Gov. Beverly Perdue says she is trying to set a good example by growing a garden on the grounds of the Executive Mansion.

"I'm not the best gardener in the world," Perdue confessed to a conference today at N.C. State University designed to encourage the consumption of more North Carolina-grown food, reports Rob Christensen.

Perdue doesn't have to be an expert gardener. Prison trustees assigned to the mansion in downtown Raleigh do most of the work in growing lettuce, cabbage and other foods.

But Perdue said she helped pick some strawberries from the garden last week.