Thanksgiving

It’s the time of year, we all hopefully stop and take time to thank those who are so important in our lives. I (Tony) am incredibly blessed to be embarking on our 40th year in business in 2026. No sane person thought our model of building a private, ex-situ conservation botanical garden, and mail order nursery, had a chance of being economically viable, including our mentor, the late Dr. J.C. Raulston. I’d be lying if I said the road has been easy, as numerous pitfalls have come close to shutting us down during economically challenging times, like the last couple of years. Despite it all, we’re still here, thanks to so many incredible people.

Thanks to the large number of staff members who have been a part of PDN/JLBG since our inception. I couldn’t begin to tell you how many people have been a part of the JLBG staff in our 39 years. Special thanks to three of our staff members who are still here after a decade, and two who are still here after two decades. Many others used PDN/JLBG as a springboard to other opportunities. We’re so proud of our former staff, who, after departing, continued to either dabble in plants, or in some cases made careers in the horticultural field. Several of our alumni are now a who’s who in the plant world, including several who work at, or manage gardens around the country.

Thanks to plant collectors, plant researchers, plant breeders, specialty nurseries, plant societies, and botanic gardens around the world, who have been willing to share both plants and knowledge. Without this strong willingness to share, many of the plants, and much of the information that we’ve been able to subsequently share, wouldn’t have been publicly available.

Thanks to our horticultural industry lobbying group, American Hort, for their tireless work, playing whack-a-mole, with poorly thought out government regulations, each of which could otherwise close the door on not just us, but our entire industry.

Thanks to our amazing garden volunteers, who have been such a vital piece of allowing us to do as much as we do, and keep the collections intact and the garden presentable for visitors.

Thanks to our incredible customer base of the last 39 years, who have been willing to take chances by purchasing plants they’d never heard of previously, soley based on our recommendations. Without you, our model of creating and maintaining a botanical garden, primarily from a portion of mail order revenues would never have been possible. Thank you not just for ordering plants, but for following us, and helping us spread the word about conservation gardening on social media (Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram).

Thanks to our JLBG garden members, for being an integral part of allowing JLBG to exist. When economic conditions/inflation worsened over the last two years, it was the garden membership program that became vital to keeping us financially viable. We hope there are enough benefits beyond keeping JLBG viable that this program will continue to grow. The first two years have yielded nearly 500 founding members, as we now strive for the 1000 member milestone. You can find out how to join here.

Thanks to my Alma Mater, NC State University for being willing to accept JLBG/PDN for preservation. We are so grateful the University has allowed the amazing College of Agricultural Science Development Office staff to work with us to secure donations as we work to fully fund the Endowment. Thanks to the staff at our sister institution, the JC Raulston Arboretum, who have been amazing with their support of our mission.

Of course, thanks to those who have contributed to the NC State University Endowment to preserve Juniper Level Botanic Garden. So far, we’ve raised $6 million, toward our $20 million goal, to make the gardens financially sustainable, and allow Tony to finally retire from the operations side of the business and focus on plant advancement and research.

Special thanks to my two amazing life partners. My late wife, Michelle, (1956-2012), whose support through 34 years, helped make everything possible as we got PDN/JLBG off the ground. Thanks also, to my wife, Anita, for being willing to jump into a crazy gardener’s life, and become such a steadying and supportive influence.

Thank you for taking time to read and share our message.