Chapel Hill Spring Garden Tour
A SENSE OF PLACE: THE SOUTHERN GARDENS OF CHAPEL HILL
Presented by the Chapel Hill Garden Club
Saturday, April 14, 2012
10 AM – 4 PM
Sunday, April 15, 2012
11 AM – 4 PM
Tickets on Sale March 15
16 and under FREE with ticketed adult
$25 advance tickets available online at or:
Wild Bird Center, A Southern Season, Southern States, and the North Carolina Botanical Garden
On tour days, tickets $30 at all tour gardens
Questions? 919-962-0522
Many Thanks to Our Co-Sponsors – Town of Chapel Hill and
To celebrate the unique diversity of gardens in greater Chapel Hill, the Chapel Hill Spring Garden Tour
will feature both the breadth and depth of eight remarkable gardens. Ranging from hidden bungalow
gardens to majestic landscapes, spacious rural wooded gardens to urban design, the tour will showcase
the “miracles of spring” in both elegant and whimsical presentations.
As a bonus, visits to the North Carolina Botanical Garden and the Mary Scroggs Elementary School
Student Garden in Southern Village are included. The Botanical Garden features native plants and was
2011’s “Best Park/Greenway” in Chapel Hill. Local artists will be painting in the Botanical Garden with
one of the paintings being offered as a raffle item. The student garden at Scroggs Elementary enhances
learning about sustainable gardening through a seed-to-sow experience, engendering a sense of place at
an early age.
Proceeds from the tour benefit the North Carolina Botanical Garden and the educational/community
service projects of the Chapel Hill Garden Club.
1. North Carolina Botanical Garden – Old Mason Farm Road off 15/501
In addition to the eight private gardens open
to visit on tour days, this very special public
garden is open for your enjoyment almost
every day. As a center for education and
plant interpretation, its impact reaches far
beyond the 600 acres of land devoted to
research activities and habitat preservation.
From humble beginnings in the 1950’s, it has
become a diverse organization offering
exciting opportunities for both community
and personal enrichment. The North Carolina
Botanical Garden is part of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the main
beneficiary of our tour proceeds. The Chapel Hill Garden Club proudly celebrates our
continued partnership with this local treasure. The recently completed Education Center
building has many novel green features. Take time to visit the gift shop and the Garden’s
annual native plant sale. Guests may wander through plant collections and habitat gardens,
the horticultural therapy demonstration garden, the herb garden, and the fern collection.
For more information on programs, classes, guided tours, membership or other services of
the Garden, please visit ncbg.unc.edu or call 919-962-0522.
2. The McKinley/Poteat Garden - 438 West Cameron Avenue
The house was built in 1927 by the local
builder, S.H. Basnight, and his bride Pearl.
It is likely that the framework of stoneedged beds and the brick-edged front
stone walkway date also to 1927. In the
early 1990's the stone boundary walls
were topped with decorative metal
fencing crafted by local artisan Riley
Foster. A grouping of white Adirondack
chairs around a table nestles against a
large oakleaf hydrangea. When
renovating the house in 2008, the owners
installed a 2500-gallon cistern in the
basement, fed by gutters and downspouts and used to feed the hose spigots around the house.
Every inch of the small lot is thoughtfully designed and landscaped: the owners’ vision was to
reconstitute the overgrown and neglected garden spaces around the house. Purple heuchera,
hostas and a variegated gardenia line the front walk and a front garden features hellebores and
ivy, Solomon’s seal and vinca. On the east wall a mural of roses recalls a large pink rambling rose
which perished in the 2006-2007 drought: it is true to size and was painted in 2009 by Chapel
Hill artist Michael Brown. Its colors are echoed in the creeping phlox and variegated euonymus
planted below. A stone path leads one through a formal White Garden to the back of the house
where three large planters punctuate a bed with hostas and camellia. The back also features
raised beds of vegetables and herbs and a charming guest-house covered with Royal Sunset
climbing roses.
3. The Gillings Garden - 620 East Franklin Street
Imposing wrought-iron gates and a gracious
circular flagstone-paved drive lead to the large
house, built ca. 1911, overlooking historic
Franklin Street. Stone dogs holding baskets
flank the front steps, and a southern
wraparound front porch shaded by evergreen
clematis provides a dramatic prologue to the
house. The tone is one of formal elegance but
includes environmentally friendly elements throughout. Elegant rain chains with cornucopiashaped “cups” on each corner of the eaves connect to underground cisterns. A wall-fountain
with encircling brick walls and a paved seating area provide “white noise” against Franklin Street
traffic; its water runs into a French drain and
feeds an underground cistern. At the side of
the house is a sunken garden with the
dimensions of a regulation-sized croquet
court; a rose garden beyond is designed on
an axis. The back garden, overlooked by a
wrought- iron balcony, is sheltered by a
pergola decked with climbing hydrangeas.
Behind it is a shade garden with peonies,
Solomon’s seal, heucheras, and lily of the
valley. Notable plants include ‘Crown Jewel’
gardenias, sun-tolerant ‘Miss Kim’ lilacs, yews and Japanese redbuds. Camellias and Chinese
hollies are original to the property.
4. The Capel Garden - 105 South Boundary Street
This enchanting story-book house was built in
1936 by Estelle and Julius Page on a lot “carved
out” of her father’s garden as a wedding
present for the couple. The garden was
designed for a succession of colors through the
seasons: in spring the front yard displays a
lavenderand-purple
palette,
featuring
tulips and stachys in front of the trellised, copper-roofed
front porch shaded by a windmill palm, while a bank of
azaleas lines the white board fence. The landscape designer
created a series of garden “rooms” each distinct and
beautifully landscaped. In a side garden, a gently flowing
stone fountain features a base of old English millstones. A
delightful arched gate leads to surprises in the back garden
with whimsical folk-art featuring yellow hobbit-homes,
grazing sheep and a beached shark. Birdhouses are
everywhere. Another grouping of distinct gardening areas
borders the driveway. Here, a huge pinoak tree provides
dappled shade while underneath is a bubbling pond that is
original to the house.
5. The Kelchner Garden - 514 Senlac Road
The house and garden are part of a real
estate parcel named Battle Estates. The
house was built in the 1920's, about the
same time as the Coker Arboretum, a 5acre tract one block away. Tradition says
that some of Coker’s extra plant materials
were often planted in Battle Estates.
Tucked back from the main road, sheltered
and tranquil, the property offers a discovery
around every turn. The Kelchners renovated
in 2006, adding vintage leaded windows
and converting the garage into a garden shed and workshop. A privacy wall of aged brick
reminds one of Charleston or Savannah, and interesting wrought iron elements are reminiscent
of European gardens. ‘Lady Banks’ roses line the driveway; and embedded in flanking stone
walls, fanciful gargoyles represent the four seasons. Crowned frogs
here and there on the property lend a whimsical touch. The immense
and ancient crepe-myrtles flanking the wrought-iron gate inside the
brick courtyard by the alley are purportedly the oldest in Chapel Hill:
they bloom magnificent deep red. A large yellow-wood tree provides
plentiful shade on the flagstone terrace. The back garden is brickwalled and displays many different textures. Nooks and crannies
including a secret rose garden encourage a playful mood. Plantings
include an immense old magnolia; also lilacs, peonies, oak-leaf
hydrangea, dogwood and a tall fir tree. The garden is watered by an
irrigation system fed by well water. The owners enjoy the
kaleidoscope of color unfolding through the seasons as well as the
birds and bees attracted by the plants.
6. The Abbey Garden - 735 Gimghoul Road
Bright green euphorbia, interlaced with
masses of tulips, irises, and pansies line
the sidewalk of the Abbey home and
beckons you to enter. A brick walk
terminating in a brick patio leads you
through a front lawn shaded by a
majestic oak to a dogwood-framed front
door. Azaleas in many colors draw the
eye. A series of flagstone steps take you
down the side of the house to a small
rose-covered arbor where a swing
frames the view of a sloping lawn
bordered by many specimen trees. Fluffy
ball viburnums and native azaleas
accompany a splendid array of tulips,
notably ‘Angelique.’ The five Abbey children cultivate a special plant that will bloom on their
individual birthdays. Additionally, each child is allowed to choose a favorite tulip to plant each
year.
7. The Hershey Garden - 219
Stagecoach Road
A majestic entrance features
azaleas, juniper, cedar, and
loropetalum as well as large
boulders. The front door is framed
by red-barked crepe myrtle and the
sweeping, shaded front yard
provides striking contrast to the back yard with its sun and rocks,
a surprise discovery. The loss of many trees in a hurricane
opened sunny possibilities in the rear and spurred the addition of
a pool. Stone-walled terraces rise above a brick-paved patio: the
first houses an outdoor kitchen; on the second, the pool. From
here a stone path meanders over to another terrace “room”
which features a gazebo perched on an immense boulder with a
resident frog pool at its foot. Beyond it lie a hot tub and shaded
seating area. Well-chosen and well-established plantings
contribute to the overall harmony of this complex design.
8. The Marson Garden - 1500 Hatch Road
Hidden away in a rural setting, the owners
have worked to restore the majesty of an old
house and yard and have done so with
unusual and admirable flair. At the top of the
driveway one is greeted by a splendid grove
of pines; golden barberries and attractive
container plantings line the front porch. The
new porches front and back, designed and
built by John himself, offer both sun and
shade: the front looks out over lawn, the back
over a fenced back garden into the woods. A
cascade of pots dangles from a weathervane
in the shape of a moose. The garden itself is a
work in progress. John and Pat have done
almost all of the work themselves, including moving large rocks and digging in obdurate red clay.
In the back garden, a honeysuckle-clad pergola shelters a shaded and tranquil seating area
which has a small fish pond with a gurgling frog fountain. A decorative chicken-coop with a
miniature barn houses five bantam hens: Blossom, Daisy, Petunia, Rose and Violet. A raised bed
holds an herb garden, and a rock garden is being built. The garden exudes an air of calm and
contentment.
9. The Hoke Garden - 102 Stoneridge Road
A long driveway shaded by a canopy of native trees and lined
by mahonias, rhodendrons and upright yews leads to an
eclectic modern home by Goforth. Deer fencing encloses an
area of four acres, divided into woodlands with trails and a
“homespun garden” which is left natural and not manicured.
Beehives in front of the house provide a special attraction and
echo the owners’ major interest. The flower garden behind
the house is largely shaded and features bleeding heart, huge
snowball viburnum, and hostas. Throughout the woodland
area, native Buckeye abound. Surprises in the woods include
“chairs”
hewn from
thick tree
limbs, an 8foot vinecovered “oil derrick,” and glass sculptures:
Chihuly-style works by Pringle Teeter (Cedar
Creek Gallery) and Mardi-Gras bowling balls
set around like giant Easter eggs. Other
featured plants are cinnamon-bark maples and
white loropetalums.
10. Mary Scroggs Elementary School Student Garden – Located in Southern Village, 501 Kildaire
Road, Chapel Hill
With support from staff, faculty, and
parents, students at the Mary Scroggs
Elementary School Student Garden
enjoy an enchanted place where they
can enhance their learning of
sustainable gardening through a
seed-to-sow experience. Once in fall,
and again in spring, students are
presented with a hands-on learning
opportunity as they amend the soil,
plant the seeds, cultivate the crops,
and harvest a bounty of delicious and
nutritious organically grown fruits
and vegetables. Each classroom has a dedicated area for planting that is tied into their science,
math, language arts, and visual arts curriculum. In addition, there's a plot dedicated to native
plants and butterflies, and several plots are available for the Scroggs 50-member Garden Club.
Students even tend a space for Pazzo, a local Southern Village restaurant which contributes a
percentage of their pizza sales in exchange for the herbs and vegetables. When you visit this
garden you’ll see what a dedicated group of parent volunteers can do to enrich the lives of the
students at Scroggs and in doing so, create a model for other schools to adopt.