GARDEN TOUR
2019
Public Gardens
Helen's Garden, 150 East King Street
The walled garden on the west side of the Alexander Dickson House honors the memory of Dr. Charles Blake and Helen Blake Watkins who designed the Chatwood Gardens, and who donated the land for the Visitor Center.
Beekeepers Pollinator Garden, 150 E. King St
The Orange County Beekeeper Association’s Pollinator Garden is a 20-foot circular pollinator garden created in 2011 to bring attention to the need for plants for pollinators, especially the honey bee, Apis mellifera. The garden includes salvia, monarda, mountain mint, purple coneflower, catmint, asters, and other flowers preferred by honeybees for pollen and nectar. The goal of the garden is to bring awareness to the Orange County Beekeepers Association and to the plants that will help support our local pollinators.
King Street Gardens, Corner of King and Churton (behind the restaurants)
These gardens were created in partnership with the Town of Hillsborough and the Hillsborough Garden Club, who planted and maintain the gardens. The plantings encourage pollinators and the adjacent restaurants harvest the available herbs for use in their cuisines.
Spurgeon Garden, Burwell School, 319 N. Churton St
The Spurgeon Garden is located at the Burwell School on the southwest corner near the small music building. The garden was dedicated by The Hillsborough Garden Club to Carrie Waitt Spurgeon, a member of the club who lived in the home in the 1940’s. Please don’t miss the Musk Rose on the cedar-shaved arch.
Turnip Patch Park, Corner of King and Occoneechee
In 2007, Karen MacAuley, a Hillsborough Garden Club member, designed the Turnip Patch Park butterfly garden. Using her experience as a native butterfly center docent, she ordered seeds, propagated and transplanted plants to the original garden site along the creek bank in the park. She led the effort to maintain the garden for many years. The garden, now a Monarch Way Station, was moved to its current location from the creek bank where it now receives more sunlight and eliminates erosion problems. The garden is still maintained by Hillsborough Garden Club.
The Gold Park Pollinator Demonstration Garden was created in 2014 by the Orange County Master Gardener’s, the Boy Scout Troop 821, and the town of Hillsborough. This site was originally a rain garden to slow and clean rainwater. Currently, the garden helps pollinators by giving people an area to observe and learn about them.
