By Hadley Cheris, Tryon Palace Director of Facilities and Gardens
Mum may be the word as we approach our annual downtown New Bern festival featuring this vibrant fall bloom, but our Palace Gardens are filled with more than just chrysanthemums! Throughout the gardens are beautiful salvias in multiple shades, milkweed and asters galore, as well as sweetly fragrant tea olives and ginger lilies. Fall is a great time to add to your gardens at home as well, after a break from the heat of summer. The cooler temps allow for easier transplanting and make fall a perfect season to plant trees and shrubs that are “water hogs” in spring.
My favorite way to renew my garden planting mood is our Tryon Palace Fall Plant Sale, Friday and Saturday, October 13 & 14, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 pm. We’ll have our tried-and-true herb and winter annual varieties, as well as ENC adapted shrubs and trees! There will be TONS of Tryon Palace grown perennial varieties that you can’t find anywhere else, so come early to get your favorites. Our garden staff will be available to answer questions and help guide you on the best options for your yard. My top perennials favorites for this year are Kostelytzkya virginica, or Seashore Mallow, a lovely mid-size pink bloomer that does well in wet and brackish sites – perfect for anyone living near the rivers or coast; and Salvia x Maraschino, or Maraschino Bush Sage, a red blooming semi-woody salvia that attracts copious amounts of hummingbirds and other pollinators!
Don’t forget- it is also Garden Lovers’ Weekend, and the gardens will also be open with free admission, Friday through Sunday, October 13-15. Put us on your schedule for some outdoor time with family and friends! The Wilderness Garden offers a lovely spot to enjoy a nice breeze and plentiful shade for those warmer days while overlooking the South Lawn. My favorite gardens during the fall are the Hawk’s Allee pollinator prairie which is full of Black Eyed Susans and pink Rose of Sharons, and the Kitchen Garden- bursting with the bounty of summer flowers, fruits, and heirloom vegetables!
We hope to see you soon- Happy gardening!