”IMAGINE      CREATE       INSPIRE       SAVE       LEARN”

Here is a little secret: some of us living on Lake Norman enjoy gardening  just as much as boating!  I confess that I am one of those crazy folks.  So, news about our annual Southern Spring Home & Garden Show on March 2 – March 6, 2011  might be even more exciting than the boat shows to some of us.

Held in Charlotte every spring, this wonderful event with over 400 exhibitors promises to inspire and tempt attendees with 24 stunning Showcase Gardens, Kitchen and Bath vendors’ latest and greatest products, a Green Living and Market and plenty of experts on hand to answer even your most esoteric questions about everything from orchids to home remodeling.

JUST THE FACTS

The Southeast’s Largest Home and Garden Show

Belgard Gardens/Outdoor Living/Green Market/Decorative Arts & Crafts/Interiors/Kitchen & Bath/Building & Home Improvement/

Green Living/Taste and Travel/Marketplace Shopping

March 2-6, 2011

The Park Expo and Conference Center located at 2500 East Independence Blvd in Charlotte

704.376.6594

Website: Southern Spring Home and Garden Show

Facebook: Southern Spring Home and Garden Show

Additonal Articles of Interest

Lake Norman Relocation and Resource Guide

Lake Norman Real Estate: Early Signs of Spring

 Relocating to Lake Norman

Lake Norman, Our Inland Sea

Lake Norman Gardens

If  you drive  north along Perth Rd. on a regular basis you may have noticed the quiet evolution of a garden center and nursery on the right just before you get to Fern Hill.  Unless you have taken the time to stop inside and talk with local owner Robbi Grayson, what you won’t know is just how special Lake Norman Gardens  is now and how very exciting it is going to be very soon!

What started as a lawn and garden center focused on “bulk products”, according to Robbi, has evolved into  “Perth Road Community’s one stop shop for all things one needs to create inspiring outdoor rooms”.  Their recently approved rezoning plans will include:

• A park-like arboretum
• A new, protective greenhouse
• A safer mulch yard
• A tree nursery
• Expand their ability to carry retail plants

If you are a garden enthusiast like I am  you will love their variety of perennials and their creative displays of plants with garden art.  Plus, their friendly staff is happy to special order to fill your unique requests.

Inside their large shop is an incredible array of  indoor plants, decorative art and accessories and even some fun, upscale Vietri Italian pottery.  Lake Norman Gardens is truly a mecca for house warming gifts!

From outdoor furniture to chimes to statuarys of all kinds,  I always come away inspired with a new list of ideas for my garden and patios.

It you get on their mailing list (Lake Norman Gardens) you will receive Robbi’s weekly emails which announce all of the new plants that have arrived, weekly specials, news, as well as upcoming events like their Vietri event on July 21st from 5-7pm during which they will be serving Bella Cucina gourmet foods and a Vietri ambassador there to sign their pottery. 

Robbi recently hired landscape designer Keith Stallings who will be starting full-time on July 1st, just in time to plan your fall landscape projects.

We are all very fortunate that Robby Grayson and her parents had the vision and enthusiasm to take this 4-acre site that was once an unsightly tavern and dump site into what is evolving into an exceptional garden center that will inspire even those of you who don’t have a green thumb.

Lake Norman Gardens

1453 Perth Rd.

Mooresville, NC 28117

704.528.1919

RELATED ARTICLES

Lake Norman Real Estate: Early Signs of Spring! 

 Relocating?  Learn about plants and gardening in and around Lake Norman Part 1

Fresh Sushi, Hush Puppies: The Scoop About Living in Mooresville Lake Norman

Pine Needles Versus Hard Wood Mulch: Lake Norman’s Great Debate!

Lake Norman Relocation Resources

Relocating to Lake Norman

Almost like magic, every  year in about the middle of March, spring comes to life in and around Lake Norman North Carolina.  I love each stage for each one has its own star and cast of players as if we watch mother nature writing her annual play.

The very first to brave the coming of spring are our bulbs, particularly daffodils.  Almost overnight you can see them sprouting up around mailboxes, nestled under trees and in gardens.  Our March 1st snow caught my daffodils off guard but didn’t deter them for very long.

 Forsythia is the next flowering plant to make their entrance.  It is said that when Forsythia bloom it is time to put the pre-emergent on our fescue lawns to fight off the summer weeds.

At just about the same time, the first of the blossoming trees seem to come out over night. From cherry to pear to peach and apples, they don’t last very long but as one variety turns to green another variety blossoms so it is beautiful and yet different every day.

After last week’s weather in the 70′s the roses are beginning to leaf out and buds are growing  on our Dogwoods, Maples,and most other large trees.

Another early character on the scene are the prolific daylilies.  They start to pop up about the same time as the daffodils but take longer to grow and bloom

Today, just two days after I took most of these photos the first of the dogwoods are beginning to bloom.  Wild dogwood trees are often scattered underneath large pines and hardwood trees so when they bloom the contrast is spectacular! 

This photo of the flowering Dogwoods was taken last April. 

 As you can see, on Monday the trees were just beginnng to come out and the fescue lawn is back to being a brilliant green!  In less than a month all of the trees around Lake Norman will be out.  The shorelines will once again be a lush green.  Then it is time for the magnificant azaleas to bloom which is an extraordinary site in the South!  I love all of our mild but well defined seasons but I have to admit spring in our Lake Norman area of North Carolina is, well, awesome!

RELATED ARTICLES

 Relocating?  Learn about plants and gardening in and around Lake Norman Part 1

Fresh Sushi, Hush Puppies: The Scoop About Living in Mooresville Lake Norman

Pine Needles Versus Hard Wood Mulch: Lake Norman’s Great Debate!

Lake Norman Relocation Resources

Relocating to Lake Norman

Maybe it’s the fact that it is 17 degrees here in Lake Norman this morning, but the thought of going to the 5th Annual  Greater Charlotte Home and Landscape Show  on January 23 – 25 sounds really good!

This Home and Landscape show incorporates just about everything I love about real estate and selling homes:

• Gardens and Landscaping
• Building and Remodeling
• Home Improvement Products
• Building Green Seminars
• Gourmet Gifts, Wines and Pottery

There will be celebrities like Roger Cook, the landscape contractor from This Old House who will share new trends in landscaping and Chef Lou Petrozza from Fox TV’s “Hell’s Kitchen” who will be giving cooking demonstrations.

I always gravitate to the live garden displays where vendors like Barefoot Landscape, Woodlands Landscaping and Toms Creek Nursery and Landscaping  promise to have displays including an outdoor cobblestone patio with fire pit, built-in kitchen, a small water feature with a focus on drought resistant plants. 

You can also meet with professional landscape designers and meet the team at Earth Graphics Landscape Design and Digital Images display which will explain how they offer “same day mobile landscape design service that produces professional plans without the wait”!

The Details

When:

• Friday, January 23rd @ 2-7pm
• Saturday 10am – 7pm
• Sunday 11am-5pm

Where:

• Cabarrus Arena & Events Center in Concord: 4751 N.C. 49N.  Concord

Admission:

• Adults 17 + – $7.00
• Children 16 and under: Free
• Seniors 65+ $5.00 (Friday only)

Parking is Free!

Cabarrus Arena Website

As they say on their website:  “It’s anything and everything for your home!”

RELATED ARTICLES

Learn about Gardens and Landscaping in Lake Norman Part 1

Pine Needles Versus Hard Wood Mulch: Lake Norman’s Great Debate!

Lake Norman Real Estate:  Rain, Lake Levels and Drought

Lake Norman Real Estate:  Going Green is not a lonely Experience!

Lake Norman Real Estate:  How to Harvest Rain!

Lake Norman Real Estate Launches Lake Norman Green Homes!

How to Get Rid of Unwanted Catalogues and Help the Environment