Sep 11th, 2018

6 Hurricane Prep Tips

by Jonah Holland

6 Tips to Prepare for Hurricane Florence

Here at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, hurricane prep includes canceling and/or postponing outdoor tented events like Fall PlantFest  and  Fidos After 5.  The safety of our visitors, staff, and volunteers is our top priority, so it only makes sense.  We are also getting ready for Hurricane Florence by harvesting vegetables in the Kroger Community Kitchen Garden, moving potted plants inside, securing (or folding down) outdoor furniture, evaluating our tents and more.  Now is a good time to go over a  safety checklist for your home and yard.  Besides collecting bottled water,  making sure you have batteries for flashlights in case of a power outage and filling your bathtub with water so you can flush your toilet of water service stops, be sure to review our list of hurricane prep tips.

Hurricane Prep

1. Prioritize safety. Turn off propane tanks and irrigation systems, and know where your water, gas and electrical shut-off valves are located.
2. Store chemicals and pesticides high off the floor so that if there is a flood these hazardous items don’t contaminate your home and yard.
3. Clean your gutters and take precautions to make sure water flows away from your home.
4. Prune branches away from your home only if you have a safe place to store them where they won’t become projectile. If you have any dead or hanging branches remove them now if you can safely do so and store them in a shed or garage.
5. Bring in outdoor furniture, potted plants, and any other items that could be carried by strong winds.
6. If you have a vegetable garden, now is a good time to harvest vegetables that might be damaged.

Staff moving a large planter before the hurricane

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden horticulture staff move large potted plants inside before the hurricane.

About Jonah Holland

Jonah Holland is Digital Content Manager at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, where she has worked for 14 years overseeing social media, the blog, and the website. She is also a mom, yogi, open water swimmer, gardener, and seeker. She's been known to go for a walk in the Garden and come back with hundreds of plant photos, completely inspired to write her next blog post.

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