General Information

Hours:
• DSBG is open seven days a week 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

Admission:
• $10 for adults
• $9 for seniors 60+
• $5 for children 4-12
• Free to Garden Members and children under age 4

Get DSBG News First:
Sign up for The Garden Buzz eNewsletter online by clicking here or at the visitor desk to receive updates on DSBG news and events.

Become a member:
Memberships begin at $45. Corporate memberships also available. For more information, ask for a membership application at the visitor desk or visit our website. Your paid admission is deductible from the cost of membership if purchased during your visit.


DSBG History

In 1989, Daniel J. Stowe, a retired textile executive from Belmont, North Carolina, reserved 450 acres of prime rolling meadows, woodlands and lakefront property and established a foundation to develop a world-class botanical garden. A lifelong nature lover and gardening enthusiast, Dan Stowe and his wife, Alene, envisioned a complex evolving over several decades to rival other internationally renowned gardens.

Timeline

1989 - His interest sparked by the opening of the Fuqua Conservatory at Atlanta Botanical Garden, retired textile executive Daniel J. Stowe reveals his dream for the garden to William "Bill" Steele, formerly his estate planner. He asks Steele to begin researching the idea. Steele and his wife, Hariette, spent the next nine months visiting botanical gardens across the U.S. and later in Europe.

1991 - Environmental planning and design of Pittsburgh was chosen to design the future gardens and master planner Geoffrey Rausch began a series of visits to the garden site that continued for the next 10 years.

January 15, 1991 - The Daniel Jonathan Stowe Conservancy is formed and names Bill Steele as Executive Director of DSBG.

May 23, 1991 - Dan Stowe celebrated his 78th birthday with a garden-style party and the formal announcement of his gift of 450 acres and plans for Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden. To host the party, a two-story modular home was built on South New Hope Road in Belmont. This building, currently serving as administrative offices, and surrounding interim gardens were constructed and transformed for the event in just two months.

Spring, 1992 - DSBG sponsors its first display garden at the Southern Spring Show and the interim garden is opened to the public.

November 1993 - Garden & Gift Shop opens in a log cabin, constructed adjacent to the Interim Visitor Center. The cabin now serves as office space for Garden staff.

1994 - The Garden begins a series of signature events - Spring and Fall plant sales.

Summer, 1995 - Workers begin logging and clearing the Phase One site and the Master Plan is unveiled to the public. During the unveiling on August 10, 1995, Dan Stowe shoveled a spade of earth onto a 27-foot willow oak, planted outside the Interim Visitor Center to symbolize this new phase.

June, 1996 - Bill Steele takes on the critical role of Director of Development and Mike Bush is named Executive Director.

November, 1996 - The opportunity to join the garden as a founding member begins.

Summer, 1997 - Mike Bush and Jim Summey plant 195 large trees from a tree farm on Steele Creek Road near NC 49. These trees now divide the event lawn, east lawn and amphitheater, as well as the approach to the Visitor Pavilion.

Summer, 1997 - On a plant purchasing trip to Atlanta, Mike Bush stops at Great Gatsby's, a shop specializing in antique furniture, vintage automobiles and architectural elements. Stopping to admire a 1954 Oldsmobile convertible, Mike's attention was quickly captured by a breathtaking antique stained glass dome, standing on four foot steel legs, exposed to the elements with their outdoor garden art collection. The dome, crafted in 1909 by a company also used by Tiffany, had crowned the First Baptist Church in Canton, Ohio for many years. Following board approval, Mike purchased the dome to adorn the Visitor Pavilion Foyer in the space below the cupola.

December, 1997 - Phase One groundbreaking takes place despite rainy weather that plagued the celebration and the project begins to take shape. Rodgers Builders, project contractor, begins construction.

1999 - Final construction of the Visitor Pavilion and surrounding Gardens is complete.

October 8, 1999 - Her Royal Highness Princess Michael of Kent and guests enjoy the DSBG opening Gala.

December 1999 - Opportunity to join as a founding member ends with 5,297 members.

Spring, 2000 - DSBG quickly becomes one of the region's premier wedding destinations.

April 5, 2001 - DSBG plays host to Southern Living Gardening School, featuring horticultural seminars by Dr. Rick Ludwig, a Southern Living Garden Specialist.

May 15-19, 2002 - DSBG celebrated the life, works and times of Andre Michaux, a noted eighteenth century French explorer, collector and botanist. Michaux is responsible for bringing seeds from around the world to the Carolinas. He was also the first botanist to record hundreds of our native plants, including the Big Leaf Magnolia, first discovered in Gaston County by Michaux.

May 22, 2003 - Plans for an Orchid Conservatory were announced and a capital campaign to raise $15 million began. The Conservatory will stand 25 feet tall and total 8,000 square feet. To date $7.6 million has been pledged.

June 15, 2003 - The grand opening of the West and White Gardens is held on Father's Day.

January, 2004 - DSBG is named one of the nation's "20 Great Gardens" in the new HGTV Flower Gardening Book.

July, 2004 - Construction of a new Azalea Bed along the tram path begins and plantings are completed within one week with the help of DSBG volunteers. Thanks to the donation of 500 Encore Azaleas (both spring and fall blooming), guests will enjoy a spectacular 9800 square-foot bi-annual show of color, spanning 494 feet in length.

September 19, 2004 - DSBG members and guests enjoy a five-year anniversary celebration including cake and punch, croquet on the lawn, seminars on Encore Azaleas and floral design, activities for children, a Garden scavenger hunt and gifts for garden members.

October, 2006 - A groundbreaking ceremony is held for The Orchid Conservatory. The glass structure will be the area’s only public conservatory devoted to the display of tropical plants. Water features and the world’s finest orchids and tropical plants will be part of the conservatory scheduled to open in Jan. 2008.

September 29, 2007 - Grand opening of the children’s Willow Maze at the Garden. The maze is in the shape of a potted plant and is designed to teach children how the different parts of the plant work. It is made up of over 600 plantings of Dappled Willow, Salix integra and covers an area of approximately 3,000 square feet and 600 linear feet of hedging.

January 19, 2008 - Grand opening of The Orchid Conservatory. The conservatory is the Carolina’s only glass house – 8,000 square feet under five stories – dedicated to the display of orchids and tropical plants. It’s a well-designed horticultural display of living, growing and ever-changing exhibits. Highlights include one of the largest indoor displays of bromeliads in the Eastern U.S. and a 116-foot tall Tropical Canvas of epiphytes.

Garden Art

In addition to the art on display in the Visitor Pavilion during Art at the Garden there are numerous other art features throughout the Garden. The Garden has been fortunate to receive several new pieces as donations. They have been placed in various locations throughout the Garden. Be sure to look for all of these art pieces on your next visit.

Glass sculptures in The Orchid Conservatory
Three cast glass and steel sculptures by artist Stephen Dee Edwards are displayed in The Orchid Conservatory. The sculptures were donated by Mr. & Mrs. Isaac Luski and include “Tango 2000,” “Rare Bird 2000,” “Blue Wing 2003.”

Bronze sculptures in Crape Myrtle Crossing
Bronze sculptures “Child of Peace Girl” and “Child of Peace Boy” were crafted by noted sculpture Gary Lee Price. The two sculptures were donated to the Garden last year by the Artemes family.

“Laura” in West Gardens
Noted sculptor Graham Weathers created this bronze figure of “Laura” holding a basket of flowers on a breezy day.

Fish Sculptures in Canal Garden
Greated by artist Wanda A. Hall the fish sculptures are made of high-fire stoneware clay, coated with wood ash glaze that gives them a fossilized appearance. Each 100 lb. fish is attached to a steel armature with copper wiring. The fish were placed in the Canal Garden in 2000.

Greystone Aviary
A wooden aviary designed by Shawn Weathers of Greystone Aviaries has been placed in the far end of the Ribbon Garden. The structure as well as the birds housed within are a beautiful addition to the Garden.

“Lillies and Raindrops” and “Hot Pink Silver Shadow”
Noted sculptor Graham Weathers donated two new sculptures to the Garden in 2007. “Lillies and Raindrops” is located at the end of the Canal Garden and “Hot Pink Silver Shadow” is at the far side of Magnolia Allee.