Horticulture and Environmental Concerns September 2025
By Maureen Loomer
“I’d like to call back Summertime and have her stay for just another month or so. But she’s got the urge for goin’, so I guess she’ll have to go.”
—Joni Mitchell, Canadian Singer/Songwriter
Where has the time gone? I hope you are looking forward to seeing old and new friends at our September meeting. I know I am!
September birthday. Asters (a very large genus) symbolize love and wisdom, patience and beauty. It has also been associated with faith, friendship, and purity. Morning Glories have symbolized love that was never returned but have also been seen as a sign of undying love. https://www.almanac.com/september-birth-flowers
Crop/Wildlife Watch. As of August 18, North Carolina crops are enjoying a good-to-excellent year with corn, soybeans, peaches, and peanuts especially successful. https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/North_Carolina/Publications/Crop_Progress_&_Condition/2025/CW081725.pdf Those of us cultivating tomatoes and sweet peppers in Trent Woods have had a tough time with insects and fungus. I am told it has been an especially poor year for bell peppers.
It’s migration season for hummingbirds! I put up two feeders to help mitigate how poorly my flowers (except the lavenders!) are doing. The house finches and purple finches like to sip on them too.
I saw a female Monarch butterfly in the garden yesterday and was sad that none of my milkweed survived the brief-but- intense-heat and episodic heavy rain this summer. The Monarchs are on the journey south to Mexico and I hope other folks did better with their pollinator gardens. My mints have struggled mightily, but my Thai Basil has revived enough to be blooming again. The bronze fennel has all been eaten by black swallowtail larvae but it will grow back quickly. I took the photo of Rattle Snake Master at Pinehurst’s Arboretum Pollinator Garden. All of mine drowned.
My sister and I are “hosting” a family of gray foxes. We first saw the dog fox in our lower garden, then discovered the vixen napping on our raised patio in June. we’ve watched the three kits grow up during their occasional twilight visits. Our neighborhood is rich in rabbits, rodents, and fruit: gray foxes climb trees easily and our neighbor has several fig trees. Gray foxes are native to North Carolina but threatened by coyotes and frequently move closer to humans to avoid them. We expect the family will disperse in another month or so. https://www.ncwildlife.gov/media/2181/download?attachmhttps: https://www.southernliving.com/what-to-do-if-see-fox-in-yard-11785929//www.southernliving.com/what-to-do-if-see-fox-in-yard-11785929ent
Drought Report. As I write, Trent Woods has accumulated 57.74 inches of rain over the year. This is 8.91 inches more than the historical average. This trend is expected to continue through the fall, so anyone still doing rain dances, you can stop now.
Until next time…
Environmental Concerns and Conservation
February 2024
By Maureen Loomer
Storms across the southern tier of the U.S. brought some relief to some of the states suffering historic drought. This was a relief for the USFS as they indicate the Haywood fire in the Great Smokies National Park is now 80% contained (https://ncfspublic.firesponse.com/). Please encourage your neighbors to join you in remaining vigilant for wildfire threat which is a growing concern in our community.
TWGC Vice President Debbie Durham and Horticulture/Environmental/Conservation Chair, Maureen Loomer have joined the committee headed by Trent Woods Town Clerk, Holly Willis to organize an Earth Week/Arbor Day celebration/festival April 22-27. Educational and entertainment activities are being planned. Volunteers to help are needed! Contact Maureen bee27534@aol.com
February 4, 2024 is Craven County’s “Little Sweep” Clean Sweep event! Volunteers are needed to help clean up our communities. https://www.cravencountync.gov/DocumentCenter/View/13619/Clean-Sweep-Flier—Feb-4th
Join the Central Coastal Plain Chapter of the NC Native Plant Society for a PRIVET PULL! Help remove this non-native invasive plant from a county park. A great way to enjoy the outdoors, meet new friends, get some exercise and perform a great service for the ecosystem! Invite your friends!
DATE: Saturday, February 24, 2024 (if raining, event will be cancelled)
LOCATION: Creekside Park, Craven County (at the end of the park’s main road, near Brice Creek – see link for map) https://cravencounty.recdesk.com/Community/Page?pageId=2167
ADDRESS: 1821 Old Airport Road, New Bern, NC 28562
TIME: 9:00am-1:00pm
RSVP: ccpncnps@gmail.com
Volunteers will target small privet seedlings that can be pulled up by hand. Garden/work gloves are suggested. If you have a small weed wrench (like a Puller Bear), feel free to bring it. Closed-toe sturdy shoes are recommended. Bring your own water and snack if you wish. Restroom on site.
Note: I fully support efforts to limit the invasion of these aggressive species where they threaten ecological diversity and our native plants. Keep in mind, though, that old privets still provide shelter for birds and insects. Let’s just not have any more of them! In this spirit, I provide you with some trustworthy resources with good suggestions for alternatives for new plantings.
https://lee.ces.ncsu.edu/2024/01/plant-this-not-that-top-10-privet-ligustrum-ssp-alternatives/
January 2024
Environmental Concerns and Conservation
By Maureen Loomer
February 4, 2024 is Craven County’s “Little Sweep” Clean Sweep event! Volunteers are needed to help clean up our communities. https://www.cravencountync.gov/DocumentCenter/View/13619/Clean-Sweep-Flier—Feb-4th
December’s rainfall totals ranged from average/normal to twice normal across most of North Carolina with Craven and Pamlico counties enjoying over 3X normal precipitation. Mild drought in the Piedmont and moderate drought in the mountains persist, but soil conditions are good so far.
North Carolina’s firefighters battled 360 wildfires that burned 845 acres between December 1 and December 28, 2023. As of this writing, all but two in Onslow County were at least 80% contained. The NC Forestry Service points out that careless debris burning is the leading cause of wildfires in North Carolina. Trent Woods’ burning ordinance permits outdoor burning of yard debris ONLY. Burning is permitted ONLY on Tuesday, Thursday, and the first full weekend and the third weekend of each calendar month from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm. The fire cannot be added to or increased after 6:00 pm. All embers must be completely extinguished by 10:00 pm. (For the purposes of the ordinance, “weekend” refers to a consecutive Saturday and Sunday) https://www.trentwoodsnc.org/index.asp?SEC=5E7B70C8-E15C-4D77-BC65-E004174D66BD&DE=6843B0F2-2BE1-4017-B15A-87BE27E13D6F&Type=B_BASIC
The ordinance is overruled on state weather service Red Flag days during which conditions make outdoor burning unsafe.
Good news for Craven County is the award of 172 acres for what will be one of the largest nature parks in the state. I will provide more information on this important project when I have it.