Juniper Level Botanic Garden, 9241 Sauls Road, Raleigh, North Carolina, will open for two weekends in April and May for public viewing and plant purchases. The dates are April 30, May 1, and 2, 2021, plus May 7, 8, and 9, 2021.

The complete schedule of public openings is available online, and includes two weekends in July and two in September. During these open days, no visit requests or reservations are needed. Admission is free.

Juniper Level Botanic Garden’s 28-acre campus is filled with more than 30,000 taxa of plants, including native perennials, exotic plants, rare delights, and an array of specimen trees and shrubs you won’t see anywhere else in the world. (Taxa, the plural of taxon: a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit.)

The garden’s Plant Delights Nursery sells more than 1,600 different perennials.

“We hope you’ll come join us and see all the plants that are in bloom,” said Tony Avent, founder and benefactor of the garden. “It’s almost an overwhelming time to see the diversity of plants available to be grown in this region.

Established in 1988 south of downtown Raleigh, the not-for-profit Juniper Level Botanic Garden has grown into a 28-acre conservation and inspiration garden whose mission is to discover, grow, study, propagate and share the world’s flora.

“Currently, we have just over 27,000 different kinds of plants,” explained Avent. “That makes our botanic garden one of the top five collections in the United States.” Avent has participated in 13 foreign and 60 domestic plant expeditions.

Nursery sales provide operational funding for Juniper Level Botanic Garden. Plant Delights Nursery grows and ships over 100,000 plants each year and sells plants during the open garden weekends.

“We set up an endowment through the university. When the endowment for the garden is fully funded, that will allow us to open full-time as a public garden and a sister to Raulston Arboretum,” added Avent.

Juniper Level Botanic Garden and Plant Delights Nursery have modified workplace practices and interactions with the public to help combat COVID-19, and adhere to the Governor’s guidelines regarding social distancing and face coverings.

Fundraising efforts for Juniper Level Botanic Garden, in conjunction with JC Raulston Arboretum , operate under the auspices of The Endowment Fund of North Carolina State University, a 501(c)3 non-profit, tax ID 56-6000756. Donors receive an official receipt for contributions to the fund.

This video gives a look at the Juniper Level Botanic Garden:

(Photos and video courtesy of Juniper Level Botanic Garden)