Educational resources
Local Botanical Gardens & Arboretums
local gardens reveal the work of masters, they are excellent sources of information, join & ask questions (here are a few in our area)
UNC Chapel Hill
"The concept of the Conservation Garden was developed at the North Carolina Botanical Garden in the early 1990s to represent the many conservation-related activities that are at the heart of the Garden's mission and programs." from NCBG website
NC State University
" The JC Raulston Arboretum is a nationally acclaimed botanic garden located in Raleigh, North Carolina with one of the largest and most diverse collections of landscape plants adapted for landscape use in the southeast United States. " from JC Raulston Arboretum website
Juniper Level Botanical Garden
"The garden actively promotes and preserves botanic diversity by bridging the gap between botany and horticulture through plant study, identification, educational outreach, global plant exploration, and by selecting, breeding, and propagating new and little known perennials to share with plant researchers, botanic gardens, and gardeners around the world." from JLBG website
Societies & Foundations
joining societies & foundations supports & develops relationships with people who have common interests
"Our mission is to promote the enjoyment and conservation of North Carolina’s native plants and their habitats through education, protection, cultivation, and advocacy." from NCNPS website
"The American Fern Society was established in 1893 with the objective of fostering interest in ferns and lycophytes, or pteridophytes.
The AFS has an extensive spore exchange and is an excellent educational resource for people who are learning to grow ferns from spores." from the AFS website
" The Hardy Fern Foundation was established to introduce and test the world’s temperate ferns for hardiness and ornamental value and to build comprehensive collections for public display, information and education." from HFF website
Reference Books
by Emily B. Sessa
This is a comprehensive photographic field guide to the ferns, spikemosses, clubmosses, and quillworts of eastern North America. Accessible yet scientifically accurate, the book will appeal to beginners and experts alike and enhance the field experience of any user.
by Alice F. F. Tryon & Bernard Lugardon
Description of the book on Amazon: "This book constitutes a unique, encyclopedic reference work that systematizes and categorizes for the first time in such comprehensive fashion all known fern spores. The dominant feature of the work are the over 350 plates of electron micrographs showing the morphological characteristics of typical representatives of each spore type."
Training & Volunteering
learning from and with local gardeners
"Looking to find an Extension Master Gardener program in your state? Nearly all Master Gardener programs in the United States administer training through a state land-grant university and its Cooperative Extension Service, and are considered Extension Master Gardener programs. Extension Master Gardeners receive and recommend university and research-based information through the Cooperative Extension System." from EMB website
Rules about protected plants in NC
"The mission of the Plant Protection Section is to enhance the quality of life in North Carolina by protecting agriculture and the environment from injurious plant pests, by promoting beneficial organisms, and by protecting rare native plants of the state."
from NC Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services website.
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