Gardens

Though not a traditional garden, the Bamboo Forest is one of our most enchanting spaces. Towering stalks and filtered sunlight create a serene environment, popular with families and photographers alike. It’s a peaceful pocket that invites quiet exploration and playful curiosity.

Designed by Hedstrom Design and installed in 2011, the Danae Garden includes dozens of mature plants dating back over fifty years. Nestled within it is the Mary Nell Johnson Perennial Border, originally designed and planted in 2007, offering layered seasonal color and texture.

Rooted in the legacy of the Howell Nursery, this trail winds through several acres of dogwoods and kin. Launched in 2011 with help from the Wolf Tree family, it now includes an inspiring diversity of trees and shrubs across the Cornus genus.

The Every Child Outdoors (ECO) Garden offers hands-on learning through agriculture. Eighteen raised beds, a perennial herb border, a vibrant mural, a mud kitchen, and seasonal sunflower patch serve as the setting for the Garden’s beloved preschool Story Thyme program, which runs weekly from April through October.

The Family Garden provides twenty-four raised beds available to community members for growing vegetables, flowers, and herbs. It’s a place to learn, grow, and connect—supporting healthy eating, neighborly bonds, and the joy of gardening together.

Newly installed in the fall of 2024, this garden along the Dogwood Trail spotlights ferns native to East Tennessee, Western Carolina, and North Georgia. It aims to highlight the diversity and beauty of shade-loving species found throughout the southern Appalachians.

Gifted by the family of Tom and Ann Ford, this garden features over 15 azalea varieties sourced from East Fork Nursery. Located in the Martha Ashe Garden, it celebrates the Howell family’s legacy and love for the colorful spring bloomers they once cultivated.

A gift from Lane Hays, this garden graces the Dogwood Center’s lower façade with bold textures and seasonal color. Red twig dogwood, grasses, and gaillardia frame the award-winning event space and warmly greet visitors entering from Boyds Bridge Pike.

Inspired by The Drunken Botanist, this garden features plants used in brewing, distilling, and cocktail culture throughout history. It’s a fun, fragrant, and educational stop—perfect for visitors interested in plants with a flavorful past.

Honoring the Howell family's contributions, the Legacy Garden is the newest on the property and features plants the family cultivated and sold. Two water features, including one crafted by local artist Gerry Moll from a historic millstone, reflect local artistry and family legacy.

Once a nursery showcase, this garden was restored in 2007 and remains a visitor favorite. Shade trees, layered beds, and distinctive stonework provide four-season interest, while its historic walls and layout echo its legacy of design and display. Click here to learn more.

This garden features native plants historically used for healing, especially by Indigenous communities including the Cherokee. It offers a reflective space to learn about plant-based traditions and the enduring relationships between people and plants.

This showy collection includes over 100 peony varieties donated by Katharine Paulk. With accents of evergreens, coral bells, asters, and black-eyed Susans, the garden is a favorite backdrop for photos, quiet walks, or informal gatherings. Click here to learn more.

This garden includes native plants and cultivars selected to support butterflies and other pollinators. Designed to bloom across nine months, it offers nectar, habitat, and beauty year-round while supporting essential ecological relationships. Click here to learn more.

Located beside the Dogwood Center, this perennial garden surrounds a spacious lawn bordered by our signature stone walls. A popular outdoor wedding and event venue, the space offers elegance and vibrant seasonal displays throughout the year.

Once Joe Howell’s vegetable garden, this space features 1930s stone walls and the Garden’s rose collection. Bright green lawn is flanked by striking redbud trees, and entrance paths reclaimed from the stone that once bounded the Howell’s raised vegetable beds welcomes visitors to enjoy the garden’s history and its thoughtful renewal.

Inspired by Frances Hodgson Burnett’s novel, this hidden garden is a magical favorite for children and adults alike. Stone walls enclose a peaceful space with seasonal color and accessible paths that encourage imagination, reflection, and play. Click here to learn more.

This in-progress garden emulates a seep—where groundwater rises to the surface and supports rare plant species. Located on the Dogwood Walking Trail, it highlights moisture-loving native flora and a lesser-known yet vital ecosystem.

This community garden offers large in-ground plots to individuals who have resettled in Knoxville, mostly from Eastern Africa. Gardeners grow staple crops from their homelands, sharing food, culture, and resilience through the universal language of plants.