Background image: pinxterflower azalea. Text: Hours this weekend: main garden and education center: closed Friday April 3, open 9-5 Saturday April 4 and Sunday April 5. Our other gardens and natural areas are open every day, dawn to dusk. Info: ncbg.unc.edu.

Heads up: we've got a bit of an unusual schedule this week. Our main garden and Allen Education Center will be closed on Friday (a University holiday) but open normal hours on Saturday and Sunday: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Come enjoy!

ncbg.unc.edu/visit

Carolina Moonlight wild indigo blooming in our Courtyard Gardens, with lobed tickseed and columbine in the background. GiveUNC: a place like no other, a day like no other.

Today is #GiveUNC, and we need your help to unlock a special challenge gift!

In celebration of the Garden’s 60th anniversary, several generous supporters will give $6,000 if we receive 60 gifts of $125 or more. Give today: giveunc.unc.edu/cause/north-...

An educator (out of frame) hands a monarch butterfly to a child participating in Fiddleheads as another looks on. Text: Fiddleheads: Preschool Nature Explorers. Drop-off program for ages 4-5, Wednesdays, March 11 - April 22, 1:30-4 p.m., 6-week series (no class on 4/1) | $180

The spring series of Fiddleheads: Preschool Nature Explorers starts in just a few weeks! In this playful, nature-based drop-off program, kids ages 4-5 discover the wonders of spring through hands-on activities and outdoor adventures. Learn more and sign up: reg.learningstream.com/reg/event_pa...

Feb. 12th #DarwinDay lecture w/ Paul Brinkman, "'Damned beastly devilment:' Charles Darwin's dalliance with vertebrate fossils during the voyage of the Beagle," in-person or virtual: ncbg.unc.edu/event/darwin...

#HPS #histsci @ncbg.bsky.social

2026 NC Wildflower of the Year - North Carolina Botanical Garden Announcing the 2026 North Carolina Wildflower of the Year: big-headed aster (Symphyotrichum grandiflorum)! Pick up a free pack of seeds of this native wildflower in our exhibit hall.

Announcing the 2026 North Carolina Wildflower of the Year: big-headed aster (Symphyotrichum grandiflorum)! 🎉

Learn more about this native species (and how you can get a free seed pack if you live in the Southeast): ncbg.unc.edu/2026/01/08/2...

Resurrecting Canby's Dropwort: Conservation in Action - North Carolina Botanical Garden Collaborative conservation efforts have brought Canby's dropwort back to the only site in North Carolina where it has ever been found.

Back from the brink: collaborative conservation work has restored Canby's dropwort (Tiedemannia canbyi) to North Carolina after more than 20 years!

Read more in this blog post by NCBG conservation ecologist Brandon Wheeler: ncbg.unc.edu/2026/01/21/r...

Finding common ground: Edible campus in sustainable community - UNC Institute for the Environment Caroline Hines is a senior at UNC-Chapel Hill from Archer Lodge, N.C.

A beautiful piece about our Edible Campus program by #UNC senior Caroline Hines.

"On a campus where sustainability is often discussed in classrooms, reports, and strategic plans, Edible Campus UNC is where those ideas take physical form."

ie.unc.edu/news/finding...

Inside the Research: Climate, Fire, and Venus Flytraps - North Carolina Botanical Garden Will climate change affect optimal burn frequency for fire-dependent species like the Venus flytrap? We're collaborating with researchers at Kansas State University and Duke University to understand t...

Our conservation department is part of a multi-year project studying how climate change may affect ideal prescribed burn schedules for Venus flytraps and other rare plants that live alongside them. Learn about the "climate cages" they're building and why this work is important:

We're hiring! go.unc.edu/ncbgjobs. Background image is the Carolina Community Garden, with leafy greens growing in rows and a solar-powered greenhouse in the background.

We're hiring for a new role: Community Gardens Program Manager! This position will lead both the Carolina Community Garden and Edible Campus UNC, overseeing operations and program development and supervising staff and volunteers.

Learn more and apply by Oct. 24: unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/307...

Laurel Hill Road closed for repairs between Coker Drive and NCBG service entrance. Map shows closed (dead-end) road leading to our education center.

The top of Laurel Hill Road blocked off by red "Danger" tape

⚠️ Laurel Hill Road in is closed until further notice between Coker Drive and our service entrance in #ChapelHill. This section of road sustained significant damage during this week's storms and requires major repairs to be safe for vehicles. Follow our updates: ncbg.unc.edu/2025/07/08/s...

A blue-gray gnatcatcher sings on a branch against a blue sky. Inset photo: Jill Soha outdoors wearing a hat with headphones around her neck. Text repeats post info.

Tomorrow (6/26) at noon ET: join us in-person or on Zoom for a Hybrid Lunchbox Talk: Information in Bird Song with Jill Soha, visiting scholar at Duke.

Free! Register to save your spot: reg.learningstream.com/reg/event_pa...

The meaning behind a millstone - North Carolina Botanical Garden The final owners of King's Mill weren't the Kings: they were the Oldhams, an African American couple who had been sharecroppers at Mason Farm.

The final owners of King’s Mill weren’t the Kings: they were an African American couple named Henderson and Cornelia Oldham who had once been sharecroppers at Mason Farm.

Read about their story (and about how we came to have their mill's grinding stone): ncbg.unc.edu/2025/06/19/t...

America's favorite bloodthirsty plant The exotic plant only grows wild in a single place on the planet: a sliver of dirty in a small corner of the Carolinas.

The most recent episode of @wunc.org's The Broadside features our director of conservation programs, Mike Kunz! Host Anisa Khalifa visited the Garden to speak with Mike and see Venus flytraps up close.

Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: www.wunc.org/podcast/the-...

Hybrid Lunchbox Talk: Carolina Ghosts, Synchronous Shows and Foxfire Lights: The Bioluminescent Insects of North Carolina. Image is of Clyde Sorenson with an insect net at night and an inset of a glowing insect. Thursday, May 12, 12 p.m. ET.

Have you seen your first firefly of the season yet? 🔆 This Thursday at noon, we'll be joined by NC State professor Clyde Sorenson for a Hybrid Lunchbox talk exploring fireflies and other bioluminescent insects of NC.

Free! In-person and Zoom. Register: reg.learningstream.com/reg/event_pa...

The surprisingly tricky art of seed banking To safeguard threatened plants, science must unravel the hidden biology of often-persnickety seeds as they age, sleep and awaken

Preserving rare species through seed banking isn't easy. Learn about some of this practice's challenges and success stories in this article, which features our director of conservation programs, Mike Kunz!

L-R, top to bottom:

1: Little sweet Betsy and eastern blue phlox

2: Bird's-foot violet and bluets

3: Eastern red columbine and golden ragwort

4: Green-and-gold and violet

Little sweet Betsy and eastern blue phlox

Bird’s foot violet and bluets

Eastern red columbine and golden ragwort

Green and gold with violets in the background

Not April Fools’ — just some magical native wildflower combos that have popped up in our main garden today. 🌸💖

We're hiring! go.unc.edu/ncbgjobs. Background is our mountain habitat in spring, with columbine, golden ragwort, and phlox blooming.

Are you an enthusiastic leader and community builder who's passionate about connecting people with nature? Join our team as the Director of Learning and Community Engagement!

Learn more and apply by April 18: unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/298...

Trout lilies in bloom in our daily plant sale

Rows of southeastern native plants in containers in our daily plant sale area

Our Daily Plant Sale reopens for the season tomorrow (Tuesday, March 18)! 🎉 It features a rotating selection of southeastern native plants grown here at the NCBG nursery.

Plant list (subject to change): go.unc.edu/dailyplantsale.
Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Tuesday to Sunday.

They're related, but they're different species – both are common around here! (And sometimes people call these peepers, anyway.)

A good site for learning more (and hearing their different calls) is herpsofnc.org/frogs-and-to...!

A gray catbird eating elderberry fruits. Hybrid Lunchbox Talk: Eating Like a Bird: Native Fruits We Can Enjoy at Our Tables. With Mary Jac Brennan. Thursday, March 13, 12 p.m. ET.

Interested in growing or eating southeastern native fruits? Join us on Thursday for an in-depth and practical introduction to 12 native fruiting plants you can grow at home, including how to harvest and use their fruits.

Free! In-person & Zoom. Register: reg.learningstream.com/reg/event_pa...

Meanwhile at Coker Arboretum 💕 A few paths and garden areas are closed for arbor construction (finally underway!), but all of these blooms are in open and accessible areas. Come enjoy!

ncbg.unc.edu/visit/coker-arboretum

Two dimpled trout lily flowers seen from above, with alternating maroon and yellow tepals

Two trout lilies from the side, showing how bare and brown the landscape around them is

The dimpled trout lilies (Erythronium umbilicatum) are blooming in our Mountain Habitat. And coincidentally, these native ephemeral wildflowers are the colors of #MardiGras! 💛💜💚

Harbinger of spring: upland chorus frogs singing in our Herb Garden. These guys are only about an inch long! ❤️

Final update for now: Our main garden will *reopen* at 12 p.m. today (Friday 2/21)! ☀️🌱

New update: We'll be closed all day Thursday (2/20). Friday schedule still TBD. Stay safe!

❄️ Weather Update: ❄️ Per UNC's adverse weather guidance, we'll be closed all day Wednesday (2/19) through at least 12 p.m. on Thursday (2/20).

Check back here for updates on our reopening schedule, and stay safe out there!

Photos to common winter birds at the garden posted to the inside of a bird blind, which has seats in front of feeders that enable people to watch birds without scaring them off.

Our bird blind is ready for the #NCBirdCount this weekend with an updated guide to common winter birds you’re likely to see around the Garden!

#ScienceAcrossNC is organizing this event, which runs from 2/14 to 2/17: learn how to get involved (and earn an embroidered patch!) at scienceacrossnc.org.

Free public programs in February: Darwin Day lecture on 2/12 and a Lunchbox Talk about creating biodiversity in your yard on 2/13 are first up. See the full listing at go.unc.edu/gardenprograms. Image is a bluebird eating a winterberry fruit.

Upcoming Youth + Family programs, including a free Nature Tales program on 2/14 and EcoKids: Winter Backyard Birds on 2/15. See the full program listing at go.unc.edu/gardenprograms. Image shows kids by a vernal pool.

We've got lots of education programs coming up, from art workshops to free lectures to kids' adventures. Here are a few of them, including our annual #DarwinDay lecture on Wednesday evening!

🔗 Register and find MORE upcoming events at go.unc.edu/gardenprograms.

Announcing Our New Mission and Vision YouTube video by NC Botanical Garden

We're excited to announce that the Garden has a new mission – one that reflects not just the importance of plant biodiversity but also of people and our relationship with the natural world.

📽️ Hear from director Damon Waitt: www.youtube.com/shorts/G3AuU...

🔗 Read more: ncbg.unc.edu/about/missio...