Gingerbread cottage
by Jesma Reynolds photographs by Mark Petko Christmas is a big deal in the White household. Living in what is commonly known as “the gingerbread cottage” on White Oak Road, John and Ashley White and their sons John and Jack…
Category: Home & Garden
Wings of a fairy, horns of a goat
by Tony Avent illustration by Ippy Patterson Epimediums, or fairy wings, are perennial members of the barberry family, which have been popular since at least the mid-1700s. This woodland shade perennial flowers in early spring, and can trace its popularity to an…
Behind the wall: A secret garden blooms in Raleigh
And the secret garden bloomed and bloomed and every morning revealed new miracles. -Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden by Jesma Reynolds photographs by Catherine Nguyen For more than two decades, Greyson and Garland Tucker have been working together to…
Historic Oakwood: A storied past, a storied present
by Ann Brooke Raynal Visitors walking the streets of Historic Oakwood on a chilly December night may think they have been transported back to the 19th century. Candles burn in the windows, garlands of greenery grace the exteriors of Queen…
North Carolina’s Executive Mansion
by Liza Roberts photographs by Catherine Nguyen Living above the store is a good way to ensure working around the clock. Even when “the store” is a gorgeous 1891 Queen Anne Victorian mansion set on nearly five lush acres, there’s an…
This North Raleigh Home is Designed to Celebrate the Past and Present
by Liza Roberts photographs by Mark Petko Like so many of life’s most important things, Lisa Sykes’ dream house came when she wasn’t looking for it. What she wanted instead were rugs for the North Raleigh house she and her…
Henry’s Stone Oak: Lithocarpus henryi
by Tony Avent illustration by Ippy Patterson Since Raleigh is known as the City of Oaks, most residents like to think they can identify oak trees, but when I show Henry’s oak to garden visitors, their jaws drop to an unnatural…
Economies of scale
photographs by Nick Pironio When Kim Shirley and her husband Graham decided to move out of Five Points to build a house on a spacious corner lot in West Raleigh, they wanted light, efficiency, and a home better suited to…
Alabama wild ginger
by Tony Avent I grew up in a wooded section of west Raleigh. As a shy kid, I spent most of my spare time roaming through the woods along Crabtree Creek, where Crabtree Valley shopping center would eventually sprout. One of…
A bouquet of silver
by Tony Avent illustration by Ippy Patterson Pulmonarias, or lungworts as they are commonly called, are bold-textured, clumping woodland perennials, prized for their unique silver-spotted, deer-resistant foliage. Long a favorite of shade gardeners in temperate climates, Pulmonarias flower in late winter…
Glad for my purple prince
by Tony Avent illustration by Ippy Patterson Growing up in North Carolina, it’s not uncommon to see gladiolus growing along country roads through older rural communities. For that reason, I could never reconcile why all the gladiolus I ordered from mail-order…
Tree of hearts
by Tony Avent illustration by Ippy Patterson I was first introduced to Aleurites fordii (also known as Vernicia fordii) through the wood sealer called Tung oil, which is made from the plant. That was long before I met Aleurites fordii in person….
Forever house
by Liza Roberts photographs by Lissa Gotwals Brooks Bell and Jesse Lipson knew what they wanted, and they had a list. Their new house had to have a fenced yard for their terrier, Theo, and a screened-in porch. A freestanding bathtub,…
Enchanting Cyclamen
by Tony Avent The genus cyclamen has long fascinated me, perhaps for its unusual, almost magical-looking flowers as well as its enchanting silver-patterned leaves. I first encountered cyclamen in the flesh in the early 1970s while garden-shopping at the old…