Plant America's Anniversary Garden

28 September 2005

Virginia Cooperative Extension, Charlottesville/Albemarle County Office
460 Stagecoach Road, Charlottesville, Virginia 22902
phone: 434.872.4580   fax: 434.872.4578

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In 2007, Virginia will mark the 400th anniversary of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. The 18-month-long commemoration begins in May 2006 and will feature educational programs, cultural events, fairs, and various live and broadcast entertainments sponsored by Virginia and cities and towns across the commonwealth. See the America's 400th Anniversary website at www.americasanniversary.com for information about this salute to America's birthplace. Communities and citizens also will be improving their streets, parks, schools, businesses, and gardens as part of the commemoration.

A Statewide Garden Theme

Virginia Cooperative Extension has developed the America's Anniversary Garden to help individuals, communities, and groups mark America's 400th Anniversary with a signature garden planting. The signature gardens will have red, white, and blue color schemes. All across Virginia, city and town entrance corridors, public gardens, sidewalk containers, hanging baskets, residential lawns, and other forms of gardens and landscapes will display the colorful theme in 2006 and 2007. Every Virginian can have an anniversary garden. Some will be large and some as small as potted plants on a balcony. This article is the first in an occasional series to guide gardeners - new and experienced - in developing their anniversary gardens.

Garden Design

This article features two designs, one for a 30-inch-wide container and one for an 8-foot-by-10-foot landscape area. Both are for full-sun locations. The selected plants - annuals, perennials, shrubs, and trees - all have at least one red, white, or blue feature. If these plants are unavailable, use substitutions from the plant charts, or suggestions from your local garden retailer or Extension agent. Always select plants that are well-adapted to conditions of individual planting sites.

Artwork by Elizabeth Maurer

Figure 1 is the design for a 30-inch-wide container located in full sun. It is an example of a red, white, and blue combination of easy-care annuals used to create an America's Anniversary Garden.

Figure 2 is the America's Anniversary Garden design for a full-sun, 8-foot-by-10-foot garden bed or landscape area using a small tree, shrubs, perennials, and annuals. Each has at least one red, white, or blue feature.

The letters on the designs correspond to the codes on the suggested plants list below. Use the table to identify substitute plants as needed due to availability or personal preference.

The America's Anniversary Garden website at www.ext.vt.edu/americasgarden has additional container and landscape designs, photos, and plant information.

Suggested Plant Selections for America's Anniversary Garden

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Contact your local Virginia Cooperative Extension office and speak with an Extension Agent or Master Gardener volunteer for more advice and information on lawn and landscape topics. The local Virginia Cooperative Extension office numbers are Albemarle 872-4580, Fluvanna 591-1950, Greene 985-5236, Louisa 540-967-3422, and Nelson 263-4035.