“I love wildflowers and I am excited to help spread them in every neighborhood.”
— Regan Scott, Cape Fear Botanical Garden Instructor
Just imagine the Cumberland County community garden spaces with tangerine, periwinkle, mustard, crimson, and lavender wildflower blooms from April to September. The North Carolina Science Festival presents Family Program: Seed Balls and Wildflowers on April 27, at Cape Fear Botanical Garden, 536 N. Eastern Blvd. The workshop times are 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The topics are Life Sciences and the Environment. The event is a hands-on, indoor, and outdoor event.
“Blooming wildflowers provide a burst of color attracting pollinators, such as bees and butterflies which are responsible for one in every three bites of food we eat. Wildflowers provide a lot of benefits,” says Clay Bolt, World Wildlife photographer. ”The root systems along with other grassland plants extend deep into the soil, sharing water and nutrients while holding carbon that would otherwise be released in the air.”
According to the sites of North Carolina Wildflowers and the North Carolina Department of Transportation, North Carolina wildflowers include the Coneflower, Swamp Milkweed, Bur Marigold, Black-Eye-Susan, Fire Pink, Aster, Golden Rod, Bird Foot Violet, Butterfly Weed, and American Bell Flower.
Nakita Gill shares a poetic perspective of wildflowers, “Strong enough to rise again after being trampled upon. Tough enough to weather the worst summer storms and able to flourish in even the most broken places. This is the heart of the Wildflower.”
Seed Balls are the second activity at the North Carolina Science Festival, at Cape Fear Botanical Garden.
“Seed Balls are small clusters of seeds in a protective coating. The coating usually consists of compost, clay, and sometimes organic fertilizers,” according to GrowthRainbow.com. Seed Balls are an ancient and natural farming method for riverbed restoration, and enhancing biodiversity in urban and rural areas, according to Seed Bombs.
The Seed Ball and Wildflowers workshop is a Spring celebration.
“This workshop is a celebration of Spring with a guided tour of the garden’s wildflowers and a chance to get your hands dirty making Seed Balls two diverse ways. The workshop is a great fit for the celebration of native North Carolina Wildflowers and an opportunity for all ages and experience levels to explore the science of gardening. Persons of all ages can experience the science of nature,” shares Barbara Goldentyer, Environmental Education Manager, Cape Fear Botanical Garden.
Let's go wild for wildflowers at the Cape Fear Botanical Garden on April 27.
The $15 admission fee is required online at https://ncsciencefestival.org/events/family-program-seedballs-and-wildflowers and www.capefearbg.org/event/family-program-seed-balls-and-wildflowers. For more information call Cape Fear Botanical Garden at 910-486-0221, Extension 43.