Display Gardens

It took a little enlarging and a lot of White-Out, but I finally have the layout of the display gardens to share. The water garden is in the center and my plot is below and to the right, with the blue stripes (click on the diagram to enlarge it).
I don't have any dimensions because it has just been too cold to go out there and measure. The perennial bed that I worked on last spring is the long one on the left. At the top of the diagram, which is the back of the garden are the vegetable beds. They are surrounded by a thick line representing a fence. The herb bed that I have been assigned is on the left. It is split into two parts, A and B. I don't know why nor do I know yet what is planted there.

This year's theme is "The Spirit of the Gardens". Rutgers Gardens has a new director who has imbued a new spirit into the gardens. It's also supposed to reflect the spirit of the volunteers. Either way, it did nothing for me. So I turned it around to garden spirits. Fairies are what came to mind. Fairy gardens were popular in Victorian times. I will be planting a modern interpretation since I am restricted to annuals.

The one perennial I will be planting is a must-have: thyme. Thyme attracts fairies. Fairies are supposed to like roses, so I will have portulaca or moss roses. The rest of the flowers are just miniatures. Sweet alyssum, Thumbelina zinnias and miniature sunflowers. The sunflowers are supposed to be a sort of mini-forest. I even have a small gazebo planter in lieu of a regular fairy house. We are allowed space in the Floriculture greenhouses to start our seeds. The idea of starting zinnia and sunflower seeds in a greenhouse is just too funny! I always sow them directly in the gardens. Since there are official planting weekends, I suppose I will have to stifle my laughter and start my seeds inside so that I will have lovely flowers to plant in May like everyone else.

Giggle, giggle. . .