Craven Extension Master Gardener Volunteers

06/17/2026

THE INVINCIBLES!
By Judi Lloyd

Plants that should do well here in the ‘Eastern Coastal Plains’. These are tough perennials for our hot summers! Remember: no guarantees: no matter what a friend says has been always a
‘no brainer’ for her or what you may read in a magazine or online – no matter how expert they may be – IT IS NATURE! And nature doesn’t always follow the rules.

Some herbs that do well here and are also decorative are:

* Yarrow (Achillea): member of the aster (daisy) family. Benefits are that it attracts butterflies; leaves have soft fern-like texture; drought
tolerant; deer resistant; colors come in pink, red or yellow and bloom from mid-summer to fall; great in cut or dried arrangements. They can be severely pruned back or even mowed. But, it does spread by rhizomes so can end up more prolific than you may want
(although, not invasive).

* Lemon Balm (Melissa officinals): mint family. Bushy perennial that likes sun to part-shade; drought tolerant and deer resistant. Has teensy white flowers that bees love. Is great in tea and soup. New leaves have a better flavor than the mature ones. **Plant in
a container, as with any plant in the mint family, it self-seeds and spreads!

* Bee Balm (Monardo): flowering perennial in mint family. There are many cultivars in a variety of fragrant flower colors; grow 2’ to 4’ tall and are pollinator magnets: bees, hummers, butterflies, song birds. They prefer full-sun with good air circulation to avoid
powdery mildew. Deer and bunny resistant. Since they are in the mint family, remember they will self-seed!

*Coneflower (echinacea) In aster (daisy) family. Full sun, native perennial. Drought tolerant; deer resistant; loved by pollinators; easily propagated by seed and will reseed. Comes in a variety of
colors now. Blooms early summer through mid-fall.

* Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia fulgida) Again, in daisy family. Native full-sun perennial; drought tolerant and deer resistant; loved by pollinators. Spreads by underground rhizomes and can be divided in spring or fall. Will make an attractive winter ground
cover. But leave seed heads for food source for birds. It was the 1988 Wildflower of the Year at the N.C. Botanical Gardens.

*Buglew**d (Ajuga pyramidalis) Mint family perennial. Spreads by short rhizomes; has pale violet blooms in May & June, which can be mowed when blooms are finished. Great for front border, ground cover, containers, rock gardens, edging & pollinators.
Deer and bunny resistant.

06/16/2026

Happy ! 🐝🌼🦋

National Pollinator Month happens every June in the United States to celebrate bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, bats and other key pollinators. Let's protect these declining populations and work together to help our ecosystems stay healthy and balanced.

🌟 Here's a free, research-based guide from NC State Extension that supports our efforts: "Attracting Pollinators and Other Beneficial Insects" ➡️ go.ncsu.edu/attract-pollinators

(OR gardening.ces.ncsu.edu/attracting-birds-beneficial-insects-other-wildlife/pollinators-and-other-beneficial-insects)

📸 credit: Charlotte Glen, statewide NC State Extension Master Gardener℠ program manager

05/24/2026

Congratulations to two dedicated volunteers! John Wright and Cheryl Wyatt received pins for 1000 hours of volunteer work! Thanks you two for all the hard work.

05/21/2026

Are there any beneficial insects? And, if so, how can I make my
garden inviting so as to attract them?

By Judi Lloyd

When you ask a vegetable gardener about insects in their garden, the typical reaction is to cringe and tell you their tried-and-true way of getting rid of them! Most people think of insects as foes, rather than friends. But did you know that there are many insects that can actually help us keep the “bad” insects at bay? These helpful critters are called “beneficial” insects. They can help reduce the populations of problem pests in the garden. But in order to do so, we must
provide them with habitat to do so. Beneficial insects include parasitic wasps, ground beetles, lady beetles, lacewings, and others.

Parasitic wasps control pests by laying eggs on or in the bodies of pests, and as the eggs hatch they feed on the pest, slowly killing it. One example of this is the Braconid wasp that lays its eggs in a tomato hornworm. Once the larvae hatch inside the hornworm, the spin white cocoons attached to the hornworm and will emerge as adults several days later. Parasitic wasps also lay eggs in aphids. Ground beetles will feed on slugs, and they also will eat w**d seeds. There are many plants that host or attract beneficials but several plant families are particularly attractive to beneficials. One of those plant families is the carrot family, Apiaceae. Plants in this
family that are particularly attractive are dill, fennel, cilantro, Bishop’s flower, and Queen Anne’s Lace. These plants tend to attract parasitic wasps and flies. It is important to let them
flower if you want to attract the beneficial insects, and fortunately their flowers are very attractive! Interplant these among your vegetables to keep beneficials on duty. Plants in the daisy or aster family (Asteraceae) and the verbena family (Verbenaceae) are attractive to both beneficial insects and to the human eye! These plant families have many of our popular flowers.

Good flowers for beneficials in the aster family include sunflowers, marigolds, yarrow, calendula, coneflower, and coreopsis. Asters are especially attractive to beetles and lady beetles. Plants in the verbena family attract a variety of beneficials. Good plants in this family include lantana, hybrid verbena, and lilac vervain. Certain plants in the legume family (Fabaceae), such as sweet clover, hairy vetch, and fava bean, are grown as cover crops to protect soil and add nutrients to the soil when another crop is not growing. They are also attractive to a number of beneficial insects. For the best habitat, intersperse a mix of attractant plants in your vegetable garden, or consider dedicating a bed to be for a “beneficial insect mix”. Besides planting flowers, a diverse landscape including well-managed lawn, trees, shrubs, and perennials that provide flowers throughout the season can help sustain beneficial insects.
Undisturbed areas such as a perennial landscape or forest edge provide a place for overwintering. Mulch in the vegetable garden provides habitat for ground beetles. Beneficial insects also need water. An easy way to provide it is in a shallow pot saucer with pebbles in it for the insect to land on. While having a healthy population of beneficial insects will reduce your need to apply pesticides, there is still a possibility that you will need to apply a pesticide to control insects or slugs during the season. Be aware that pesticides can harm beneficial insects in addition to pests. Before spraying, make sure the insects you see are pests and not
beneficials. To reduce the effect on beneficials, apply pesticides only when needed. Choose pesticides with little residual activity, such as insecticidal soap or horticultural oil. Apply pesticides in the evening and avoid contact with flowers that attract beneficials will also reduce the exposure beneficial insects have with the pesticide.

This article was written by Eli Snyder and last updated by Tina Lovejoy of the Caldwell County, N.C. State Extension.

Read more at:

When you ask a vegetable gardener about insects in their garden, the typical reaction is to cringe and tell you their tried-and-true way of getting rid of them! Most people think of insects as foes,…

05/15/2026

Plants are on their way to the Extension! See you at the plant sale tomorrow - 10:00am.
300 Industrial Drive

05/12/2026

See you Saturday at the Extension! We'll have some great plants available.

05/11/2026

05/06/2026

Hello, everyone. This is Laura working on my projects. I did not get much done this week.. I had bad fall, in the yard if course and I'm on the injured list. Using crutches to get around and minimize pain.
So I have caught up my garden book. I keep note of all the plants I buy and plant. Then I can monitor how they do or why not. Like the camellias that were poorly lat summer. I could check when I planted them, name of cultivars and expected conditions. I have a pocket in the back of my garden book and I keep the tags when I buy a plant. So as I was updating, I see i last did maps for the placement of everything. I need to catch this up also.
Before I was injured, I was trying to get my walkway project finished. Soon close! but it will get done soon enough. I am also watching my pollinators garden and see tons of new growth. I tried some corn this year, but I do not see any sprouts.
I planted a rhododendron, about 2 years ago but it has poor tolerance of the heat. So used some old fencing, looped it over the top and secured it. Then I planted some long green beans to clean I my up and shade the Rhoda. We'll see if it helps but I may transplant it in t he fall. So I'll continue to look at my garden and make more lists. Happy Gardening!!

04/27/2026

We need pollinators, pollinators need us!

By Judi Lloyd

Birds, bats, butterflies, moths, flies, beetles, wasps, small mammals, and most importantly, bees are pollinators. They visit flowers to drink nectar or feed off of pollen and transport pollen grains as they move from spot to spot.

Somewhere between 75% and 95% of all flowering plants on the earth need help with pollination – they need pollinators. Pollinators provide pollination services to over 180,000 different plant species and more than 1200 crops. That means that 1 out of every three bites of food you eat is there because of pollinators. If we want to talk dollars and cents, pollinators add 217 billion dollars to the global economy, and honey bees alone are responsible for between
1.2 and 5.4 billion dollars in agricultural productivity in the United States. In addition to the food that we eat, pollinators support healthy ecosystems that clean the air, stabilize soils, protect from severe weather, and support other wildlife.

Pollinators are insects and animals that collect and carry pollen from one flowering plant to another, facilitating fertilization. Some scientists estimate that one out of every three bites of food we eat, everything from almonds and blueberries to bananas and cocoa exists because of pollinators like bees, birds, and bats.

Bright colors, fragrances, and sweet nectar into transporting pollen which contains genetic material from the male reproductive organs of one plant to the female organs of another.

About 80% of flowering plants depend on this kind of animal pollination; the remaining 20% rely on wind to carry lightweight pollen grains through the air.

Pollinator populations have declined significantly in recent decades due to habitat loss resulting from agricultural expansion and urbanization, the use of pesticides, and climate change. The
populations of some North American species of wild bees have decreased by 96% over the last two decades, putting pollinator-dependent food production at risk.

Top 5 Perennials for Attracting Pollinators to Your Garden
These colorful perennials produce a significant amount of nectar and attract a wide range of pollinators. Depending on your zone and the type of pollinator you want to attract, you might want to tailor your perennial selection to you-but these will get you on the
right track. Black-Eyed Susans (Rudbeckia fulgida), Coneflowers (Echinacea), Bee Balm (Monarda), Milkw**d (Asclepias) and Asters (Asteraceae). These plants are all easy to find and easy to grow, needing very little care. They are well-suited for our area and will
return to your garden year after year!

04/27/2026

Plant sales are everywhere these days and ours is coming up soon! Be sure. to check us out Saturday May 16 - 10 am til noon at the Extension.

300 Industrial Drive
New Bern