GARDENING EXHIBITS AND INFORMATION
At PlantFest, children and adults will find interesting and helpful exhibits about plants and gardening. (See the Kids’ Activities page for details about children’s tables. See the Art Table page for information about our wonderful art and craft sale!)
A map of PlantFest is here.
Welcome Booths
When you arrive at PlantFest, stop by one of our welcome booths. You can see maps of PlantFest, pick up gardening information and talk to friendly Master Gardener volunteers.
Beautiful, Essential, Endangered (B.E.E.) Friendly Garden
Make your garden buzz with life! At the B.E.E. Friendly Garden booth, you can discover how native plants bring beauty while supporting pollinators, birds, and wildlife. Even a small space can become a thriving mini-habitat.
Volunteers will share:
Information on the best native plants for sun, shade, and tough spots.
Tips for attracting hummingbirds, fireflies, and butterflies.
“Leave the Leaves” guidance for healthier soil and overwintering insects.
A brand-new Pollinator Corridor map to connect our green spaces.
A choice of three ecological pledges you can make this year.
Bulbs: Year-round Bulb Culture
At the bulb booth, you can find out about bulbs to grow in every season. Volunteers will help you learn about bulb selection and planting and how to care for bulbs in every season. You’ll also learn how to manage bulbs to help them bloom after the first year.
The booth will have illustrations of the life cycle of a bulb and links to helpful information about growing and caring for bulbs.
Community Seed Library
At our Community Seed Library booth, volunteers can help you select free packets of seeds. We’ll offer:
1. Seeds for native plants that nourish the ecosystem. Their stems, left standing, provide bee habitat. You’ll find QR codes that will lead to Plant Toolbox descriptions of the plants, information on why native plants are important, and information on stems as bee habitat.
2. Seeds for cool-season vegetables to plant now and harvest in winter. You’ll find information on when to plant and harvest these vegetables.
Green Thumb Station
At the plant sale, Master Gardener volunteers will be on hand to answer questions about the plants that we’re selling and to help you with selection.
Inside the Hive
Learn about the lives of honeybees and the work that they do. No live bees will be present.
Invasive Plants
Invasive plants pose a great threat to North Carolina’s native plants and animals. You can learn to recognize common invasive species that displace native plants and disrupt the ecosystems that depend on them. Volunteers will help explain options and strategies to manage and remove these weedy invaders.
Successful Home Gardens
Pick up a soil sample kit and learn how to collect and submit soil for testing. We’ll also offer guidance on planting vegetables, pruning, composting and fertilizing. Volunteers will answer questions and will provide handouts or links to online information.
Tool Sharpening
You can bring up to two hand gardening tools from home to get them sharpened. Volunteers will show you how to use whetstones, files, and diamond stones to sharpen your tools. You will also learn about safety, cleaning, maintenance, and storage. Please return your tools to your vehicle once they’re sharpened.
Winter Sowing
Learn how to create a mini greenhouse for germinating seeds in the winter. You’ll take home a jug with soil and seeds; set up your own mini greenhouse outside this winter. You can grow flowers, herbs, grasses, and cool season vegetables. It works!
