Raulston Blooms!
A Garden Festival for All Ages
- Saturday, April 6, 2019 – 10:00 am–4:00 pm
What is it? Fun for the whole family! Learn, shop for your garden, get great ideas, and enjoy gourmet treats while supporting the JC Raulston Arboretum. We're rolling out the red carpet for members, home gardeners, families, and children by offering a day that's packed with garden and nature activities, shopping, and outdoor fun.
Enjoy
- JCRA Spring Plant Sale – plus select guest plant vendors
- 19th Annual Birdhouse Competition
- Gardening talks – learn from the experts
- Hands-on fun for children and families
- Invited artists and crafters
- Food trucks and NC State Howling Cow ice cream cups
- Educational displays and demonstrations

Gardening Talks
Get great ideas for your home landscape from the experts.
Mark Weathington, JCRA Director
Frank Hyman, Autho of Hentopia
Matt & Tim Nichols, Mr. Maple
Jonathan Lelito, Ph.D., BASF

Spring Plant Sale
Gardeners love buying hard to find plants selected especially for our climate by JCRA staff. Plus, this year's plant sale has been expanded and will include Pine Knot Farms, Mr. Maple, Superior Plants Nursery, and Green Hill Farm. Members will save 10% on JC Raulston Arboretum plants only. A plant list is available for online viewing.
Members-only Preview Sale
Members can shop early on Friday, April 5 from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm.
Not a member? Join today.

Birdhouse Competition
The 19th Annual Birdhouse Competition, which draws entries in categories from age six to adult, is inspiring, fanciful, and fun! It's a perennial hit with everyone from serious bird watchers and nature photographers to school classes and scouts.
Schedule of Events
- 10:00 am
- All Activities OpenJC Raulston Arboretum Plant Sale – Great Lawn
Superior Plants Nursery, Pine Knot Farms, Mr. Maple, and Green Hill Farm – Great Lawn
Educational Displays and Demonstrations – Great Lawn
Artists and Crafters – Great Lawn
Food Trucks – Great Lawn
Family Fun (Scavenger Hunt Begins Here) – The Yurt
19th Annual Birdhouse Competition , Howling Cow Ice Cream, and Used Book Sale – Ruby C. McSwain Education Center - 10:30 am
- Jonathan Lelito – "Living Acres: How to Help Support Pollinators in Your Garden and on Your Farm" – Speaker's Tent, Great Lawn
- 11:30 am
- Frank Hyman – "Hentopia: More Eggs, Less Work" – Speaker's Tent, Great Lawn
- 12:30 pm
- Matt and Tim Nichols – "Best Japanese Maples for the South" – Speaker's Tent, Great Lawn
- 2:00 pm
- Mark Weathington – "Plants for the South" and book signing – Speaker's Tent, Great Lawn
- 4:00 pm
- All Activities Conclude
Gardening Talks
Jonathan Lelito, Ph.D., Team Leader, Insect and Plant Propagation, BASF
"Living Acres: How to Help Support Pollinators in Your Garden and on Your Farm"
10:30 am – Speaker's Tent, Great Lawn
Frank Hyman, Frank Hyman, Author of Hentopia: Create a Hassle-Free Habitat for Happy Chickens
"Hentopia: More Eggs, Less Work"
11:30 am – Speaker's Tent, Great Lawn
Matt and Tim Nichols, Mr. Maple
"Best Japanese Maples for the South"
12:30 pm – Speaker's Tent, Great Lawn
Mark Weathington, Director, JC Raulston Arboretum
"Plants for the South"
2:00 pm – Speaker's Tent, Great Lawn
Educational Displays and Demonstrations
Herpetology Club at NC State
Leopold Wildlife Club
Wake County Extension Master Gardener Volunteers
Vermicomposting
Wake County 4-H
Wake Audubon
Bluebirders of Wake County
Five County Beekeepers Association
BASF (Pollinators and Monarchs)
Girl Scouts
Plant Sales
JC Raulston Arboretum
Superior Plants Nursery
Pine Knot Farms
Mr. Maple
Green Hill Farm
Artists and Crafters
Cedar Works by Frank
Kathryn Wiegand Artisanal Jewerlry
Mary Jo's Studio
Vole King
Food Trucks
Bam Pow Chow
Baguettaboutit
Dusty Donuts
Baltic Bites
Proceeds from Raulston Blooms! benefit the daily operations of the JC Raulston Arboretum. Raulston Blooms! is sponsored by and fund-raising efforts operate under the auspices of the North Carolina Agricultural Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit (tax ID 56-6049304).
- Cost
- Free for members and college students with college identification, $5.00 for nonmembers, $10.00 per family. Admission includes admission to the 19th Annual Birdhouse Competition and JCRA Plant Sale, too. The last tickets will be sold at 3:30 pm.
- Registration
- Tickets for Raulston Blooms! are available the day of the event at the entrance to the JC Raulston Arboretum.
- Cancellation
- This event is rain or shine and all ticket sales are final.
- Location
- JC Raulston Arboretum at NC State University, 4415 Beryl Road, Raleigh, North Carolina.
- Directions
- Need directions? Click here.
- Parking
- Free parking is available along Beryl Road and in the Brickhaven Building's parking lot.
- Questions
- Please call (919) 515-3132 for more information about this event.