Latest News
STEM: Connecting People, Plants and Jobs
Throughout the year, the Arboretum’s youth education department is constantly busy creating programs, events, camps and classes that encourage children to get outdoors and explore nature. Beyond just splashing in Bent Creek or hiking along the trails, the youth...
Volunteer Spotlight: Dale Wykoff
At The North Carolina Arboretum, we are fortunate to have nearly 500 volunteers contributing their time, talents, enthusiasm and energy year-round. From guest services, to horticulture and gardening, to education programs, volunteers are the heart of the Arboretum and...
All Aboard! The Coming of the Railroad into Western North Carolina
The morning of October 3, 1880, dawned like any other in the busy hamlet of Asheville, North Carolina. People went about their business as usual, and shops and feed yards bustled with activity that catered to the seemingly endless army of livestock led by drovers...
From Clear Cut to Full Forest: The History of the Bent Creek Experimental Forest
At The North Carolina Arboretum, we are fortunate to be located in of the most botanically diverse regions in America – possessing almost every native azalea species from the U.S., hundreds of native and non-native trees, and countless other flowers, shrubs and...
New Trail Celebrates History and Heritage of Western North Carolina
Visitors to The North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville are invited to step up to a new interpretive wayside sign and get a nutshell idea of the Arboretum’s history, mission and influence in Western North Carolina. Located at the trailhead of Hard Times Road, this...
The Origins and Rebirth of the Quilted Garden
The Quilt Garden at the Arboretum requires a commitment to gardening not unlike what Victorian era gardeners called “carpet bedding” or floral plantings in masses of harmonious or contrasting colored foliage and flowers. In the 1870s, new plant species arriving from...
Uncovering the Secret Language of Valentine’s Day Flowers
I admit it, I adore flowers. I always have. As a self-proclaimed “flower child” of the 1960s, I often found myself running through gardens and fields, picking flowers and learning early on from my mother the fundamentals of making a bouquet. I wasn’t old enough yet to...
Winter Birding 101
Every day holds great potential to discover birds and experience the joys of birding. With leaves off the trees, winter is a great time to explore the natural world and look for birds. Where can you find these fine feathered friends? Some birds, of course, will flock...
Natural vs. Digital – How to Bridge the Gap
As a child of the 1980s and now raising two small children of my own in this new millennium, I have mixed feelings regarding the presence digital devices should have within the home and beyond. “Put down that Gameboy and look out the window!” my father would often...