Nicholas Plummer

I grow bulbs and other plants outside and in a greenhouse heated to tropical conditions. Here in the central piedmont of North Carolina, the soil does not freeze to any significant depth, and I am able to grow a fairly wide variety of summer-growing subtropical bulbs in the ground. The garden is fenced to exclude deer and rabbits, but burrowing pine voles are a persistent problem. Toxic amaryllids (Crinum, Ismene, Hippeastrum, etc.) seem to grow best long-term, while non-toxic bulbs will do well for a few years but then disappear suddenly when the voles discover them. In my greenhouse, bulbs share space with orchids, Nepenthes, and vireya rhododendrons. Winter-growing South African amaryllids that are too tender to grow outdoors in winter stay in the greenhouse year-round, while Eucrosia and Bessera species do very well with a dry winter dormancy in the greenhouse and then a vacation outside during the long, hot, humid summer. I am especially fond of the large Eucrosia species: Eucrosia mirabilis, Eucrosia aurantiaca, and Eucrosia eucrosioides. I write about gardening and natural history on my blog, Sweetgum and Pines (https://sweetgumandpines.wordpress.com/), and I post photos and shorter updates at Bluesky. (@nicknc.bsky.social).