# JC Raulston Arboretum

The JC Raulston Arboretum is a 10-acre (40,000 m$^2$) arboretum and botanical garden administered by North Carolina State University, and located in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is open daily to the public without charge.

## History

The Arboretum was established in 1976 by horticulturist Dr. James Chester Raulston, and after Dr. Raulston's death in 1996, the Arboretum was re-named in his honor.

## Plant collections

The arboretum has a collection of plants from over 50 countries. Its plant collections now include over 6,000 total taxa of annuals, perennials, bulbs, vines, ground covers, shrubs, and trees, with significant collections of:
* Acer (maple)
* Aesculus (buckeye)
* Berberis (barberry)
* Buxus (boxwood)
* Cercis (redbud)
* Conifers
* Ilex (holly)
* Magnolia (magnolia)
* Mahonia (grapeholly)
* Nandina (heavenly bamboo)
* Quercus (oak)
* Styracaceae (silverbell family)
* Viburnum
* Wisteria

## The major gardens

* Annual Color Trials — an official All-America Selections (AAS) testing site, evaluating over 700 different annuals and tender perennials each year.
* Entry Garden — more than 100 types of tender perennials, mostly tropical.
* Finley-Nottingham Rose Garden — over 200 roses representing over 120 taxa, including hybrid teas, hybrid musk roses, David Austin roses, and climbing roses.
* Japanese Garden — Japanese plants with a raked-stone Zen garden; plants include Acer palmatum ‘Kiyohime’, Acer palmatum ‘Seiryu’, Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Nana Gracilis’, Lagerstroemia fauriei, Nandina domestica f. capillaris cultivars, and Pinus taeda ‘Nana’.
* Klein-Pringle White Garden — white-flowered plants and plants with gray, white, or silver foliage, inspired by the famous White Garden at Sissinghurst Castle Garden; plants include Acer palmatum, Lagerstroemia ‘Natchez’, Magnolia × loebneri ‘Merrill’, Styrax japonicus ‘Emerald Pagoda’, and Viburnum ‘Mohawk’.
* Lath House — over 700 kinds of shade-loving plants, including Acanthus spinosus, Cornus controversa 'Variegata', Farfugium japonicum 'Aureomaculatum', Gentiana saponaria, Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Pia’, Pieris japonica ‘Shojo’, and Trochodendron aralioides.
* Mixed Border — a large border planting (300 × 15 feet) (91 × 4.6 m) of trees, shrubs, groundcovers, perennials, and bulbs; plants include Campsis grandiflora 'Morning Calm', Chamaecyparis thyoides 'Rubicon', Clematis 'Betty Corning', Cornus sericea 'Silver and Gold', and Hamamelis × intermedia ‘Jelena’.
* Model Gardens — home demonstration gardens.
* Paradise Garden — for the senses of sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell; plants include Aloysia triphylla, Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’, Hosta ‘Sum and Substance’, and Ziziphus jujuba ‘Inermis’.
* Perennial Border — nearly 1,000 plants in a large border planting (450 × 18 feet) (140 × 5.5 m), with color scheme based upon a plan by Gertrude Jekyll.
* Southall Memorial Garden — a hemlock tree grove, with mixed plantings and an open grassy area for gatherings.
* Xeric Garden — plants from Mexico and the American Southwest, including Agave, Dasylirion, Echinocactus, Hesperaloe, Nolina, Opuntia, and Yucca.
* Winter Garden — plants at their best in winter, including Cryptomeria, Chamaecyparis, Cornus officinalis 'Kintoki', Edgeworthia chrysantha, Epimedium, Hamamelis, Helleborus × hybridus, Ilex, Iris unguicularis, Prunus mume 'Rose Glow', and Yucca.

## Gallery

* Entrance to the Raulston Aboretum
* Twisted Raulston Arboretum
* Water lily in a pond at the Arboretum
* Metasequoia glyptostroboides (cultivated under synonym name "M. honshuenensis")