By Sarina Dellinger
For the Salisbury Post

If you’ve been a follower of Hurley Park for a while, you may remember that we have regularly hosted a lecture with horticulturally focused speakers since 1989. We’re lucky to have hosted some of the biggest names in North Carolina horticulture such as J.C. Raulston, Larry Mellichamp, Richard Bir and more — right here in Salisbury. Due to the pandemic, this popular event has been on hold since 2020. I am excited to announce the lecture will return this month! In the past the lectures were given in the early fall, but who doesn’t enjoy cheerful plant photos in the dead of winter?

The Winter Lecture will be held on Thursday, Jan. 26, at 7 p.m. The location for the lecture is Salisbury Civic Center located at 315 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. South. As always this event is free and open to the public. Due to the timing, we will not be distributing plant divisions from the park at this event. However, stay tuned for plant-swapping opportunities in the spring.

Our speaker will be Margo MacIntyre, the first curator of Hurley Park. MacIntyre was instrumental in the early development of Hurley Park from August 1987 to her departure in 2004. She left Salisbury to return to her hometown of Chapel Hill as the curator of the Coker Arboretum at the North Carolina Botanical Garden. We hope to see you at the Winter Lecture to welcome MacIntyre back to Salisbury and dream of warm spring days!

If you have questions about Hurley Park or the Winter Lecture, please give us a call at 704-638-5298. Stay up to date with what’s happening at Hurley Park by following us on Facebook or Instagram @HurleyParkNC. To view a map or donate to Hurley Park, visit our website at salisburync.gov/hurleypark.

Sarina Dellinger is public garden manager for Hurley Park.