In plants this is a delicate matter that isn't always successful. Some transplants can't take the shock of being uprooted. Others make it through that phase, but never take to their new environment and may wither over time. It is the rare plant that can immediately put down roots in its new garden.

Age matters! Young root systems can be replanted intact by digging only a small ball of soil with little root disturbance. Older plants, however, often go into extremis as the shovel breaks ground and inevitably shears off some of the long-established roots below the surface.

And so it is with people. We are linked to others in our community and nurtured by our extended families. The longer we stay in one place the deeper our roots go down into the rich soil of our lives and tie us to that place. Therefore with great trepidation the long taproot of my New York and New Jersey life was tugged from the ground and set out anew in the garden of Chapel Hill.

We had lived in the same New Jersey town for 35 years, raising a family in the fast blur of child rearing and commuting to a career in advertising in New York. While the roots went deep, even back across the river to my birthplace in Brooklyn, I still sometimes felt I was not yet in full flower, frustrated by the lack of personal time to fulfill my interests in gardening and yet-to-be discovered creative endeavors.

So when my husband and I decided to move to Chapel Hill, primarily to be close to at least one of our children and three granddaughters, I was excited at the prospect of being a grandmother who really could be part of her granddaughters' lives. But, the tug of the taproot was strong; especially late at night in New Jersey when thoughts of being planted in the "foreign" earth of the South induced great anxiety.

And so we came to the new land with hopes of embracing the differences and with the comfort of family close by. The great surprise turned out to be manifold. Building our home in a new community where everyone was also fresh to this neighborhood brought the pleasure of newfound friendships. So, our roots began to settle in by social interaction.

Now, I find myself a 'poster child' for the greater Chapel Hill area. My interests, like gardening, have come to fruition with the array of public gardens, lectures, courses and fine nurseries within the Triangle; including the master gardener course I've now completed. Educational opportunities to stimulate every possible leaning are at your fingertips here in this dual university world of UNC and Duke. There are also the sophisticated choices in the world of entertainment and fine dining in the area, especially with the newest addition of Durham Performing Arts Center. Add to that the very special people of the area, openly friendly and sparkling with intelligence, whom you casually meet while perhaps touring the Coker Arboretum, strolling on Franklin Street, attending a lecture on Broadway musicals of the '50s or taking a memoir writing class at The Friday Center or Duke's "OLLI," the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.

So, while I may be grafted on top of my Brooklyn rootstock, I'm firmly planted in Chapel Hill now, flourishing as a hybrid that feels like a stronger version of myself above the surface now in full bloom.