New Membership Tiers

We’ve updated the North Carolina Botanical Garden Foundation’s (NCBGF) membership categories, and we are pleased to offer new options! Digital members receive an electronic subscription to our twice-yearly magazine, discounts on virtual programs, and admission discounts at over 300 public gardens in North America. We've also added a Director's Circle that includes an invitation to the Director's Reception and other benefits. We hope these changes ensure the benefits associated with each category more equitably reflect the cost of the membership, and the increased number of categories offers more options for prospective members. Find out more >

Know Before You Go...

Our buildings are currently closed to visitors, and all Garden Shop sales are through our online store. Our outdoor spaces remain open.

A big thank you to those who have visited the Garden since the gates opened mid-August. You've been amazing at keeping your distance and wearing masks when needed. Thank you!!! As a reminder, we are taking extensive precautions to make sure the Garden is a safe place to visit, and we need your help to keep it safe for everybody. Before you visit, please check yourself for COVID-19 symptoms, bring a face covering, and keep your distance. Read more >

As we look forward, we'd like to ask for your help. The Garden is free to visit, but it's not free to run. If you're able, putting even $5 in the donation box by our information kiosk when you're here helps us keep going. You can also give online. Thank you!!

Walkway Under Construction

This winter and spring, we are making some improvements to the walkway from our parking lot to the Allen Education Center. The walkway and area under the Howes Bridge will be paved, stone seating will be installed, and more. Construction should be completed in May. This project is funded primarily through donations from the North Carolina Botanical Garden Foundation board members. 

Compost: Your Garden's Best Friend

Friday, March 19, 12 p.m. •  Free
by Orange County Solid Waste and the North Carolina Botanical Garden
March is a great time of year to start preparing garden beds for spring planting! In the first part of this virtual workshop, learn about the benefits of composting and how to set up a backyard compost system at home from Orange County Solid Waste Management. After learning the composting basics, hear from the North Carolina Botanical Garden and their team at the Carolina Community Garden on how to use finished compost on your garden beds, accompanied by several demonstrations. After the main presentation, we will wrap up with a Q&A with the panelists. We hope to see you there! This event will also be on Facebook Live on the North Carolina Botanical Garden page. Register now >

Virtual Annual Evelyn McNeill Sims Lecture

EVELYN MCNEILL SIMS LECTURE:
COLORING THE CONSERVATION CONVERSATION

Sunday, April 11, 2021 •  Free; preregistration required
J. Drew Lanham will discuss what it means to embrace the full breadth of his African American heritage and his deep kinship to nature and adoration of birds. The convergence of ornithologist, college professor, poet, author, and conservation activist blend to bring our awareness of the natural world and our moral responsibility for it forward in new ways. Candid by nature — and because of it — Lanham will examine how conservation must be a rigorous science and evocative art, inviting diversity and race to play active roles in celebrating our natural world. Register now >

Home Gardening with Brie Arthur

Join bestselling author and horticulturist Brie Arthur for a series of virtual home gardening workshops. Author of The Foodscape Revolution and Gardening with Grains, Brie also shares expert advice through "Brie the Plant Lady," her YouTube channel, and serves on the North Carolina Botanical Garden Foundation Board of Directors. 
 

KEEP THE ANIMALS OUT (virtual)

Tuesday, April 6, 6-8 p.m.; $26 ($23 Members)

Mammal browse is one of the biggest challenges that gardeners face. And we all have critters that we are sharing our gardens with, including deer, rabbits, groundhogs, even cats and dogs! The reality is, our gardens are delicious- they are fertilized, irrigated and full of tasty exotic plants, so of course the local wildlife will take delight in eating our hard work. In this fun webinar, author and horticulturist Brie Arthur, will explain her approach to dealing with unwanted animals. She will cover it all, including a few things that you should NOT do! From the best repellents and inexpensive fencing solutions to using a few favorite veggies to help deter problem animals, attendees will learn easy-to-apply strategies. Brie aims to make you laugh and answer all your questions in this interactive virtual session. Register now >
 

SPRING VEGGIE GARDEN PREP (virtual)

Tuesday, April 13, 6-8 p.m.; $26 ($23 Members)

Are you ready for the growing season? Life-long home gardener Brie Arthur shares expert advice for success in the veggie garden. She will cover everything you need to cultivate an abundant harvest. From seed selection and sowing to bed prep, fertilization and proper crop rotations, this informative program will inspire attendees to grow all the food they love to eat. Brie will also share tips for maximizing your homegrown harvest through easy to learn processing and preserving techniques. After this session you will be ready to grow like a pro! Register now >
 

FOODSCAPING WITH NATIVE PLANTS (virtual)

Tuesday, April 20, 6-8 p.m.; $26 ($23 Members)

Thoughtful design and management of landscapes is more important than ever as concerns of climate, water quality, and invasive plants increase. Brie will discuss how to create a foodscape using native plants mixed with favorite seasonal food crops. The best organic products are featured and easy, Earth-friendly maintenance strategies are highlighted. Learn about native edible plants and the pollinators they attract that aid in ecological restoration. Get inspired to see the potential every landscape offers by transforming them into purposeful spaces that embrace solutions to modern day landscape practices. Register now >

Celebrate the Renewal of Spring!

Save the date and invite your friends to make a gift during GiveUNC, the UNC-Chapel Hill day of giving, on Tuesday, March 30. We have an exciting opportunity this spring - a generous donor will give an additional $10,000 once the North Carolina Botanical Garden reaches its $2,500 GiveUNC goal. To unlock the gift, we need to raise $2,500 through GiveUNC to support the Garden’s core mission in conservation, research, education, and native plant horticulture.
 
Also later this month, members and supporters will receive the Garden’s 2021: Spring Renewal brochure, highlighting a new season of growth and our unwavering commitment to conservation in these unrivaled times. Welcome this new season of growth by renewing your commitment to the Garden!

New Health & Wellbeing Classes

Spring is in the air, and it's a great time to shake off the winter blues at the Garden. Join us for our new Health & Wellbeing Series!

OUTDOOR YOGA IN THE GARDEN

Tuesdays, March 2 - May 24; 3-4:15 p.m. •  $13 ($12 Members) per session

Join us for 75 minutes of rejuvenating outdoor yoga. The class will be held outside in our Perennial Circle. You will be immersed in the sounds and sights of nature as the instructor leads you through a series of seated, standing, and lying poses with views of native flowers, trees, and butterflies. The class is gentle and invigorating. Modifications of poses will be offered. Register now >
 

MEDITATION IN THE GARDEN

Sunday, March 14; 3:30-4:30 p.m. 
Sunday, April 18, 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 2, 3:30-4:30 p.m.
$13 ($12 Members) per session

Mindfulness and meditation are getting a lot of attention these days, from articles in the Harvard Business Review to studies by psychologists and neuroscientists. The basic techniques are easy to learn and practice. Join us for an introduction to meditation in a beautiful outdoor setting. We will mainly practice seated meditation with an optional short walking meditation. Whether you’re a complete beginner, or you’ve been meditating for years and enjoy practicing with a group, we’d love to see you there! Register now >
 

SPRING GARDEN WALK

Saturday, March 20; 10-11 a.m. 
Friday, April 30; 1-2 p.m. 
Saturday, March 20; 10-11 a.m. 
$6 ($5 Members) per session

Join us on the Spring Equinox for a leisurely guided walk through our native plant display gardens and learn about some seasonal highlights, including spring ephemerals, on the first day of spring. Walks led by our trained Garden Guides. Register now >
 

SPRING NATURE WALK

Friday, March 26; 1-2 p.m. 
Saturday, May 22; 10-11 a.m. 
$6 ($5 Members) per session

Join us for a leisurely guided walk on our Piedmont Nature Trails and learn about seasonal highlights with a focus on spring ephemerals. Slow down and enjoy the sights and sounds of the forest. Register now >
 

SPRING SILENT WALK

Saturday, April 17; 10-11 a.m. 
Friday, May 28; 1-2 p.m. 
$6 ($5 Members) per session

Join us for a leisurely, quiet guided walk on our Piedmont Nature Trails. Our trained Garden Guides will give suggestions on how to focus on the world around you using your senses of sight, touch, hearing, and smell as you silently hike along the trails. The walk will wrap up with a chance to share your experiences with each other. Register now >

Your Old Fridge can Support Native Plant Propagation!

For many of the native species we grow, the seed won’t break dormancy until it undergoes a period of cold. In nature, these seeds overwinter outside and begin to germinate when temperatures rise in the spring. Since we propagate these plants year-round, we often need to simulate these conditions by sowing them in flats and storing them in a refrigerator for several weeks. Unfortunately, a couple of our seed refrigerators have started malfunctioning and need to be replaced. If you have an old but working fridge (or know someone who does) please consider donating it to the Garden – we can come pick it up. Please contact our nursery manager, Matt Gocke at gocke@email.unc.edu with any leads. Thanks!

From the Herbarium

NC'S FIRST SPECIMEN OF FOSSIL FUNGUS

Thanks to the dedicated mycological exploration by the junior author, who is 13 years old and has an avid interest in mycology, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Herbarium (NCU) now has the first vouched collection of Neolecta vitellina recorded from North Carolina. Read more >

MID-ATLANTIC STATES MYCOLOGY CONFERENCE HONORS WILLIAM CHAMBERS COKER

This spring, the North Carolina Botanical Garden is co-hosting the annual Mid-Atlantic States Mycology Conference (MASMC) along with the UNC-CH Herbarium (NCU) and the UNC-CH Biology Department. MASMC 2021 is dedicated to William Chambers Coker, the first professor of botany at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) and eminent mycologist. Read more >

OUR LADY OF THE GASTROMYCETES

The Herbarium curates nine fungal specimens collected by Violetta White Delafield (1875-1949). White Delafield sent these fungi to William Chambers Coker at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Herbarium. David Rose’s article, “Our Lady of the Gasteromycetes: The Mushrooms of Violetta White Delafield” (Fungi, vol. 13: 4, pp 37-43, 2020) provides an excellent summary of her work on fungi and a glimpse into the personal and scientific challenges she faced. Read now >

Let's Do Lunch, Virtually!
 

MITIGATING CLIMATE CHANGE THROUGH NC'S NATURAL AND WORKING LANDS

Thursday, March 11; 12-1 p.m. •  Free, $5 suggested fee; registration required

North Carolina's Natural and Working Land Action Plan recommends 25 activities that will help increase North Carolina’s resilience to natural disasters and offset greenhouse gas emissions by sequestering and storing carbon. Developed through a stakeholder-driven process, the Action Plan recommends conserving, restoring, and managing lands in six sectors: agriculture, coastal habitats, floodplains and wetlands, forestry, pocosins, and urban lands. It also outlines specific projects for North Carolina’s natural and working lands that sequester carbon, build ecosystem and community resilience, provide ecosystem benefits, enhance our economy, and recommend socially equitable implementation. Register now >
 

BACK TO THE FUTURE: SUTHER PRAIRIE NATURE RESERVE

Thursday, March 25; 12-1 p.m. •  Free, $5 suggested fee; registration required

After being cared for by generations of the Suther family going back to the 1700s, this relatively undisturbed remnant Piedmont wet prairie on the floodplain of Dutch Buffalo Creek became a “must see” destination over the last two decades for scientists, conservationists, researchers and reporters/writers from across the country after being listed in the natural heritage inventory of Cabarrus County. Register now >

Don't just watch the presentation! Tour the preserve!
Sunday, May 9, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.; $45 ($41 Members)
Register now  >

Camp Flytrap
Scholarships Available!

Program and Classroom Safety

The Garden continues to offer education programs in a variety of formats. Our Lunchbox Talks are virtual, as well as other short classes including some botanical art classes. Other classes are in-person outside or hybrid, meaning they occur both online and in-person outside with extensive precautions. When we use our classroom spaces, we are following extensive precautions. If you have questions about safety before taking a class, please ask! Contact us at ncbg@unc.edu.

Upcoming Classes

CAROLINA FUTURESCAPES: PLANNING AND PLANTING CLIMATE RESILIENT LANDSCAPES (virtual)

Saturday, March 6, 1-3 p.m.; $25 ($22 Members)

In this workshop, participants will learn about and begin to plan their own native-plant gardens. We will learn the basics of creating Carolina Xeriscape gardens, which do not require additional watering and are resilient to extreme heat. Topics include plant selection, site selection, plant care, and color palettes. Participants will develop or refine planting plans for their own climate-resilient gardens. Register now >
 

CONSERVATION GARDENING 101: LANDSCAPING WITH NATIVE PLANTS (hybrid)

Monday, March 15, 3-4 p.m. via Zoom, Mondays, March 29, and April 12 and 26, 1 – 4 p.m. in person; $225 ($202 Members)

This certificate series is designed to provide home gardeners and emerging landscape professionals with foundational concepts of landscape design, native species selection, implementation, and maintenance of compellingly beautiful and ecologically productive native plant gardens based on conservation principles. Only a few spots remain! Register now >
 

DEMYSTIFYING BOTANY: FOR NEW PLANT ENTHUSIASTS (virtual)

Thursday, March 18, 6:30-8 p.m.; $19 ($17 Members)

Do you find yourself confusing your philodendron with your monstera? And what's the deal with all of this Latin? Let's come together and demystify the world of botany. In this class, we will go over basics of botany, leaf shape, and plant families. Let's grow our knowledge of plants together. Register now >
 

PREPARING GARDEN SOIL FOR NATIVE PLANTS (virtual)

Friday, March 19, 2-3:30 p.m.; $19 ($17 Members)

We will explore basic soil science and learn what we can do to create optimum conditions in your garden for a range of native plants. Learn how to properly test your soil and amend it based on soil test results. Finally, we will explore the best way to build and maintain good soil. Register now >

12 TIPS FOR HAPPY, HEALTHY TREES (virtual)

Saturday, March 20, 10-11:30 a.m.; $19 ($17 Members)

What are the best ways to care for your trees? How can you make them happy, strong, and long-lived? During this virtual presentation we will focus on what we believe to be the most important actions. Healthy trees in abundance create happy people and a vibrant planet. Topics include what trees to plant where, how to properly plant a tree, the role of soil and how to improve the health of your soil, and how to avoid actions that could cause collateral damage to the ecosystem. Register now >
 

See a list of all education program offerings >

Donations and memberships are more important now than ever. Please consider giving to the Garden or becoming a Member today.