Juniper Level Botanic Garden has been at the forefront of the introduction of thousands of plants that are well-equipped to thrive in an ever-changing world. Our research areas and gardens contain many plants that are nearly extirpated (botanical lingo for completely gone) or in some cases completely extirpated in the wild. JLBG provides a safe space where these rare species can flower and be appreciated by the public, studied, propagated, and shared. We also believe that a diverse landscape supports a diverse ecological web of life. The more variety we have in our plantings, the more birds, butterflies, bees and beetles we find in our garden.

Juniper Level Botanic Garden was established in 1986 when Raleigh native Tony Avent and his wife Michelle purchased a 2.2 acre abandoned sandy loam tobacco field in the community of Juniper in Southern Wake County (central North Carolina). The current JLBG campus covers 28 acres, with 11 acres dedicated to display gardens and the rest divided between the research areas and nursery. Our 30 nursery greenhouses are home to over 2800 taxa of plants, of which about 1500 are available for sale each year. The research area is home to our specialty plant collections, outdoor production beds, and seedling trials.

The display garden was designed using the philosophy of “drifts of one” to house and showcase a diverse collection of ornamental plants. Berms and elevation changes were created by moving soil around on-site to increase planting area and add aesthetic relief changes to the garden. Habitat and microclimate creation became an important feature of the garden, allowing us to grow plants which normally would not be adaptable to our climate. Through countless trips, exchanges and purchases from our vast network of plant nerds from around the world we have grown over 66,000 plant taxa (genetically unique plants). We currently maintain around 27,000 taxa and that includes 52 specialty collections, many of which are the largest in the world. Our goal is to secure a wide diversity of species and, where possible, a wide range of genetic
material for each species.

JLBG is a private garden that welcomes visitors four times throughout the year for the Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall Open Nursery and Garden Days. Each event lasts for two consecutive weekends, Friday- Sunday, 9 a.m. -5 p.m., rain or shine. This is the best time to visit the garden and take advantage of our educational programs, get your gardening questions answered by our expert horticultural staff, and shop plants.