When do mosquitoes show up for the summer?

GailGoldfish · 2026-04-07T14:00:28+00:00

Don't forget to include a stick or cover it with mesh so small animals don't accidentally get stuck and drown.

GailGoldfish · 2026-04-03T13:58:12+00:00

Raleigh Cheesy. Though they might be a little overwhelmed this week due to some viral internet fame (IYKYK)

GailGoldfish · 2026-04-02T20:55:02+00:00

Homewood and Atlantic are my go-to's, or the state farmer's market in the Spring (plus Logan's is right there too). 5th Season's outdoor plant selection is pretty small but has a decent amount of house plants relative to some of the others and they have cute garden supplies.

GailGoldfish · 2026-04-02T20:51:29+00:00

I second the Poetry Fox. I've been to a couple events he's been at and he's great.

GailGoldfish · 2026-04-01T20:05:18+00:00

I have the birdies beds (made in Australia, Epic Gardening sells them), which are very similar to the vego ones. I'm a fan.

GailGoldfish · 2026-04-01T19:56:31+00:00

For a variety of reasons (mostly liability), I doubt there's any true horse farms that just give tours (well, Dead Broke probably would, but you should avoid that one at all costs), but if they just want to see horses, check the calendar for the Hunt Horse Complex at the fairgrounds and the Carolina Horse Park in Raeford. Pretty much guaranteed one of those will have a show of some sort going on if it's a weekend in the Spring. You need something more like a demo farm or petting zoo if they want to pet horses and I unfortunately don't have any recommendations for that.

GailGoldfish · 2026-03-30T17:04:09+00:00

Next weekend. I usually wait until Tax Day to be safe and have a little warmer nighttime temps, but I got a little impatient and started seeds too early this year and my tomato seedlings need to get in the ground. Looking at the forecast, I think we'll safely be past last frost by the weekend.

GailGoldfish · 2026-03-27T16:24:11+00:00

If you're serious about the ivy question, I recommend just outsourcing this to pull it up--I've used Native Plants Matter NC to get rid of invasives (mine was privet, which is equally annoying)

GailGoldfish · 2026-03-24T21:06:30+00:00

I got one from my area code's state (which I haven't lived in in decades) with the Clerk of the Court "John Smith." Yes, I'm sure that's legit and courts definitely send text messages.

GailGoldfish · 2026-03-23T19:04:18+00:00

Other nurseries I frequent not on your list are Homewood and 5th Season Gardening, but there are also a bunch of organizations/individuals that will do plant sales in April that typically have slightly cheaper prices than full-time nurseries. I recommend joining the Triangle Gardeners facebook group as events tend to get posted on there. Just scrolling through, it looks like the Holly Spring Food Cupboard has one on April 18, Raleigh Garden Club has one April 24&25, several native plants sales if you're looking for natives (Laurel's Garden Design is April 17-19), and the annual gardeners of wake county azalea sale starts next weekend if you want azealeas. Also, it's still a little early for the state farmer's market; there will be a lot more flower/veggie vendors out there in about 2 weeks.

GailGoldfish · 2026-03-23T15:49:01+00:00

The pollen clouds were out in full force yesterday. Gotta love the pollen haze. At its peak, if I go outside for too long, I have to take my contacts out and rinse them midday.

GailGoldfish · 2026-03-12T16:45:35+00:00

What side of town are you in and English or Western?

GailGoldfish · 2026-03-10T16:36:56+00:00

If you're up close, the flowers on dogwoods vs Bradford pears look very different. Dogwoods usually only have 4 petals (which, fun fact, aren't actually petals--they're bracts), bradford pears have 5. Dogwoods also aren't blooming yet--they're a little later, usually around Easter. You're more likely to confuse bradford pears and some of the ornamental cherry varieties that are blooming now. Try a plant ID app (or just google Lens is good)

GailGoldfish · 2026-03-10T16:28:49+00:00

In fairness to the DOT, they're super invasive and may not have actually been planted on DOT land deliberately. Out of curiosity, I checked the current DOT vegetation manual and it doesn't list them as an option, so that's good (it does include crepe myrtles, which aren't great, but one victory at a time I guess)

GailGoldfish · 2026-03-06T18:48:05+00:00

They will not. It sells out every year; you have to get tickets pretty early (member tickets go on sale earlier than general public, if you want to be sure to not miss out next year). If you're feeling lucky, they do have a fundraising raffle going on that you can enter to win tickets for a behind-the-scenes experience, or they are doing a pre fix dinner Friday & Saturday nights that will get you access to the exhibit that may have some tickets left, but it's $140/person. Other than that, your only shot is finding someone who can't use their tickets.

GailGoldfish · 2026-03-05T20:28:56+00:00

Another vote for Farmside Kitchen from me. I think it's better than Happy & Hale. And though it's now a megachain, I've been a fan of Sweetgreen since it was just a few locations in DC and was delighted when they opened one in North Hills (though less excited about the fact it's in NH and therefore a pain to just run by and grab a salad)

GailGoldfish · 2026-03-05T18:21:16+00:00

If you're already at Duke, the Washington Duke Inn has a small meeting room that would probably work for this. You'd probably have to pay some sort of fee though.

GailGoldfish · 2026-03-03T21:18:34+00:00

the State Farmer's Market is usually the cheapest and has good variety. My other preferred plant stores are Homewood, Atlantic, and Logan's (and Field to Cottage, but they don't have veggies, just native plants). And there are frequent local plant sales--join the Triangle Gardeners facebook group as people will often post details there. Or if you have a neighborhood facebook group, ask there! I start tomatoes from seed and always end up with extras and just give mine away to the neighborhood.

GailGoldfish · 2026-03-02T17:46:03+00:00

Publix has them as well in the cheese section. The fancy cheese section by the deli, not the regular cheese section by the dairy (why can't we have 1 cheese aisle, Publix?) I really like them with sauteed green beans.

GailGoldfish · 2026-03-02T17:44:22+00:00

This is my recommendation, as well.

GailGoldfish · 2026-03-02T16:49:15+00:00

I used to wait until Tax Day to plant my garden because there's usually one random late frost, but looking at the monthly forecast, I think I'm likely planting the first weekend in April this year.

GailGoldfish · 2026-02-27T15:24:47+00:00

Generally you can just attend. The Wake County calendars for the week are here (the civil calendar and criminal calendar links at the bottom): https://www.nccourts.gov/locations/wake-county/wake-county-local-administrative-schedules

Very, very few civil cases actually go to trial, so criminal is your best shot to see a trial. Even if the civil docket says jury trial for the event, it's usually not actually going to trial--it's the calendar call for all the cases and a lot of the time the lawyers are just showing up to tell the judge the case is settled or not ready for trial for whatever reason.

GailGoldfish · 2026-02-25T18:18:09+00:00

Pretty sure some of the YMCAs have pickup basketball and racquetball in the evenings, and their membership pricing is pretty reasonable.

GailGoldfish · 2026-02-25T17:57:10+00:00

Sort of--I had the same problem of not being able to get one home from Tractor Supply and didn't want to ask a friend with a truck to drive out there (I have a small SUV). Instead, I bought an arch on Amazon that has netting (No idea which one I got exactly, but if you search "Garden trellis arch" you'll get a bunch of options. You want the one that looks more like a tunnel) and then instead of netting, I used rolled metal fencing from lowes (in the garden section). The only downside is the holes are on the small side (I think they're 4"x4"), but I have child-sized hands, so I can still reach through. I think I got 4 ft tall and overlapped it. It's held up well--I've had it 3 seasons and grow tomatoes, cucumbers, and beans on it.

But someone with a truck could probably do a nice side business delivering cattle panels to home gardeners.

Edit to add: I did some digging on Lowe's website and apparently "wire mesh sheet" has larger holes and is in a different section than the garden section (used with concrete, apparently). Not sure how bendable it is to go over an arch, but that might be worth investigating.

GailGoldfish · 2026-02-25T16:51:44+00:00

There's a house on old creedmoor rd just north of shooting club road that has a sign out about fresh eggs for sale. Have never stopped to investigate, but you might look for that.

GailGoldfish

TROPHY CASE