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alanrocks

Gardens in Virginia & North Carolina

alanrocks
22 years ago

The family will be vacationing in a region between the southern half of Virginia and the northern half of North Carolina in early June. (From Ashboro to Nags Head, NC and as far north as Richmond, VA...) I have visited the excellent NC Botanical Gardens not too far from Chapel Hill, but am interested in visiting other places, too. Any recommendations? I hear Biltmore has some nice gardens, but I'm not sure I want to spend $30+ to visit. I will not be in the D.C. area, so I won't visit anything there.

Comment (1)

  • madgardenr
    22 years ago

    I'd seriously consider the Biltmore Estate if you can manage it. I think most visitors probably stick to the more manicured and formally planted areas near the house, but what's really staggering is the larger semi-forested area a bit farther away. Frederick Law Olmstead, a famous American landscape architect, was responsible for designing both areas; the transition is almost seamless, and there are amazing plantings in the "wilder" area - katsura trees, Japanese maples, woodland shrubs, all grown into magnificent specimens by now. I'm a landscape designer and while I enjoyed the garden tour we took with one of the docents, by far the most wonderful part of the visit was the other parts of the property open to the public. (Yes, we did tour the house and it's eye-popping in its own way, but I'll take the gardens any day).

    If you are near the J.C. Raulston Arboretum (I'm sure it has a Website), which is part of NCS University, GO. Raulston was a consummate plant breeder who generously shared new plant material with many other enthusiasts in order to speed their possible introduction into commerce. The Arboretum has many specimens of fabulous trees and shrubs, and a famous perennial border designed years ago by Elizabeth Lawrence and renovated more recently by Edith Eddleston (who lives nearby).

    The other garden that would be wonderful to see if you can arrange it is Nancy Goodwin's estate, Montrose, in the Chapel Hill/Durham vicinity. It isn't a public garden, per se, but she does offer group tours on certain days of the week that you can sign up for in advance. It is an unbelievable place.

    I saw Montrose and the Raulston Arboretum (also the Duke University Arboretum) on a 3-day tour of N.C. area gardens I took a couple of springs ago with a DC-based garden tour organization. That's probably not an option for you and your family, but if you want details on contacting Nancy Goodwin, e-mail me and I can put you in touch with the woman who runs the tour group - I'm sure she'd be glad to share the information.

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