Big thank you to Alycia Thornton for helping us organize and set up the event.
Early birds enjoyed the quiet garden before the tour.
JLBG Director Tony Avent and JCRA Director Mark Weathington greet guests as they arrive.
Interim Dean of College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at NSCU John Dole and Mark Weathington chatting with a guest.
Tony Avent bought his first property that became JLBG in 1986. The property that is now Tony’s and Anita’s private garden was purchased in 2015.
Each plant in the garden has its own story.
Despite the sweltering hot summer day, this garden bed planted with Sinningia tubiflora, Perovskia atriplicifolia and Canna x generalis ‘B. Marley’ looked and smelled amazing.
Tony shared stories about the plants that looked particularly good that day.
We always recommend wearing a hat to an outdoor garden event, but a sun umbrella is even better!
Guests enjoyed asking questions and getting their answer directly from Tony.
After the first tour, appetizers were served by the Raleigh based Catering Works. Amid delicious bites, JLBG Garden Curator Doug Ruhren and JCRA Trial Bed Curator Bernadette Clark entertained guests with heartfelt stories from their horticulture careers.
Once everyone was seated for dinner, Tony addressed the guests with a signature humor-filled speech about the present and future of the garden.
After Tony, Mark Weathington offered a few spirited words emphasizing the significance that JCRA and JLBG combined will have in the global horticultural scene.
Following Mark, the new Dean of CALS at NCSU Gary Fox expressed his enthusiasm towards helping to preserve JLBG and excitement about having this incredible educational resource be part of the NCSU campus.
After dinner guests enjoyed touring the west side of the garden.
One of the best features of the garden is the winding creek that begins along the entrance driveway and continues to the east side garden.
After the sun has set, the temperatures cooled down and guests enjoyed the evening tour.
Many stories were shared about the plants that held a special meaning and brought sweet memories to mind.