Ben's Creek Nursery on a Mission

James, 1:27
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, 
is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction

Ben's Creek Nursery has been on a mission - literally! For the past three years, Ben's Creek's owner/manager, Robert Neville, and his family, Treva, Jill, Jessica, and Jack, have gone to Haiti on mission trips during the Christmas holidays.

The locus of their efforts has been an orphanage in the village of Minoterie, which was actually built on land reclaimed from a garbage dump. Among other projects, the Nevilles have worked these last three years on upgrading and refurbishing the orphanage itself, and adding a basketball court and storage building.

The Orphanage - December, 2015

Basketball Court & Storage Building - In Process

The Orphanage with Basketball Court - December 2018

In addition to these building projects, a good bit of Ben's Creek Nursery's expertise went with the Nevilles to Haiti in the form of various landscaping projects. Here are Robert & Jack planting various trees around the compound. In all, almost 90 fruit or nut bearing trees were installed around the orphanage grounds!

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Snow Work

Our guys prepared to roll on the eve of the first snow of  2018.

Our man Wilson selects his preferred weapon.

Night fall begat snow fall, and so our crews fanned out for some night work, from Tarboro to Roanoke Rapids and points east and west.

For those in the mood for a little action, here is a video of Keith Harvey pushing snow at one site.

As daylight dawns, our crews look upon the fruits of their efforts.

Mix 'n Match

Working up a cloud of dust, our stonecutters are molding and trimming a new stone paver walkway on the Lake.

But that was not the most interesting part of this project. Down towards the Lake, there was an existing paver patio that our customers wanted to expand. This presented us with the problem of not only matching the materials, but also the design of the stone pavers, so that the addition would merge seamlessly with the existing patio. 

Our guys were up to the job.

Here is the seam between the old and the new:

Only a slight bit of weathering distinguishes the old patio from the new addition, and that bit of difference will disappear when our crews pressure wash the whole patio.

Finish Work

Our crews bring a lot of effort and expertise to their work. But what really stands out is the way they finish a job with the same diligence and energy they had at the beginning. Here are some before and after shots of our guys putting on the finishing touches.

Before & After

Before & After

Before & After

Installation Lay Away

There is no time like the Fall to install premium, full-grown plant material. These Nellie R. Stevens Hollies are laying away in anticipation of being picked up and transported to some lucky customer's yard.

But worry not; we still have plenty of Hollies left along with many other varieties of plant material. However, the seasonal conditions that favor transplanting won't last forever, so call us soon with your order!

Stonework

This property already boasts a poolside patio, a small water garden, expansive lawn, and a water view. What more could it need? Decorative rocks, strategic plantings, and in-ground stone steps, of course. And more rocks.

As natural as these rocks look - which is the point - they and the stone slabs were actually selected and individually placed by our crews. Which is not work for the faint of heart.

Herewith pictures of this work in progress.

At The Nursery

Potomac Crape Myrtle

Fall being upon us, it might be time to bid a fond farewell to the crape myrtle blooms. Most crapes reach peak bloom when the summer heat is hottest; which means that this year, they started their work earlier than normal, in June. As a result, it has been a colorful summer at the Nursery.

But to everything a season, and mid-September when these photos were taken presents the waning end of the cycle for crape myrtle blooms. For you crape enthusiasts (and who isn't?), however, a caveat: we have limited availability in some of the crapes we show here, so if you see something you like, call us soon!

Above is a 12-14 foot Potomac crape myrtle, still showing a healthy array of clear pink blooms well into September. Drought tolerant, Potomacs transplant well almost any time of year and will grow up to 20'.

Osage Crape Myrtle

Another clear pink bloom flourishing well into September is that of the Osage crape myrtle. Sadly, we have very few of these left at the moment. Its mottled chestnut brown trunk and strong upright branching structure has been quite popular of late.

Tonto Crape Myrtle

Our Tontos are still flush with color - fuchsia, that is, which is a bright, red-purplish hue. Tontos are shorter varieties, growing to 10 feet or so, but yield a fullish spread of leaves and blooms.

Tuskegee Crape Myrtles

The Tuskegee blooms are sparse at this point, but their dark pink color will be back next season. Tuskegees are a stately tree with a broad spreading head that will grow to 20 feet or more.

But all is not lost with those crapes whose blooms have diminished.

Biloxi Crape Myrtle

What they now lack in color they more than make up with a strong form and structure and striking bark patterns, both of which will embellish any landscape throughout the Fall and Winter months. This large Biloxi is a case in point - in addition to its strong vase shape, take a close up look at its attractively variegated trunk:

So too with this Dynamite crape myrtle - a large upright grower with bright red blooms - and with our Catawba crapes, a shorter variety with a spreading crown. Catawbas will push out a vivid violet purple bloom come next year.

Dynamite Crape Myrtle

Catawba Crape Myrtle

And then there are the Fall colors coming when the leaves turn, ranging from red to purple to orange and yellow.

Catawba Crape Myrtle

Crape Myrtle Fall Colors

To everything a season, but crape myrtles seem to offer something for every season.