I’ll break things down into simple, actionable tasks to help you stay on track through every season here in North Carolina. You’ll see tips aligned with what I’m doing in my own garden and what I’m sharing on BrieGrows.com and the Brie the Plant Lady YouTube channel.
Winter gardening in the south is the most fun! Read this article for all my practical tips.
In need of holiday gift ideas for the gardeners in your life? I have you covered!
Recently I had another chance to visit the Soil³ Compost & Sod Farm in Georgia and share the experience with my young horticulture companions who I travelled with for 2 weeks. Neither of them had ever visited a facility that produced compost on a mass scale, so, I knew this stop on our 2,500-mile adventure was going to be special.
It is tomato season here in my zone 7 foodscape in central North Carolina. This is the time of year where I spend less time in the garden planting and more time in my kitchen processing and preserving my summer harvests to ensure we will have delicious meals all year long. I have included all of my favorite tomato based recipes for you!
The side property border is finally planted for the 2020 summer growing season! This garden produces hundreds of pounds of food each season and serves an important role in ecosystem development and pollinator habitat. By seamlessly weaving trees, shrubs, perennials and annual flowers and food crops together, this foodscape truly offers year round beauty and bounty.
June 2020 started with a bang! We had the pleasure of hosting Joe Lamp’l and the Growing A Greener World team to film TWO episodes for the upcoming 11th season on PBS. What a joy to professionally film an episode on my passion: foodscaping! We covered all the essential information to teach ANYONE how to foodscape. From site selection, crop rotations, soil preparation and everything in between this episode will be one not to miss!
When I tell people, I grow rice I am always met with looks of mystification. Most people have never seen a rice plant growing despite the reality that we have ALL eaten it! And in the past two months, rice has disappeared from grocery store shelves, leading to a sudden interest in cultivating this little-known crop.
If you are anything like me, you have probably been seeking refuge from reality in your garden the past two months. Everyday, when I step outside into my “playground” I reflect with gratitude for the many blessings in my life. Even so, it can be hard to not be impacted by the reality our world is facing. As I have said before, I have no answers, but I sincerely hope that these short-and-sweet blog posts can bring you some peace and joy and maybe inspire you to go outside and create something new. Hope springs eternal, especially in the garden.
The first week of May is always special here in the Arthur Foodscape. So much of this seasonal display comes into full, glorious bloom in early May. It truly is a spectacular scene, meant to be shared. Of course I prefer LIVE AND IN PERSON tours, but virtual will have to suffice. I hope these photos inspire you to scatter some seeds in the fall and create a brilliant spring border using easy-to-grow annuals like Poppies, Larkspur, Nigella, Grains, Carrots and SO MUCH MORE!
The truth is you do not need to know much to successfully grow grains- I certainly didn’t. Until I started researching for this book, I did not know the difference between a seed and a cereal grain, let alone how legumes fit in. So just what is a grain? It is a fair question to ask in this twenty-first century, anti-carbohydrate world. I would venture to say very people would correctly define a grain without first consulting google.
Happy last Friday of April everyone! Its day 47 of quarantine for me, not sure why that number is sticking out, but I am trying to make the most of this season by spending a lot of quality time in my foodscape.
I am also devoting time and energy to HELPING OTHERS create their own foodscapes through-out the country through my Virtual Foodscape Consultation service.
If you are a do-it-yourself-er, check out this GREAT blog and podcast from Joe the Gardener where the Foodscape concept is explained in great detail.
Its my favorite time of year!! All of my garlic plants are trying to flower and it is my job to pluck their scapes off to ensure that the plant puts ALL of its energy into creating a large garlic bulb to harvest soon! Tonight I experimented making a foodscape fresh Cheesy Cauliflower, Garlic Scape, Potato au gratin dish. IT WAS DELICIOUS AND EASY TO MAKE. This is bound to a regular meal for us, especially as we are harvesting all the ingredients right from our yard!!
I hope this recipe will inspire you to go out and harvest from you home garden and make a delicious dinner!
In the spirit of celebrating gardening books, here is a a reading from the introduction of Gardening with Grains. T was writing this book a year ago at this time. I had no idea what the future would hold. Growing grains was just a passion project for me.
Now, life has changed, FAST. And grains are going to become more important than ever for the global population. I hope this will inspire you to consider growing something a bit unusual, practical all the same.
In the spirit of all thinks book related, I wanted to share a few of my favorite gardening guides with you. There are an endless selection of fantastic reads from recent publications to classics, and in this blog I have assembled a tiny portion of garden related books that I have found to be enjoyable, practical resources.
A few weeks ago we had a brainstorm. The mission “How can we help our neighbors?” The ideas started from simple things like sidewalk chalking cheerful messages to dropping off a roll of toilet paper to every house. Then the brilliant kids, Abby (10), Aidan (13) and Callie (5) came up with a brilliant idea… LETS CREATE FOODSCAPES FOR NEIGHBORS.
Are you looking for a good read? Or interested in connecting with gardeners around the state? You are invited to join us for a community reading of "The Foodscape Revolution" by Brie Arthur.
Foodscaping is a growing trend in gardening. It's an easy entry point for edibles but also a fresh challenge for veteran gardeners. With these creative landscapes you can enjoy the fruits of the garden, even in communities with dedicated homeowners associations. Whether you are interested in home food production, or just looking for a new way to connect, we hope you will join us.
THE GROUND IS TOO COLD TO PLANT TOMATOES IN CENTRAL NC RIGHT NOW. PLEASE RESIST THE URGE! Plant them in containers and transplant in a few weeks (or a month) when the soil actually gets to the appropriate temperate! This includes ALL summer crops: basil, cucumbers, eggplant, peppers, melons, tomatoes, watermelons… you know ALL THE SUMMER STUFF!
Viburnum are a very hardy plants- many species will live in zones 4-9, which is almost the entire US! For best flowering, site them in more sun than shade. I have them planted in various locations, even in shade as a squirrel planted water oak has quickly grown and is converting a full sun border to dry shade. The viburnum in this area continue to thrive and bloom. I do supplement water through dry period, as the water oak hogs all the resources. Generally, once established, Viburnum are very tolerant of seasonal conditions and do not require much tending at all. THEY ARE THE OPPOSITE OF HYDRANGEA IN THAT REGARD!
This morning I was thrilled to find two new reviews about Gardening with Grains- a bright spot in this time of utter confusion and chaos. I am so grateful that people have enjoyed both of my books and find the information to be useful, especially now.
My deepest appreciation goes to Shelly Cramm of Garden In Delight and Sue Bowman of Lancaster Farming for these thoughtful reflection of Gardening with Grains, and for reminding me that my efforts to share practical gardening advice is not in vain. THANK YOU!
23 March 2020
Today really felt like a Monday, do y’all agree? The changing reality is setting in and the only place that makes sense to me right now is my garden. You see the plants are growing just like every spring, albeit a few weeks early. Of course we should not let our guard down, because a late frost would really be the icing on the 2020 chaos cake.
But to add some cheer and happiness to the world I did a quick lap around the foodscape for you to enjoy. My sincere hope is that I can share my gardening experience with new audiences regardless of your ability or space to grow. If you are stuck inside an apartment, I hope these visions of spring will brighten your day. If you have the space, my aim is to motivate you to look at your landscape with fresh eyes and see the possibilities that exist. Every landscape in the world offers an opportunity to cultivate beauty and bounty.
I hope to inspire you to join me in The Foodscape Revolution and start to grow meaningful amounts of vegetables in a practical way! From garden design and plant combinations to seed starting and sustainable practices I aim to share the knowledge I have gained through-out the past two decades of gardening.
Webinars will be offered soon, and in the meantime, PLEASE SIGN UP FOR MY BRAND NEW MONTHLY NEWSLETTER ON THE BOTTOM OF MY HOME PAGE! (I promise I will not spam you!)
Wishing you well in as we enter another week of trying to establish a “new normal”. Please enjoy the virtual tour below and #staysafe #stayhealthy and #stayHOME
The feed tank bed was planted with tulips to look like the bouquet emoji! All purchased last fall at Home depot. In a few weeks this will be a display of self sown poppies and larkspur. Hope Springs Eternal
I found some potatoes to plant!
The blueberries are bursting with blooms and bees! ‘Powder Blue’ is my favorite cultivar to grow in Raleigh, NC climate. It blooms reliable and sets delicious fruit in July. Remember you need two different cultivars for cross pollination.
I love the memories that plants can conjure. I won this Edgworthia ‘Akebono’ in the 2018 IPPS SR plant auction. It was a donation from the awesome Saunders Brothers Nursery and it reminds me of my dear friend Tom Saunders every time I pass it. This is its second spring planted and it has grown considerably and has a lot of beautiful red-orange blooms. I really like it with the backdrop of Daikon Radish and Forsythia blooms. THIS BRINGS ME JOY!
Acer japonicum ‘Aconitifolium’ with Cercic chinensis ‘Alba’ and Camellia japonica ‘Royal Velvet’ on the north side of my house. These were all planted in the original installation of the foodscape in January 2011, when I was the propagator and grower at Camellia Forest Nursery. These plants remind me of my passion for ornamental horticulture and the opportunities that foodscaping represents. GROW EVERYTHING YOU LOVE IN THE SAME SPACE! Lettuce is an ideal ground cover paired with these shade loving shrubs.
Viburnum plicatum ‘Popcorn’ burst into bloom today! I adore this plant and would never garden without. I should propagate a few this spring to share with neighbors.
Looking down I discover the Arum italicum are starting to bloom as well. Soon these will go dormant for the summer.
And, of course, the Camellias are putting on a show like no other! I love gardening in zone 7 for a lot of reasons, but Camellias top that list! I will have to do a Camellia blog post soon!
