faulker042

Snow and ice. Cancelled flights. Unhappy travelers. Over the winter, we've seen the news reports of hundreds of thousands of travelers stranded in airports, unable to get to their destination. It's a terrible way (stressful, uncomfortable and expensive) to spend a few days.  A traveler is at the mercy of Mother Nature and the airlines. Christmas Day 2010 brought six inches of snow to us here in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. With the cold temperatures and snow, my husband and I decided enough was enough , so we went online and booked a trip to warm Hawaii for January 11-18, 2011. Of course, we experienced another winter storm on the day we were supposed to fly to Hawaii! The ice closed the airports and flights were cancelled.  We were not going to Hawaii as planned—but, when—and at what cost to rearrange our flight and hotel? We typically book our flights and accommodations separately. We booked the Hawaii trip as a combined flight and hotel package through American Airline...

Nicole and Chris It is a wonderful thing when two people are perfect for each other. Chris Cameron and Nicole Guinn are engaged! Nicole, originally from Alaska, is a MD (anesthesiologist—organ transplant surgeries) at Duke Medical Center. Our son, Chris, is a contract archaeologist as well as a general partner with the investment management company, Arbor Lea Partners, LP. We are so pleased that Nicole will be part of our family! Richard and I are thrilled for Chris and Nicole and wish them all the happiness in the world. Words and photos by Freda Cameron , Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel .

Best Perennial in a Leading Role Agastache 'Cotton Candy' Agastache 'Cotton Candy' never stopped blooming from April until frost. Gotta love it! Healthy and robust, I tried pinching it back, cutting it back and leaving it alone. No matter what I did, this agastache was happy all through the first growing season in my garden. Ignored by deer and rabbits,  agastache is loved by bees and butterflies. This variety survived more than 90 days of 90 degree temperatures with little water! Agastache 'Cotton Candy' from Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc. Best Perennial in a Supporting Role Creeping Perennial Heliotrope 'Azure Skies' Once again, heliotropium amplexicaule 'Azure Skies' from the Southern Living® Collection is the best ground-covering perennial that never stops blooming, rewarding you with  Six Months of Bloom from One Perennial . The growth habit is low and it quickly covers several feet of ground. Cut it back to keep it from getting leggy, or l...

Please enjoy this original music from The Boys from Carolina . Dobro and vocals: Chuck Schutte Mandolin and vocals: Wright Young Standup Bass: Richard Roach (my husband) Guitar and vocals: Larry Nunnery Banjo: Bob Wilkerson Happy Holidays! Freda, Richard, Garrett and Chris Video by Freda Cameron , Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel .  

Seeds of larkspur, cornflowers, poppies, nigella and flax are sown in the fall for spring and summer blooms. As I walked around the garden, I saw the self-sowing annuals for next spring had already sprouted. It is time to think about sowing annuals for spring blooms. I like to wait until we've had a killing frost before sowing my seeds. There is a frost in the forecast for this weekend. The frost kills back weeds. I pull out the weeds, then apply a mix of organic compost and soil around perennials. The layer provides good insulation and nourishment for the perennials while serving as a good medium for seeds. My success rate with sowing both perennials and annuals from seeds  has been encouraging and it is less expensive than buying plants in the spring. Some perennials, such as flax, coneflowers and rudbeckia, will bloom next year, but the plants may be small during the first year. The nigella (Love-in-a-Mist) sprouts are everywhere! I collected seeds and let hundreds fall to the ...

I must THINK before I speak French. I have a grand plan to practice and learn more of the French language since France has become our annual vacation location. I have repeated this plan for the last few years, but haven't made sufficient progress. I really need to improve my command of the language. Seriously. It's time. With only five months until the next trip, I am setting goals to increase my vocabulary, improve my conjugation of verbs and my ability to converse. I'm also listening to many of the songs of the late Edith Piaf ( La Vie En Rose fame) to make this task more enjoyable. Languages are tedious to learn. I'm easily distracted. My education included four years of French. Taught by a US Southern lady. Drawl and all! Not so good. Humorous, in fact. Slow and drawn-out syllables. My pronunciation is an embarrassment when I speak, but I have found that making the effort is truly rewarding. The French appear to forgive me (and probably laugh when I leave) as long ...

Pink mums perk up the garden for the third year. Autumn hasn't arrived, so the world isn't yet shades of orange, russet and red. The late blooms are all about pink and purple. The cottage garden is hanging on with blooms of mums, zinnias and autumn sage. With no frost so far, the bloom season suddenly improved after the last rainfall. The garden mums are now in the third year. I simply divide the mother plants when they get too large. I plant out the offspring and those are bloom in their first season.  The foliage remains evergreen here in zone 7b. I pinch back the plants until the July 4th to create a mounding shape, loaded with autumn blooms. Zinnias are still fabulous. The butterflies and bees are grateful for the nectar! The Monarch butterflies reared in my garden were grateful for these late zinnia blooms. Six Monarchs recently emerged in one day! It was delightful to see all six sipping from the zinnias. I am glad that I hadn't pulled out the tall, lanky annuals. The...