Display Gardens for Field Day 2016

Get your questions ready

I’d like to take some time over the next couple of weeks to walk you through our Display Gardens for Field Day. As I’ve mentioned, we’ve been hard at work planning and planting these beds, to maximize their educational value. Take a few notes now, and compare this first glimpse to the mature plants you see up close and in person on Field Day. Start jotting down those questions, too—Field Day is meant to be an interactive learning experience for all of us. 

Carefree ‘Little Ruby’

In this bed we’re showcasing some foliage options for those who are worried about blooms and can’t always attend to flowers. This is ‘Little Ruby’ alternanthera paired with coleus.

We have the same coleus in another bed in full shade and we wanted to show the color variation from full sun to full shade. People don’t think of coleus as a sun plant, so we’re trying to show how it looks in the sun.

Not a rose, but Zinnia ‘Uproar Rose’

Behind the foliage is Zinnia ‘Uproar Rose’, which will get up above our waists in a couple of weeks. We like this plant because it provides a rose look—not just the rosy color but the actual look of a rose—without the headache of having a rose, plus it blooms when roses don’t. It makes a great background, especially for large beds because it gets massive; this is a big plant that really fills a space.  

One of many gardens to view

Field Day is Tuesday, August 23rd and we have our schedule in place. This year the main event will be our garden tour with an extended discussion of the material in our display beds. In lieu of speakers, I will be leading the tour—and I’m looking forward to doing what I like to do most: walking around talking about flowers.

Here is this year’s itinerary:

LANDSCAPE

9:30AM—Registration at Diefenbacher Greenhouses

10:00AM—Garden Tour

11:30AM—Lunch

RETAIL

12:30PM—Registration at Diefenbacher Greenhouses

12:30PM—Lunch

1:15PM—Garden Tour

Each tour will take approximately 1 to 1-1/2 hours. We’ll break for lunch from 11:30–12:30, with plenty of tables and chairs available so we can all eat, relax, and recharge. Our local favorite—the Wicked Hickory food truck—will be on site with some mouth-watering barbecue to help us refuel. You can check out their menu here: www.facebook.com/wickedhickory

There will be a $5.00 fee to attend Field Day—that includes lunch. Once again we will be distributing our Display Garden Planner to all attendees for easy note taking. Just bring yourself, and wear comfortable walking shoes. Field Day will take place rain or shine!