Wilmington's 'secret garden' showcases native plants
Growing up in sunny South Florida, I spent most of my early childhood exploring outside, looking under rocks, picking flowers, and catching lizards to show my reluctant mother. I was enchanted by the idea of a secret garden, and I imagined that one day I would find a big old skeleton key that would unlock a hidden door to a mysterious space filled with overgrown plants and curious animals. It doesn’t come as much of a surprise I went on to become a biologist as an adult.
There is a special place in Wilmington that aims to inspire our local youth to search for magic, whimsy, and curiosity in their own lives. DREAMS Center for Arts Education is a nonprofit dedicated to creating a culture of confidence for youth and teens, through equitable access to arts education, supported by the values of respect, family, and community. In addition to their wonderful art, music, and drama programs, they also have a lovely garden space where children work with instructor Jessi Schott to get their hands dirty and find the magic in growing things.
Jessi had a vision to create a “secret garden” space surrounding her raised beds, a special space where kids could feel nature surround them. The site has some challenges as a former City of Wilmington transportation depot with sandy, compacted soils and limited access to irrigation. NC Sea Grant and NC Cooperative Extension partnered with Jessi to create a design for the secret garden using Coastal Landscapes Initiative resources. Coastal Landscapes Initiative is a collaborative effort aimed at creating coastal landscapes that are beautiful, functional, cost-efficient, and environmentally friendly. These designs use native plants that are not only well adapted to our coastal climate but can help us protect local water quality and remain resilient in the face of coastal hazards.
The landscape design for DREAMS “secret garden” included tough, drought resistant grasses such as switchgrass and muhly grass. Inkberry hollies and dwarf palmettos provided an evergreen foundation for the garden while Yaupon hollies and sweetbay magnolias created some height. Flowering perennials such as spotted beebalm, black-eyed Susan, and an arbor (built by the arboretum carpenters) with coral honeysuckle completed the design. These drought tolerant native plants provide a host of benefits to insects and wildlife, offering cover and food to birds, nectar for pollinators and hummingbirds, and some act as host plants for moth and butterfly caterpillars.
Volunteers from North Carolina Coastal Federation, the University of North Carolina Wilmington, and Camp Lejeune helped to prepare the site and plant the shrubs, grasses, trees, and perennials on the site. Compost and mulch, generously provided by Wilmington Compost Company and Friends of the New Hanover County Arboretum, was applied to ease compaction, and add organic material to the soil.
“Creating a beautiful entrance that flows into the garden and showcases native plants will inspire visitors to pause and explore. They may find a place to relax, create, and participate, all hidden in the secret garden,” says Jessi of the completed space. For more information and resources on how you can incorporate native plants into your own secret garden, visit the Coastal Landscapes Initiative website (https://ncseagrant.ncsu.edu/coastal-landscapes/).
Amy Mead is the Area Natural Resources Agent for New Hanover, Brunswick, and Pender Counties. She can be reached at afmead@ncsu.edu or 910-798-7660. The arboretum grounds are free and open daily 8 a.m.–5 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Wilmington's 'secret garden' showcases native plants
