Gardens & Arboretums

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Gardens In The Piedmont

Spring in the piedmont leaves no doubt why the dogwood is the state flower of North Carolina. The hearty clay soil here nourishes most anything that blossoms. Meanwhile, the temperature and climate create a hospitable home for flora and fauna, as well as for the land’s famed golden-leafed tobacco. Across this low, rolling plain, the sheer number of sumptuous gardens is a testament to generous fertility.

Become acquainted with the state’s signature gardens, regional treasures and smaller gardens of note.

Asheboro
North Carolina Zoological Park – Re-created natural habitats in this outstanding zoo offer a glimpse of botanical life from the arctic to the tropics. 800-488-0444

Belmont
Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden – A painterly display of colors in the vast Perennial Garden, Four Seasons Garden and more. 704-825-4490

Chapel Hill
North Carolina Botanical Garden and Coker Arboretum – Nearly 600 acres featuring the states native plants in a variety of collections. 919-962-0522 

Charlotte
Hezekiah Alexander Homesite – 18th century-style herb and weavers gardens on the grounds of the Revolutionary War era home that is Mecklenburg County’s oldest surviving structure. 704-568-1774

UNC-Charlotte Botanical Gardens – Outstanding indoor and outdoor environments offering year-round pleasure. 704-687-2364

Wing Haven Garden & Bird Sanctuary – Formal gardens and natural areas create a serene environment for birds and other visitors. 704-331-0664

Clemmons
Tanglewood Park – An Arboretum and Fragrance Garden with new and historical native cultivars as well as a large AARS-accredited Rose Garden with over 800 bushes and 75 varieties. 336-778-6300 

Concord
Historic Mill Hill Plantation Gardens – Period-style gardens including a formal garden, white garden, secret garden and Anglo-Chinese garden and more, complementing a historical plantation home. 704-786-3990

Memorial Garden – A multitude of azaleas, dogwoods, magnificent flowering cherries and 14,000 tulips entwined through the 200-year-old cemetery of the First Presbyterian Church. 704-782-6106

Davidson
Davidson College Arboretum – A major collection of woody plants and magnificent trees beautify this classical campus. 704-892-2000

Durham
Magic Wings Butterfly House of the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science – Exotic butterflies and their tropical habitats. 919-220-5429

The Sarah P. Duke Gardens – Landscaped on the campus of Duke University. 919-684-3698

Fayettville
Cape Fear Botanical Garden – Old growth forest and lush flowers and plants at the confluence of the Cape Fear and Cross Creek Rivers. 910-486-0221

Fremont
Charles B. Aycock Birthplace – Seasonal vegetables, flowers and herbs intermingled in a typical 19th century kitchen garden. 919-242-5581

Greensboro
Gethsemane Gardens and Nursery – Spectacular mass plantings of bulbs, annuals and perennials, flowering trees and shrubs, and an extensive collection of woody plants. 336-373-2199 

Halifax
Historical Halifax – Medicinal, repellant, tea, fragrance, craft and cooking herb beds typical of the late 1700’s located at the rear of the Eagle Tavern, circa 1790. 252-583-7191

Pinehurst
Sandhills Horticultural Gardens – 27 acres of richly varied gardens on the Sandhills Community College campus. 910-695-3882 

Pittsboro
Fearrington Gardens – Formal perennial gardens, kitchen and herb gardens, three cutting gardens, white fragrant garden all yielding delightful displays of color. 919-542-4000

Raleigh
Ellen Mordecai Garden – Antebellum kitchen garden faithfully re-created from first-hand descriptions, with seasonal vegetables and culinary and medicinal herbs, surrounded by flowers. 919-834-4844

The JC Raulston Arboretum at NC State University – A model for excellence with the nation’s most effective plant introduction program. 919-515-3132

Joel Lane Museum House – Beautiful period gardens found at Wake County’s oldest existing dwelling which include a formal garden and culinary and medicinal herb garden. 919-833-3431

The Martha Franck Fragrance Garden at the Governor Morehead School for the Blind – A new and emerging garden providing a sensory experience employing scent, sound and touch for sighted and visually-impaired persons. 919-834-0686

Martin Luther King Memorial Gardens – Over 8,000 flowers surround a life-sized statue of King and two-ton granite water monument honors 25 pioneers in civil rights and education. 919-834-6264

North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences – Home to live monarch butterflies and ruby-throated hummingbirds, the Living Conservatory re-creates a dry tropical forest complete with cacti, heliconias, orchids and dazzling red-hot lips. 919-733-7450

Plant Delights Nursery at Juniper Level Botanical Gardens – Over 6,000 different plants aesthetically displayed in rock, aquatic, desert, shade and grotto gardens and extensive mixed borders. 919-772-4794

Raleigh Municipal Rose Garden – Over 60 varieties including hybrid teas, florabundas, grandifloras, English roses, miniatures, tree roses and climbers. 919-821-4579

Red Springs
Flora Macdonald Gardens – Breathtaking vistas of color punctuate informal botanical gardens with their vast display of azaleas and native flora and fauna. 910-843-5000

Salisbury
Elizabeth Holmes Hurley Park – Wildflower and azalea gardens, woodlands, streams and quiet pathways over 16 acres providing a haven for wildlife. 704-638-4459

Hamlin Sensory Garden at the Waterworks Visual Arts Center – Highly fragrant blossoms and a lush variety of textures. 704-636-1882




Wilson
The Wilson Rose Garden – A unique public rose garden with over 1,000 plants blooming from mid-April through October and boasting rare Old Garden Roses and the latest All-American Rose Selections. 252-399-2261 

Winston-Salem
Bethabara Community Garden and Hortus Medicus (Medical Garden) – Well-documented colonial community and medical gardens. 336-924-8191

Old Salem – The best documented restored community gardens in America, in a 1766 Moravian village. 1-888-OLD-SALEM

Reynolda Gardens of Wake Forest University – An early 20th century formal garden designed by Thomas W. Sears, surrounded by open fields and forests. 336-758-5593 

added: March 16, 2009

updated: March 16, 2009