Welcome to the Fitzgerald Teaching Garden! 

 

Food is expensive - fresh, healthy options  even more so. Families frequently are forced to choose quantity (filling up bellies) over quality (healthier, nutrient-rich options). This teaching garden provides community education experiences around a variety of topics, including growing food at home; the health benefits of eating fresh, organically grown, whole foods; native plants and regional growing and harvest times; and more. 

 

• As you cross the bridge, notice the monument sign honoring the garden’s namesake, Clyde W. Fitzgerald, Jr., who served as CEO for Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC for 10 years following 26 years of volunteer service, including three terms as Board Chair.

 

• On either side of the pathway, you can see a range of native landscape plants including Rudbeckia, Joe Pye Weed, Carolina Allspice, Pink Muhly Grass, Indian Grass, Red Trig Dogwood, and more.
   

• In the center of the pathways is the Pollinator Garden, featuring host and nectar plants for our pollinators. Host plants include Milkweed, Rue, Golden alexanders Smooth Aster, Columbine False Indigo, and Pussytoes for the American Lady butterfly, Monarch butterfly, Queen butterfly, Black Swallowtail butterfly, Pearl Crescent, Frosted Elfin and Ozark Swallowtail butterfly. Host plants are the only plants these butterflies will lay their eggs on and the only food for their caterpillars.
   

• Proceeding up the path, notice the Cherokee Princess Dogwood in the center of the circle. It is surrounded by a wide variety of native plants.
   

• To the right is the Vegetable Garden with nine raised garden beds. Each bed has its own theme or style of gardening to demonstrate a variety of planting approaches; each different and successful.
   

• In the first row from left to right is the Salsa Garden with plants you can use to make your own salsa at home; the Culinary Garden, managed by our culinary students for use in the training kitchen; and the Garden Revolution Bed, with interplanting (plantings of two or three different plants together to take advantage of available space).
   

• In the second row is the Farm Garden with rows of plants typically planted on a farm; the Square Foot Garden, demonstrating this approach to spacing plants to maximize production; and a Sunflower Garden with several different types of sunflowers.
   

• In the last row is the Three Sisters Garden, demonstrating an ancient companion planting method that originated with Native American tribes, who planted corn, beans, and squash together for mutual benefit; a Comparison Kitchen Garden showing different ways of growing vegetables, including vertically; and a Victory Garden demonstrating this type of garden, which began during World War I.
   

• Exiting the raised garden beds you will see the Bee Garden, which has several flowers and plants that attract different species of bees to pollinate.
   

• To the left you can visit the Herb Garden. This garden shows different containers that can be used in growing herbs at home. Examples range from inexpensive fabric pots to large metal troughs. The herbs are used by our culinary students during classes.
   

• The pavilion provides a shaded are for visitors to The Fitzgerald Teaching Garden and associated workshops and classes.
   

• Following the path, to the right you will see a native honeysuckle plant in the corner next to our Little Free Library, as you enter the Table Bed Garden area. These waist height garden beds were custom made to allow ready access to the garden for everyone.
   

• Each table bed has its own theme and style. From left to right: The Rainbow Garden features a rainbow of vegetables, including carrots, radishes, and cauliflower. The Smoothie Bed has fruits and vegetables that can be great to use in a healthy smoothie. The Asparagus and Strawberry Bed is full these excellent companion plants. Asparagus grow up between the strawberries while the strawberries provide shade and don’t disturb the roots of the asparagus. The Roots and Shoots Bed is a space for vegetables that have edible roots and/or shoots, such as carrots, radishes, lettuce, and kale.
   

• The center section includes three more raised garden beds. From left to right: The Kids at Heart Garden is for kids of all ages to taste and enjoy smaller, familiar fruits and vegetables. The Sensory Garden does not have any plants but offers  a space for visitors to use their hands and senses experience the soil and its benefits. The Plant Parts We Eat Garden offers the opportunity to taste roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruit, and seeds.
   

• The next set of table beds includes the Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt Garden, featuring, as you would expect, vegetables that grow in the soil and those that grow above ground. The Medicinal Tea Garden features plants that are great for teas including rue, lemon grass, echinacea, heal all, and lemon balm. The Salad Garden has vegetables typically found in a salad, including micro greens and tomatoes. The Food Lion Feeds Garden features a wide range of vegetables selected and planted by Food Lion Volunteers.  

 

For more information about available workshops and activities, contact

Beth Sarmiento, Food Bank Garden Manager.

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