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Facts about the North Carolina Botanical Garden

Awards

Awards received by the North Carolina Botanical Garden are listed on a separate page.

Battle Park (mid-1800s) and Forest Theatre (1940)

  • Manager of the 93-acre Battle Park, a beautiful forest tract in the heart of the Town of Chapel Hill
  • Manager of the Forest Theatre, a historic stone amphitheater and one of the icons of the UNC-Chapel Hill campus

Coker Arboretum (1903)

  • The first scientific collection of plants south of the Potomac River
  • An asset to the beauty and intellectual climate of the campus (located in the heart of the UNC-Chapel Hill campus)
  • Home of an arbor built of native black locust logs, featuring native vines: wisteria (Wisteria frutescens and W. frutescens 'Amethyst Falls'); netleaf clematis (Clematis reticulata), Carolina jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens), coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens), pipevine (Aristolochia macrophylla), and cross-vine (Bignonia capreolata)

Conservation

  • A leading resource for expertise on the native plants and wildflowers of North Carolina
  • A founding institution (1984) of the Center for Plant Conservation and one of 36 institutions to hold the National Collection of Endangered Species (storage of germplasm)
  • An active participant in writing state laws that created the North Carolina Plant Conservation Program
  • A pioneer of the Conservation through Propagation theme, which sets a goal to reduce collection of native plants from the wild
  • A pioneer of Plant Rescue techniques, which were eventually adapted by many conservation-oriented gardening groups throughout the Triangle region and the state
  • The first garden in North America to establish an exotic pest plant policy (1998)
  • Promoter of the Chapel Hill Thesis, used as the basis for voluntary codes of conduct for gardens, landscape architects, the gardening public, horticulturists, and government
  • Leading participant in the organization of the North Carolina Chapter of the Southeast Exotic Pest Plant Council (1999)
  • Protector of natural areas of statewide significance
  • Manager of seven nature preserves
  • Holder of 23 conservation easements
  • Pioneer in green building design for the UNC system and Chapel Hill campus

History and Legacy

  • Home of the Mason-Morgan Family Cemetery, holding the graves of important early benefactors of UNC
  • Homesite of the first European settler in Chapel Hill (1744)
  • Home of the King's Mill archaeological site
  • Home of Native American archaeological sites
  • Home of the historically restored Paul Green Cabin, where playwright Paul Green wrote many of his works
  • Home of the Addie Totten Library and the William Lanier Hunt Library.
  • Keeper of the legacies of Henry Roland and Addie Totten; William Chambers Coker; John Couch; C. Ritchie Bell; Al and Laurie Radford; William Lanier Hunt; Mercer Reeves Hubbard; Olin and Kay Mouzon

Mason Farm Biological Reserve (1984):

  • A rich natural area encompassing 367 acres
  • A research and teaching site (25 research and teaching permits issued annually; over 100 scholarly publications derived from MFBR research)
  • Site of one of the longest-continuing and most detailed studies of breeding birds in the eastern United States
  • Home of bobcat populations, unique old-growth forest, ancient forest soils, state record trees, and more than 200 species of birds

Natural Wonders

Plant Collections and Displays

  • 14 collections and display gardens (5,900 accessions; 2,100 species).
  • A pioneer of natural Habitat Gardens (Mountains, Coastal Plain, Sandhills).
  • Holder of an acclaimed collection of carnivorous plants, a distinctive specialty of the Southeast.
  • Protector of 30 endangered plant species.
  • Curator of the Mercer Reeves Hubbard Herb Garden, which includes a Culinary Garden, Economic Garden, Medicinal Garden, Native American Garden, Poison Garden — a total of 500 species, including 52 Rosmarinus officinalis cultivars.
  • Holder of the largest and most thoroughly documented site of the National Rosemary Collection of the Herb Society of America.
  • Curator of a Garden of Flowering Plant Families, Native Perennial Borders, and Horticultural Therapy Demonstration Gardens.

Public School and Other Outreach Programs

  • In 2007, 118 guided tours served about 1460 students and 1040 adults; approximately 100 students participated in the "Visiting Plant Program" in local schools; and Glenwood Elementary School teachers received curriculum materials and more than 200 students visited with their teachers for self-guided activities.
  • Through a partnership with the N.C. Office of School Readiness, staff trained about 100 pre-K teachers in spring of 2007, and approximately 200 more during the 2007 - 2008 school year.
  • Home of Nature Explorers summer camp, providing opportunities for exploration in nature for children ages 6 to 11
  • In 2009, initiating a pre-schoolers' nature exploration program called "Bluets."
  • Offering lectures, workshops, and field trips throughout the year.
  • Home of a pioneering and acclaimed Horticultural Therapy program, serving 175 individuals each year.
  • Each year offering 260 scheduled Public Service Hours (12 to 1 pm, weekdays) and answering many more inquiries.

Published Works

  • Paul Green's Plant Book: An Alphabet of Flowers and Folklore by Betsy Green Moyer, 2005
  • A Haven in the Heart of Chapel Hill: Artists Celebrate the Coker Arboretum by Daniel Stern, 2004
  • Essays on William Chambers Coker, Passionate Botanist by Mary Coker Joslin, 2003
  • Chapel Hill and Elisha Mitchell the Botanist, Rogers McVaugh, Michael R. McVaugh, and Mary Ayers, 1996
  • From Laurel Hill to Siler's Bog: The Walking Adventures of a Naturalist by John K. Terres, UNC Press, Chapel Hill, 1993
  • Growing and Propagating Wild Flowers by Harry R. Phillips, UNC Press, Chapel Hill, 1985
  • Growing with Gardening: A Twelve-Month Guide for Therapy, Recreation and Education by Bibby Moore, UNC Press, Chapel Hill, 1989
  • Wildflowers of North Carolina by William S. Justice and C. Ritchie Bell, UNC Press, Chapel Hill, 1968
  • Wildflowers of the Smokies by Peter S. White, Great Smoky Mountains Natural History Association, 1996
  • The Floristic Synthesis, Biota of North America Program [CD-ROM]
  • Fire and the Longleaf and Plants and the Cherokee, in the "Take a Closer Look" series for schools [videos]

Seeds and Plants

  • 28 years of the Wildflower of the Year program, a cooperative project with the Garden Club of North Carolina, Inc. (distributing 5,000 brochures and seed packets annually)
  • Repository of 200 native southeastern plant species, available as seeds
  • A mid-February to mid-November daily Plant Sale, which offers native wildflowers, shrubs, vines, and ferns
  • A yearly Fall-is-for-Planting plant sale, held in September or October (dates vary and are announced in the newsletter and the Garden's website).
  • Source of the selection and release of more than 10 unique native plant cultivars to the horticultural industry

The UNC Herbarium (1908; earliest collections 1835)

  • Home of more than 750,000 natural history specimens documenting the identity and distribution of plants in North Carolina and the Southeast.
  • Documentation for the distribution of plants in North Carolina's 100 counties.
  • Home of the landmark work, Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (1968), and the Flora of the Southeast project.

And more...

  • Displaying six nature-themed art exhibits annually
  • Home of the annual Sculpture in the Garden exhibition, now in its 21st year
  • 2,500 members of the Botanical Garden Foundation, Inc.
  • Receiving 90,000 visits annually
  • 200 active volunteers who contribute 8,000 hours annually
  • Maintaining and protecting more than 800 acres of University land.

Last updated by Laura Cotterman on June 25, 2009 at 10:16:02 am.