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Local Nonprofit Chosen To Create Garden For National Exhibit

Staff from The Paul J. Ciener Botanical Garden created this display at the U.S. Botanic Garden. It's one of three North Carolina gardens selected to participate in the national exhibit. Photo credit: Adrienne Roethling

The Paul J. Ciener Botanical Garden in Kernersville is part of a national exhibit in Washington, D.C.

It's called Gardens Across America and features 21 public gardens across the country.

The nonprofit was selected to create a replica of their local space, or what they call a vignette. It showcases several plants, fruits, and vegetables that can be found in the state. There's even a section of colorful flowering tobacco plants.

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Adrienne Roethling and John Whisnant check on plants at the Kernersville garden. KERI BROWN/WFDD

“One thing that we learned when we went to install our garden in May, we realized the other gardens that were selected, and so it really does showcase the amount of diversity North America has in their plant palette,” says Adrienne Roethling, garden curator.

John Whisnant, executive director of The Paul J. Ciener Botanical Garden, says they hope it will inspire more people to create their own edible landscapes.

“We are also hoping that because most of the plantings in our garden will be readily recognized by the general public that that will make it very accessible, and so people won't be intimidated by the idea of gardening or horticulture," he says. “We are just so honored and proud to be able to represent some of the finest features of gardening in America.”

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The planting process in May at the U.S. Botanic Garden. Photo credit: Adrienne Roethling

Two other North Carolina gardens were also chosen to be part of the national exhibit on the Capitol grounds: the North Carolina Botanical Garden in Chapel Hill and the Sarah P. Duke Gardens.

The public can view the displays through October 1.

    *You can follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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