While visiting my sister
in Greensboro, N.C., I was enormously happy and so surprised when she suggested
that we go to the town of Kernersville, just west of Winston-Salem. Our destination was a botanical garden she
had heard of in a local publication.
Established in 2011 and
still developing… the Paul J. Ciener Botanical Garden on 215 S. Main Street was
an unexpected wonder for someone from New England, namely me.
My first bit of eye candy
was a beautiful structure that contains the Welcome Center, conference room,
and a ballroom. Adjacent to the center
was a wonderful setting of undulating fields in the rear, down to a future
development of various ‘woodland gardens’.
I admired their taste in
plantings, especially the Ginkgo, Hornbeam and Fringe trees. But it was the way each of these featured
trees were set out in their landscape plan.
The Hornbeams at the left front garden are being trained into a hedge,
called “pleaching”, a very interesting treatment to set out the front Pattern Garden
with this soon to be beautiful Hornbeam walkway.
Additionally, the public
parking area to the left of the main structure/welcome center are two very
large beds of succulents/cacti which are very uncommon and beautifully set
out. Called in the Garden Map “the Xeric
Scree Beds”, certainly worth the trip just to see these cactus plants and their
beautiful siting.
The offices and welcome
center are open Monday through Friday from 9AM until 5PM, while the gardens
themselves are free and open from dawn to dusk.
For more information, please see their web site, www.cienerbotanicalgarden.org
The Garden features:
- 7 acres under development
- 15 gardens showcasing 1300 different kinds of plants
- The largest spring-flowering bulb display in the Piedmont
- An Award-Winning Perennial Border
- A Kitchen Garden producing 3 seasons of fruits and vegetables. All vegetables are harvested by local Non-Profit Organizations
- 3 unusual garden features "in the becoming" - a screen of 46 Ginkgo trees and 18 Pleached Hornbeam trees and a Mosaic Hedge consisting of 9 different evergreen and deciduous flowering shrubs
- 3 Garden Staff, 4 Administrative Staff
- 50+ Volunteers
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