• This is a past event. We will update next upcoming event details as soon as they are available.

A Terrarium Garden is a unique creation that adds a dose of the great outdoors to any room or space, and during this special workshop, visitors will learn all about how to craft one of these glass-enclosed mini landscapes through the guidance of the experts at the Elizabethan Gardens.

A Terrarium is traditionally a decorative glass container that’s carefully filled with soil and delicate plants to create a gorgeous scene of greenery that can be enjoyed in virtually any corner of the home or office. At the two-hour Terrarium Garden Workshop, visitors will learn how to create this unique environment for plant growth, with guidance on all the steps required to create a terrarium provided by the Elizabethan Garden’s own Greenhouse Manager. The cost for the class is $50 for members and $65 for not-yet members, and the workshop is limited to just eight people, which will ensure plenty of time for questions and hands-on learning. A fun event that will entice gardeners of all skill levels, this workshop teaches a new skill and allows visitors to return home with a unique little terrarium to call their own. Advanced registration is required, and interested visitors can call 252.473.3234 to join in the fun.

Ben Franklin

Ben Franklin

Stop by Nags Head's Ben Franklin at Mile Post 10 on the Bypass where you will find everything you need for the beach! From Clothing, T-shirts and Swimwear to Boards, Chairs, Umbrellas and Tackle. You'll find it all…and of course, we have the best selection of Souvenirs anywhere on the Outer Banks. Enjoy your vacation! Independently owned by a member of one of the Outer Banks’ oldest families, the Ben Franklin store is stocked with just about everything a visitor would need to go to the beach.

 

Ben Franklin stores were once part of a five-and-dime retail empire, with about 2,500 locations across the country in its heyday. As decades passed and the times and customers began to change, many closed their doors, leading to fewer than 150 of these nostalgic shops. Nags Head Ben Franklin, however, has withstood the test of time and adapted to the needs of its customers to provide a memorable shopping experience on the Outer Banks.

 

Debbie Terry Tolson, manager of the Ben Franklin location in Nags Head, recalls working with former owner Tommie Daniels. Daniels’ father, Moncie Daniels, started the business in downtown Manteo in the early 1900s. The Daniels family has been a longstanding fixture in the Outer Banks business community—Moncie even sold gas to the Wright brothers in 1903.

 

Tommie, with an excellent business mind, saw the opportunity the new Bypass presented and, in 1977, he opened the Nags Head location of Ben Franklin. He was one of the first businesses on the Bypass,” Tolson says.In addition to a new location, the Ben Franklin store saw a new group of customers.

 

“People would come from all around because Tommie had a little bit of everything—it was more like a five and 10 then,” Tolson explains. “As he went to the beach, he began to get more tourists, so he started catering more and more to visitors.”

 

Today, the 21,000-square-foot souvenir shop quickly catches the attention of anyone driving by thanks to the ocean-themed mural that decorates the façade of the building, painted by local artist Rob Snyder. This Ben Franklin location has become the must-stop shop for both first-time visitors to the area and generations of families who escape to the Outer Banks annually.

 

Tolson credits the great prices and friendly customer service to the success of the location, which keeps families returning.“People come in all the time and tell me, ‘my grandmother or my grandfather used to bring me here and now I’m bringing my children,’” she shares. “One of my favorite parts about working here is seeing the people come back year after year.”