Not every woman can wear a hat but Carol Stein is one of those women that can pull off wearing lots of hats, both literally and metaphorically. After meeting Carol, reading her columns in the News& Observer, observing her artwork (from landscape painting to terra cotta-masks), and attending a few of her garden classes, my guess is the majority of Carol's hats have always been and always will be everyday hats; whimsical, fun, comfortable hats, the kind that can be worn anywhere there is a bird cause to champion, seascape to paint, or a garden to tend. Of course Carol's hats must travel well with her friends and family.
Although you would never guess it from the passion she shares about North Carolina’s gardens and wildlife, Carol has neither lived in the South all her life, nor is she a life-long garden fanatic. Carol arrived in Wake County in 1991 via St. Louis, Missouri. She and her husband Jerry moved here when Jerry’s employer, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, transferred them to Wake County. In order to join Jerry in N.C. Carol left behind a daughter in college, a career teaching, and trouble-shooting computer graphics, and her volunteer job as tour guide at the St. Louis Zoo. Shortly after settling into their home in the community of Panther Branch, Carol took her first shot at southern gardening, and in her own words “failed miserably”
Determined not to let the North Carolina soil get the best of her, in 1993 she became a master gardener through the Wake County Master Gardeners Course and the editor of their newsletter, “DIRT”. For several years she taught classes about herbs, painting, and cooking for The Carolina School of Gardening. The “school” was a brainstorm of one of Carol’s creative friends along with gardeners, garden designers, and teachers. But it was her garden journal that Carol parlayed into her first column for the Raleigh News and Observer. When Carol’s southern garden started to flourish, she recorded her struggles and successes in a journal. Soon her journal entries grew to short stories written from her point-of-view as a “transplanted” gardener. At the urging of a friend, she sent 4 of her gardening stories to the then editor of the N & O “Home Section,” Laurie Evans. Thus Carol Stein’s garden column “Transplants” was born.
In 1993 when Weta Clark became editor of the N & O’s Home & Garden section, she quickly pointed out that Carol’s roots were embedded too deeply in the local garden scene to be considered a transplant and they came up with a more appropriate name for her column, “The Grapevine”. Last year Carol added a new column to her repertoire. She teams up with former N&O Food Editor, Debbie Moose for a fun food and garden column. Readers of “The Tasteful Garden” learn Carol’s hints on how to successfully grow food and Debbie’s recipes for delicious ways on how to enjoy eating food.
When it comes to Carol’s own garden, she says “it is for the birds” and other wildlife.
To encourage birds to populate her acre of Panther Branch land, she has 3 small water features, lots of bird baths, feeders, and nesting boxes. If you want to take a shot at recreating some of Carol Stein’s garden ideas she will be donning her teaching hat once a month to conduct garden forums at The Garden Hut in Fuquay-Varina. January’s topic, you guessed it, is gardening is “for the birds”. For more info on the garden forums at the Garden Hut please go to their website www.nelsagardenhut.com.
Here are a few of Carol’s secrets for attracting and keeping bluebirds in your garden.
1. Install proper boxes. The Garden Hut has a supply of bluebird boxes from Bailey, N.C. which are top-of-the-line. You can build your own with directions from www.nabluebirdsociety.org or purchase them online at www.ncbluebird.com.
2. Best to place bluebird boxes on a metal pole just outside an open area. Wood poles and trees provide predator’s easy entry. Bluebirds like to “pick” at insects in meadows and mowed lawns. They require fresh, clean, water, all year long. They do not eat seeds but enjoy berries, suet, and mealworms.
3. Monitoring your bluebird boxes gives your birds a better chance of survival. During spring and summer check boxes once a week. Just let mama bird know you are approaching her nest, either by making a lot of noise or giving her box a knock (knock from the side, not looking strait into the box). After the mama bird takes flight, check to make sure the babies are not being invaded by insects. Contrary to the old wives tale, the mother bird will return. After the young have fledged, clean out the old nest and enjoy! Bluebirds will nest several times in a season
Carol’s paintings and terra-cotta mask can be viewed at The Nature of Art at Waverly place in Cary. View a video on bluebird houses on this website.