Gardens

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

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. Click here to learn more.

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.

One of two community gardens onsite, the Family Garden offers twenty-four raised bed plots for rent to community members for growing vegetables, herbs, flowers, and more.

This collection, to be located on the Dogwood Trail just inside the Garden entrance on Boyds Bridge Pike, will focus on ferns native to East Tennessee, Western Carolina, and North Georgia. Garden installation planned for 2025.

A gift from the family of Tom and Ann Ford, this garden features over 15 different varieties of azaleas, largely sourced the local East Fork Nursery. The garden, which is located within the Martha Ashe Garden, honors the legacy of the Howells, who were well known for their azaleas.

A gift from Lane Hays, the Garden of New Beginnings adorns the lower facade of the Dogwood Center. Bold combinations of red twig dogwood, maiden grass, and gaillardia accent the architectural features of our award-winning event space and welcome visitors entering the site from the Dogwood drive on Boyds Bridge Pike.

Based on the book “The Drunken Botanist”, this garden showcases plants used in the brewing, distilling, and flavoring of alcohol throughout history.

While the entire Knoxville Botanical Garden & Arboretum is dedicated to honoring the legacy of the Howell Family, this garden offers special tribute to the family's horticultural contributions and will feature plant species they were well-know to have cultivated and sold. The space includes two distinct water features, one of which was created by local artist Gerry Moll. The piece makes use of an old millstone, which the Howells recovered from WIlliams Creek. The family would install these intriguing rocks as hardscaping features across the property. Plants for the brand-new collection will be installed Fall 2024/Spring 2025.

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. Click here to learn more.

This garden showcases native plants that have been used medicinally in this region for centuries, notably by the Cherokee People.

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. Click here to learn more.

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. Click here to learn more.

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 Row Garden was originally used as Joe Howell’s vegetable garden. The stone walls surrounding the Row Garden, built around 1938, are the oldest of what was the Joe N. Howell Landscape Nursery. As a part of a garden renovation in 2016, concrete plates that bordered each bed were removed to open the space and make it more accessible. Now, a border of stunning roses, anemones, redbuds, and evergreens surround an open lawn, where visitors can leisurely and more easily explore the garden. Both the landing at the west entrance and the stairs leading down to the Martha Ashe Garden are made from the concrete plates that were used by the Howells. To the left of the stairs into the Martha Ashe is the Howell’s old composter.

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. Click here to learn more.

Located on the upper portion of the Dogwood Trail, this garden seeks to emulate a seep, which is a naturally occurring geological formation where groundwater seeps to the surface. It is a unique habitat with generally shallow, consistently moist soils and therefore is home to unique often endangered plants species. This garden is still in process and will host a number of species endemic to seep environments.

The World Garden provides larger in-ground plots to our community members who have been forced to leave their homes in other countries due to violence or persecution. Many of the gardeners grow the staple crops of their homelands.