Flower Show, NC State Fair 2015

10 years ago

For those of you that did not make it out to the fair this year. I'm posting a few photos of the flower show and my display garden. The theme was "shade" and I went with a Cool, Green and Shady vibe with basically no flowers, lots of texture and an old patio umbrella skeleton turned into a vine arbor. There are two main areas at the fair where home gardeners compete with each other - the Flower Show and the Horticulture Show. The first is focused on flowers and foliage and herbs and the second is geared towards home grown fruits and veggies. It costs nothing to enter except your time and you can win quite a bit of prize money - and its always fun to catch up with fellow gardeners during the fair.

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trianglejohn
Original Author

10 years ago

Hi Dottie - the stockade fence is there, the sod is donated, electricity is provided. You have to level off and weed the site (I start in May, many others start in Sept), come up with a plan and then build everything from there. I had the old wooden fence panels at home along with the fire ring and old wooden chairs. I had a dead patio umbrella ready to haul to the dump and thought it might make a good arbor. All of the plants featured were things I have on hand (many of them get used over and over each year for my fair gardens) except one Fatsia that you can't see in any of these photos. Since the fair is in October and most of the garden sites are in the shade it can be hard to keep plants perky that late in the year. Most gardeners drop in their plants at the last minute for these reasons. There is also a problem of the large oak trees dropping branches, leaves and acorns down onto your garden which ruins any large leaves (my elephant ears always get torn up during the fair). Most of the gardens are installed by groups or families, I tend to do mine by myself so this year I tried to keep things simple and easy to break down.

The vine is a rare one in this area - Port St. John's Creeper or Podranea ricosoliana. A nice pink trumpet vine that is normally only hardy to zone 9. Mine tends to die back to the ground each winter but come back (this is a good thing for a rampant growing vine). Every year it is in full bloom in October but not this year. For some reason it never formed a single bud.

This is a metal umbrella frame and the biggest issue with it was that once you rip off the fabric it loses its stability and falls apart. I spent days wiring it back together at home only to have it fall apart again during transport to the fair grounds. I didn't keep it when the fair was over, I have another spot to grow the vine and didn't want to deal with the umbrella again.

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Comments (7)

dottiecarrano
10 years ago
Stunning, remarkably creative.. John did you have to provide all the fence and post elements as well as the turf? Tell us more about the vine arbor. Is that something you developed at your property and used it as the focal point? Is that wisteria on it?

From the previous photos I see that fencing is used to divide plots. The Adirondack chairs with a sprinkling of Autumn leaves is perfection as is the color/tone choice of earthy red cushions.

You give us so many great ideas for possibilities. Thanks and glad to see you back posting.
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Sabji garden (7b), Raleigh NC
10 years ago
John,

That is amazing. Tranquil and inviting.

The vine adds a wonderful perspective.

THE Cannas ( or is it turmeric?) in the back and Jamaican sorrel and mother in law's tongue to the left, the Elephant ear in the middle, Lemon grass and gingers to the right, ... Hmmn, I just need to fire the pit, curl up with a book and relax.....
trianglejohn
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks Sadji - there was evidence that fair goers stepped across the security ropes and posed for photos sitting in the chairs (trampled grass trails from the front date to the chairs). That is Turmeric in the back, I tend to use it a lot for my fair gardens because it holds up til a hard freeze. Most other large leaved plants go down hill after Sept.
Sabji garden (7b), Raleigh NC
10 years ago
John,

when is a good time to harvest turmeric? I brought my ginger, galangal and turmeric pots in the garage along with the other pots.
trianglejohn
Original Author
10 years ago
I have mine all lined up beside the greenhouse waiting until I have time to dig them out of their pots and clean them. You can just leave them in the pots and dig them as you need them but you'll need to let them dry out and keep them cool. If they get too warm they'll start to sprout and often rot since there isn't enough light or warmth. I've kept them in the basement and in the greenhouse and they seem to get bigger over the winter even though they don't have any leaves. The leaves on my turmeric are just now starting to turn yellow, so they can be cut back and dried out anytime now.
dottiecarrano
10 years ago
Well, I think the oak leaves that the surrounding trees donated add so much to the scene to make it look normal.