The Best of Bryce II: Talks That Make Us Better Gardeners

Bryce Lane, Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Professor Emeritus and Lecturer Emeritus, Department of Horticultural Science, NC State University

Mondays, November 8 through December 13, 2021 – 6:30 pm–8:30 pm

By popular demand, Bryce is back giving six more of his best talks. Each class is devoted to current, relevant, and popular gardening topics.

Note: The November 22 class will only be offered online.

The course's topics include the following:

• "The Joy of Gardening: The Power of Plants to Change Your Point of View"
• "The Magic of Fall Color"
• "Shade Tolerant Plants That add Color and Texture to the Landscape"
• "All about Weeds: Identification, Prevention, and Management"
• "Going Beyond the Foundation: Planting for the New Home Landscape"
• "Beautiful Bushes: Super Shrubs for the Landscape"

Class Descriptions

"The Joy of Gardening: The Power of Plants to Change Your Point of View"

Gardening has tremendous power to change our perspective, not just in the garden but also in life. Working with plants changes the way we look at all sorts of things. Come see an entertaining and inspiring talk about how gardening can change your life!

"The Magic of Fall Color"

There is nothing like taking in the eye-popping fall color created by the trees and shrubs in Eastern North America. How do we get such a grand display of so many colors, and why does it vary from year to year? Come find out how fall colors occur in plants and how we gardeners can select, and place plants in our gardens to maximize the display.

"Shade Tolerant Plants That add Color and Texture to the Landscape"

Gardening in the shade can be a huge challenge! Where do we begin? Are there plants that grow better in dry shade than in low lying wet areas? We’ll talk about shade area assessment and evaluation, and how to choose the right plants for the shady places we have.

"Plant Combinations: Managing Color in the Landscape"

Do you want your garden to stop traffic, create a stir, stimulate discussion, attract wildlife, or just look downright beautiful? Plants with unique habits, stunning foliage, or incredible flowers can do the job. There are all kinds of annuals, perennials, and woodies to choose from, and great combinations that can be created. We will talk all about color schemes, color echos, color moderators, and how we can use these principles to enhance our gardens.

"All about Weeds: Identification, Prevention, and Management"

Whether you have a flower bed, tomato garden, or a full-blown home landscape, contending with weeds can be the bane of every gardener. This talk will feature the most common garden weeds, and discuss the best prevention and management strategies we can use in our home gardens. Weeds don't have to rule our Southern gardens, or our lives!

"Going Beyond the Foundation: Planting for the New Home Landscape"

A simple approach to creating a "Foundation Friendly" landscape. What kinds of plants are best used in and around buildings and structures.  From plant selection, to combinations, and placement, this talk will address creating foundation plantings that work! We will also talk about some new and innovative ways to create dynamic foundation plantings.

"Beautiful Bushes: Super Shrubs for the Landscape"

With all the talk about herbaceous plants for the garden, let’s not forget about woody plants, especially shrubs? What makes a shrub a great plant for the garden? What does it mean to be time tested and what's all the fuss about new plants? Come hear about a collection of my favorite shrubs, both new and established, and why they should be in every garden.

"The Power of Plants: Value Added in a Crazy Mixed-up World"

We would all agree that plants have the ability to add beauty to our environment, but did you know that plants can do so much more? This talk focuses on the value plants add to all aspects of our lives through the environment, the economy, and to our own health and well-being. Topics include, energy saving landscape principles, money saving aspects of gardening, landscaping to improve physical and mental health, and so much more.

About Bryce Lane

Bryce grew up in Western Massachusetts, where he discovered his passion for plants and telling others about them, working at a local garden center through high school and college. After earning his B.S. in plant science from the University of Massachusetts in 1979 and an M.S. in horticulture from The Ohio State University in 1981, he came to the Department of Horticultural Science at NC State University as a lecturer, teaching in both the two-year and four-year programs. He taught plant identification at NC State for 18 years. In 1987, he became the undergraduate coordinator, serving the department in that capacity for 26 years. Bryce taught both large and small courses, for majors and non-majors. In the past 30+ years, he has taught more than 20,000 students. He has received numerous local, regional, and national teaching awards and frequently invited to speak at many workshops and symposia, about teaching as well as horticulture and gardening. He hosted and produced a three-time, Emmy winning UNC TV public television show called "In the Garden With Bryce Lane" which was on the air for 11 seasons. Most importantly, he has been married for 37 years to his high school sweetheart, has two happily married daughters, and six incredible grandchildren.

Bryce retired from NC State in January 2014, and is now spending more time with his family, pursuing the next chapter in his public speaking career, and teaching part time at NC State and the JC Raulston Arboretum. He served as interim director of the JC Raulston Arboretum from July through November 2014. He is an avid gardener who has gardened in the same spot for more than 30 years!

Cost

$150.00 for members, $200.00 for nonmembers. Note to nonmembers: instead of paying $50.00 more for the program, become a member for $50.00 instead.

Registration

Advance registration is required. Please register online using our registration e-store (in-person program and online program). Registration is limited and is considered complete when payment is received.

Cancellation

Program cancellations can be made up to two weeks before the program's start date. A 15% cancellation fee applies.

Location

Online and in person at the JC Raulston Arboretum, 4415 Beryl Road, Raleigh, NC 27606.

Directions

Need directions? Click here.

Parking

Free parking is available at the JC Raulston Arboretum and along Beryl Road.

Questions

Please write jcraprograms@ncsu.edu for more information about this program.