This year, I had the pleasure of chairing the Raleigh Garden Club for the NC State Fair theme garden entry. There are always several themes to choose from; each year, the themes change. For 2010, our club choose Winter Interest Garden.
To compete, we followed NC State Fair Premium Book which includes, everything you need to enter a competition.
The Winter Interest Garden garden description for the 2010 State Fair Premium Book stated, “A garden ready for an early snowfall featuring evergreen plants, shrubs, and trees and the bones of the garden with distinctive colors, forms, bark, twigs, and fruit.”
The Club’s choice was plot #8; a location firmly planted in the shade. We could have selected plants for the 10 day event that pushed my mantra, right plant, right place and planted sun loving plants…ones we knew would address the the color component of our guidelines; but we choose to make this educational as well. After all, a large part of what the Raleigh Garden Club does is to teach others about gardening.
A Restful Day in the Winter Garden
Designed and Installed by
The Raleigh Garden Club
With assistance from:
Pender Nursery, Inc. (Wholesale)
- A Restful Day in the Winter Garden
Native mosses hug the sweet earth, following her curves, complementing the plants of the shady, winter garden.
In the Piedmont region of North Carolina, we are blessed with weather to garden year ‘round. The Piedmont also has hardy zones allowing for a wide range of plant selections, providing interest even in the winter with texture, scent and flowers.
Our backyard garden is ready for an early snowfall with food and water available for the birds, as well as, cover for the wildlife to wait out the storm.
Reds and greens echo throughout the design.
The birds can alight the feeder and sip water or take a bath from the in-ground birdbath.
The bog garden (a wet, spongy, acidic area composed chiefly of peat moss as the substrate) supports a wide variety of acid loving plants, such at the Lovebug Picture Plant featured.
The paths lead the visitor to the bench to enjoy a view from within the garden. Reed fencing was used to hide the three neighbors’ mis-matched designs into one uniform look.
Come, sit a spell, in this restful winter garden…in the quiet before the snowfall.
Before - our 17.5' x 16' space
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- Plot #8 with the patio installed
- We used a reed fencing for a back drop. This can be purchased at places like Plow and Hearth. The containers add color to our winter garden as does the use of cranberries for “mulch.”
- Water features are very popular in fair gardens. We choose a bog for ours and thought it worked well in our overall design.
- The patio with Broom Moss in the cracks lined with Ajuga ‘Chocolate Chip’
'Aztec' with White Cushion Moss
Our garden BEFORE moss
After the hardscape and major plantings were installed, we met with David Spain from the Moss Farm to use moss in our final design. The Moss Farm graciously lent us the moss to complete our design.
The Raleigh Garden 2010 State Fair Garden final design
| 2010 Plant List | |
| Botanical Name | Common Name |
| Acer japonicum | Japanese maple |
| Ajuga reptans ‘Chocolate Chip’ | Chocolate Chip Ajuga |
| Arachniodes simplicior ‘Variegata’ | Variegated Holly Fern |
| Aucuba japonica ‘Picturata’ | Picturata Aucuba |
| Betula nigra ‘Heritage’ | Heritage River Birch |
| Cephalotaxus harringtonia ‘Prostrata’ | Creeping Plum Yew |
| Cryptomeria globosa ‘Nana’ | Globe Dwarf Cryptomeria |
| Cyrtomium falcatum ‘Rochfordianum’ | Japanese Holly Fern |
| Dryopteris erythrosora | Autumn Fern |
| Elaeagnus x ebbingei ‘Variegata’ | Variegated Elaeagnus |
| Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Diane’ | Diane Witchhazel |
| Helleborus ‘Ivory Prince’ | Ivory Prince Hellebore |
| Heuchera micrantha ‘Palace Purple’ | Palace Purple Coral Bells |
| IIex crenata ‘Steeds’ | Steeds Japanese Holly |
| Ilex x oakland | Red Holly |
| Loropetalum ‘Emerald Snow’ | Emerald Snow Loropetalum |
| Loropetalum chinense var. ‘Purple Diamond’ | Purple Diamond Loropetalum |
| Mahonia eurybracteata ‘Soft Caress’ | Smooth Leaf Mahonia |
| Mahonia x media ‘Charity’ | Charity Oregon Grape |
| Ophiopogon japonicus ‘Nana’ | Mondo Grass |
| Ophipogon jaburan ‘Aztec Grass’ | Aztec Grass |
| Rohdea japonica | Nippon Lily, Sacred Lily |
| Sarcococca confusa | Sweet Box |
| Schizophragma hydrangeoides ‘Moonlight’ | Moonlight Hydrangea Vine |
| Selaginells pallescens | Arborvitae Fern |
| Hedera helix ‘Anne Marie’ | Variegated Ivy |
| Viola tricolor hortensis | Pansies |
| BOG GARDEN | |
| Acorus gramineus ‘Ogon’ | Ogon Sweet Flag |
| Dichromena latifolia | White Star Grass |
| Iris ensata ‘Variegata’ | Variegated Water Iris |
| Sarracenia ‘Lovebug’ | Lovebug Pitcher Plant |
| Schoenoplectus lacustris subsp. tabernaemontani ‘Zebrinus’ | Zebra Rush |
| MOSSES | |
| Dicranium scoparium | Broom Moss |
| Leucobryum glaucum | White Cushion Moss |
| Polytrichum commune | Haircap Moss |
| Thuidium delicatulum | Fern Moss |
| LICHEN | |
| Cladonia rangiferina | Reindeer Moss |
Reindeer moss (Lichen)
Fern Moss
White Cushion Moss
Because there are several criteria that must be met, like any type of competition, Is must be dotted and Ts must be crossed. This is where working as a team makes the process a little easier. Members with specific talents raised their hands to help. C.J. Dykes and I did the design, Ginny Parker kept us abreast of the rules and regulations, Marcy Hege was our editor and offered her talents in creating the board, Paulette Van deZande provided home cooked food to the install team, Verna Medeiros made sure all the plants and accents coming from various locations, arrived during the install day. Also, March Hege and Ginny Parker made sure the garden was watered during the fair and Melanie Kelley lead the tear down team and plant sale. Then, of course, each of these leaders had many helping hands. Everyone deserves a pat on their backs for a job well done.
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