37
Years since established
27
Thousand different taxa
Timeline
1986
Breaking ground
Tony and Michelle purchase a home on 2.2 acres, garden construction begins on the Founders Garden. Plant Delights Nursery is established.
1996
First expansion
The Avents purchase 5.25 acres of adjoining property. This new section becomes Michelle’s Garden.
2001
Second expansion
The Avents purchase another 11 acres of adjacent property for expanded production, research, plant trials, evaluations and woody plant collections.
2008
Third expansion
The Avents purchase 3.66 acres from the estate of the late Eddy Souto. Half of the property is devoted to field production, while the other half becomes the full sun Souto Garden.
2014
Yde Horse Farm purchase
Two acres of the property are dedicated to visitor accommodations, while the remaining four become Avents new home and Anita’s Garden. This brings the size of JLBG to 28 acres.
2017
Crevice garden construction
The 300 feet long habitat for ultra dryland, alkaline-loving plants, is made of nearly 200 tons of recycled concrete and takes 3 years to complete.

Individual
Great choice for a beginner gardener. Includes basic benefits to help you expand your knowledge.
$50
/ year

Family/Dual
Best value for a family (2 adults and children under age of 16) interested in gardening.
$75
/ year

Explorer
Expanded benefits for an intermediate gardener who is looking to deepen their knowledge.
$150
/ year

Sponsor
Top tier package for people who share our vision and want to ensure the future of JLBG.
$300
/ year
Agaves Gone Wild
We’re preparing for another crazy year of century plant breeding, with fourteen agaves in spike so far. After flowering 34 clones over the last two years, we expected less this…
Trumpeting Bugleweed
Early April is peak time at JLBG for Ajuga flowering, commonly known as bugleweed. We think these amazing new cultivars are a great solution to reducing the need for mulch…
Fraser’s Sedge
Looking lovely in the garden this week is the amazing native (Pennsylvania south to Georgia) Fraser’s sedge, Carex fraseriana. This sedge is so odd, that it spent much of its…
Hanging with a Mass of Rockers
I’m just back from speaking to a couple of North American Rock Garden Society Chapters in Massachusetts, an area I hadn’t visited in over two decades. My journey began at…
Whitened Teeth and other Dental Work
On a 2019 botanical expedition to Montgomery County, NC, our staff (Zac and Jeremy) discovered this never before documented natural hybrid between Dentaria dissecta (Cardamine dissecta) and Dentaria laciniata (Cardamine…
How Low can you Grow?
Flowering now is the amazing groundcover selection of the European daphne, Daphne cneorum ‘Pygmaea’. For years, we were told this wouldn’t grow in our climate, and if you treat them…