A palm along the east end of Front Street with Taylor’s Creek in the background
While we feel that the name Bringing Home Beaufort is pretty catchy, it does have a deeper meaning.
Our goal is to help you have a great time in Beaufort, to relax, and to be at-leisure. We also want to help you bring the best of Beaufort back home to keep that leisure mind-set.
One of the best ways to accomplish that bringing home is to surround yourself with things that remind you of Beaufort. Those things could include food, drink, music, photographs, paintings, shells, written memories, or simply the act of reminiscing.
It could also include replicating parts of the natural landscape, which is what this post is about.
Palm trees.
Palm trees? Yes, palm trees.
Think about it, just seeing a grove of palms, whether in real life or in a picture can bring on a state of relaxation. Whether they grow naturally or not, palms almost always are planted in coastal areas, even if they must be planted in pots and brought inside during the winter.
Beaufort is no exception. In addition to the live oaks that are one of the town’s most notable plants, some variety of palm seems to pop up on nearly every corner in Beaufort. Even though palms do not grow naturally north of Wilmington, NC, they have been planted so frequently, many of us associate them with the entire NC coast.
Planting a few palms at home can remind you of good times in Beaufort, and help keep leisure at the front of your mind.
Depending on where you live, plantings might be in a pot or in the ground as a number of cold-hardy palms are easily available. We live about half-way between Raleigh and Winston-Salem, and in January and February we often have temperatures in the single digits. But, four years ago we decided to try our luck with a single small palm in our front yard.
A Windmill Palm planted in our front yard
We chose the Windmill Palm, which is one of the most cold-hardy of all palms. We found a two-foot tall specimen at a local nursery, planted it in a well-draining area, added some sand to the soil, and it has since doubled in size. The only precaution we have taken is to wrap the trunk of the plant in burlap during any serious cold snaps.
A Pindo Palm in a pot on our front porch
This past spring, we planted a small Pindo Palm we found at Lowe’s in a decorative pot on our front porch. While it seems to be growing just as vigoraously as the Windmill Palm, it is supposedly a bit less cold-tolerant so we will probably bring it inside this winter.
Check your own local nurseries and plant centers, and read up on the online resources like the Chilly Palm Tree Company down in Charlotte.
Plant a palm and bring a little bit of Beaufort home with you.
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