Our Gardens

Originally designed by the Joe N. Howell Landscape Nursery as a garden showcase highlighting the many plants found in the nursery, this garden was revived in 2007 and remains one of the most beloved places on the property. While it’s mature trees provide shade in the summer, the stone walls surrounding and bisecting the garden provide interest and texture in the winter, making the garden a year-round marvel.

The Secret Garden, inspired by Frances Hodgson Burnett’s book of the same name, is one of our most popular gardens. It’s meandering paved path is wheelchair accessible.

A wonderful collection of over 100 different specimens donated by Katharine Paulk. With accents of stately evergreens, Black Eyed Susan, Coral Bells, and New England Aster, this garden is a wonderful spot for a photoshoot, picnic or small gathering.

The Row Garden was originally used as Joe Howell’s vegetable garden. It is now one of our premiere garden spaces, with a rose collection added in 2020. It is a popular spot for weddings and photography.

Adjacent to the Dogwood Center and a popular outdoor wedding venue, the Rita Johnson Garden offers a spacious lawn surrounded by perennial beds, and our signature rock walls.

The Danae Garden contains dozens of mature specimens that have been growing on the site for at least fifty years. The garden was designed by Hedstrom Design of Knoxville and installed in 2011. Within this garden is the Mary Nell Johnson Perennial Border, which was originally designed and installed in 2007.

With the extensive history of the Howell Nursery to guide us, we began our collection of our native dogwoods and their many varieties. Several acres of the former Howell Nursery were designated as the site for our dogwood collections, and with both financial and physical help from the Wolf Tree family, work began in 2011 with irrigation lines and the building of the primary trail. Our collection quickly grew to contain over 20 cultivars of our native Cornus florida, 16 distinct species and dozens of varieties of other Cornus family members.

Though not a traditional garden, the Bamboo Forest is one of our most enchanting spaces.

In the ECO Garden, children learn about growing fruits and vegetables and much more through field trips, service projects and our weekly, April through October, Story Thyme program.

This garden features plants that are native to East Tennessee and some cultivars of native plants. The plants were chosen specifically to provide larval food for native butterflies but also to have something in bloom for nine months of the year which not only provides nectar but also shelter.