Gardening for Love and Livelihood
This outdoor Museum of Fine Plants is a feast for the eye. Over 26 years, Joann Currier has created a sprawling, 3.5-acre private botanical garden legendary for its unique vegetation, pristine maintenance, and spectacular use of texture, layer, form, and rhythm in garden design.
The garden showcases a breathtaking variety of plants and designs. As Joann Currier told us, “Some people collect shoes. I collect Japanese maples.” 130 species of maples and a host of rare conifers will inspire you. The expansive lawns are ringed with mixed borders that look great year-round, with myriad pops of color and not a leaf out of place. The Rock Garden is a recent addition that sports unusual, colorful cacti hardy enough to brave North Carolina’s winters. A Fairyland of interconnected, sheltered gardens contains patios, pots, garden ornaments, and sinuous pathways. A little gem of a parterre pocket garden and the adaptive reuse of a weathered barn – as a folly or tool shed with outdoor seating — spark your creativity. The greenhouse area, filled with rare plants, is an enjoyable and functional feature.
This garden was once home to The Unique Plant, which recently closed its retail garden store. For decades Joann Currier provided countless gardeners and plant collectors with inspiration, guidance, and a curated inventory of plants which flourish under our local growing conditions. She continues to serve the gardening community as a grower and designer.
Terrain: Easy