Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden - Belmont, NC

Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden is a landmark of this area and is located along the banks of Lake Wylie in Belmont, North Carolina on Highway 279 just west of Charlotte, North Carolina. It is a nature preserve which contains 450 acres that showcases the best of southern horticulture, themed gardens, a dozen sparkling fountains, a grassy outdoor amphitheater for concerts and other events, a stunning visitor pavilion and a gift shop. If you ever visit Charlotte, North Carolina, this is a place you must put on your “must-do-while-we-visit-Charlotte” list.

Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden gives all visitors a chance to reconnect with nature. HGTV named it one of the nation’s “20 Great Gardens” and USA Today says the garden is one of the nation’s best places to welcome fall with a flourish.

Future plans for the garden include a home demonstration garden, a boat water entrance with a lakeside visitor center, a children’s garden, a rose garden, a restaurant, and an Asian garden.

In 1989, Daniel J. Stowe, a retired textile executive from Belmont, reserved nearly 400 acres of property and provided funding to develop a world-class botanical garden to provide beauty and joy to future generations. He discussed his ideas with Bill Steele, his estate planner, and asked Steele to research botanical gardens across the U.S. and Europe.

On May 23, 1991 during Mr. Stowe’s 78^th birthday event, he announced his plans for the development of Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden. A temporary visitor center and surrounding gardens were constructed for the event. The building now serves as administrative offices.

In 1994, the Board of Directors of Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden approved a master plan for the garden. In 1999 the Visitor Pavilion, Formal Display Gardens and Perennial Gardens opened. Future development will be completed through public and private support over the next several decades.

The site where the garden is located was originally inhabited by Native Americans of the Catawba and Cherokee tribes who trapped, fished, hunted, and raised families here. Later, the area was home to early European settlers. In recent years the garden’s meadowlands have been used as pasture for farm animals, although much of the site is covered by mature deciduous woodlands and pine forest.

The French botanist Andre Michaux rode and walked across the garden property in 1795 and found new plants in Gaston County not far from the current location, including the Bigleaf Magnolia. More than 200 years later on this same land, the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden hosted a grand opening of 110 acres on October 9, 1999. The community was invited to join as founding members and that number ended with 5,297 members.

I was awe-struck when I traveled through this conservatory and photos are provided.

The Orchid Conservator at the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden is the only public conservatory in the region devoted to the display of tropical plants and orchids. The conservatory opened in January 2008 and features a wide range of plants that enable visitors to learn about tropical ecosystems around the world. The year-round display includes a display of orchids. Each winter, the garden presents its Orchid Spectacular, and in the fall, butterflies become a major added attraction in the display.

The Orchid Conservatory makes this a year-round facility to serve not only the general public but also schoolchildren. Educational topics vary by age group, but most focus on either horticulture or gardening. The curriculum-based school programs meet goals established by the North Carolina Standard Course of Study. The garden also offers year-round special events and classes from gardening and landscaping to pottery and cooking with herbs.

In addition to his love for plants, Daniel Stowe also loved birds and maintained several aviaries on his estate. The Garden Aviary brings the same sights and sounds of nature to this garden. The birds that live here include a Golden-Mantled Rosella, Society Finches, and Zebra Finches.

These birds tolerate extremes in weather conditions by acclimating, a process through which their metabolism gradually adjusts to outside conditions. In other words, these birds “gear up and down” with the seasons!

Birds require a diverse diet to meet their nutritional needs. These birds are provided a nutritionally balanced pellet mix that is often supplemented by fresh fruits and vegetables. Care of these birds is given by an Avian Vet Specialist, and daily care is maintained by trained Garden staff and volunteers. Fresh water is provided daily, even in freezing conditions.

• In case the garden runs out of maps, you may want to print a map of the whole layout before you arrive. When I visited they didn't have any maps to know where I was going so I just wandered around. You won't get lost but it's nice to know which garden you are actually looking at.
• There are a lot of bees flying around during the summer. It wasn't a problem but it's nice to know.
• Make sure you take your AAA card or senior discount card with you to get $2.00 off admission. Check into the group rates per adult if you have 15 people in your party. Children 4-12 years old and anyone over 60 years old have special admission rates. You can find the latest pricing at www.dsbg.org
• The Gift shop offers a lot of local handmade products like soap, lip balm, pottery, scarves, and jewelry.
• The plants and trees have small signs indicating which species they belong to. However, I noticed that many of them were not labeled at all.
• Every year at Christmas the entire garden lights up with Christmas decorations and lighting and it is incredible. Visiting this time of year is a great way to kick off the holiday season. Coffee, tea, and cocoa are offered for purchase while you visit.

It can take anywhere from 1-4 hours to tour the entire property, depending on your pace.

The facility is open 7 days a week from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. all year. The facility is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Day.

The address is 6500 S. New Hope Road, Belmont, NC Phone number 704-825-4490.

The group amenities include group tours (advanced reservations required), box lunches are available, bus/motorcoach parking is available on site, minimum group number is 15, private dining room is available and the capacity is 200 people, meeting rooms are available.

Discounts available are AAA, Group Discount, and Senior Discount. ADA-compliant, brochures are available on site, catering is available, handicapped parking, maps and brochures available, outdoor seating, parking on site, patio/rooftop, picnic area, printed guides available, self guided tours, customized tours.

Payment methods accepted: Cash, American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa, Personal Checks, and Travelers Checks