Raulston Blooms! and Plant Sale
A Garden Festival for All Ages
- Saturday, April 26, 2025 – 10:00 am–3:00 pm
Come kick off the spring season at Raulston Blooms! The garden will be packed with nature inspired activities, a makers market, food trucks, and outdoor fun for everyone to enjoy.
Enjoy
- JCRA Spring Plant Sale – access to exceptional unusual plants
- 23rd Annual Birdhouse Competition
- Makers Market with artists and crafters
- Gardening talks – learn from the experts
- Educational displays and demonstrations
- Hands-on fun for children and families
- Food trucks and NC State Howling Cow ice cream cups
- Used gardening book sale
Schedule of Events
- 10:00 am
- All Activities Open
JC Raulston Arboretum Plant Sale – Great Lawn
Educational Displays and Demonstrations – Great Lawn, The Glade
Artists and Crafters – Great Lawn
Food Trucks – Great Lawn
Family Fun Scavenger Hunt – The Yurt
23rd Annual Birdhouse Competition Showcase, Howling Cow Ice Cream Cups, Used Gardening Book Sale – Ruby C. McSwain Education Center - 11:00 am
- "Rock Out Your Garden!" – North American Rock Garden Society Piedmont Chapter
- 12:00 pm
- "Hot Plants for 2025" – JCRA Hort Team
- 1:00 pm
- "Superpollinators: Simple Ways to Attract Native Bees" – Karen DiDonato, Nurtured by Nature Growers
- 2:00 pm
- "Orchid Care & Demonstration" – Ralph Belk, Triangle Orchid Society
- 3:00 pm
- All Activities Conclude
- Shop early during the Online Spring Plant Sale starting Thursday, April 3 for members and Monday, April 7 for everyone.
- Members can shop the in-person sale early during the Members Only Spring Plant Sale from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm on Friday, April 25.
- Shop at Raulston Blooms from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm on Saturday, April 26.
- NC Bluebird Society
- Piedmont Chapter of the North American Rock Garden Society
- Wake Audubon
- Animal Science Club at NC State
- NCSU Entomology Graduate Student Association
- NC State Agroecology Club
- Five County Beekeepers Association
- Triangle Orchid Society of North Carolina
- SOL Garden Club (Students for Organic Living)
- NC State Extension Master Gardener Volunteer of Wake County
- North Carolina Herpetological Society
- Southern Energy Management
- Cost
- Free for members and college students with identification (Student ID or Membership Card), $5.00 for nonmembers, $10.00 per family. Admission includes access to the JCRA Plant Sale. The last tickets will be sold at 2:30 pm.
- Registration
- Tickets for Raulston Blooms are only available the day of the event at the entrance of 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, NC 27606.
- Directions
- Need directions? Click here.
- Parking
- Free parking is available along Beryl Road. The JC Raulston Arboretum parking lot is reserved for handicapped parking only.
- Questions
- Contact the JCRA Events Team at jcra-events@ncsu.edu for more information about this event.
All Gardening Talks will take place in the Speaker's Tent on the Great Lawn:
Plant Sales
Our plant sale has a reputation for including hot new introductions, hard to find specialty plants, and our favorite reliable performers. Our horticulturists have been busy creating an amazing plant list including plants from greenhouses and nurseries around the country. This is a plant sale you don't want to miss!
Can't wait? There are three ways to shop the sale this year!
Whatever way you like to shop, there will be great plants to take home and enjoy!
We will be joined by these spectacular plant vendors during our Spring Plant Sale at Raulston Blooms! They will also be at the Members Only Spring Plant Sale on Friday evening.
Make sure to stop by their tents and find even more plants.
Makers Market: Artisans & Crafters
Make sure to stop by to see all that these local craft vendors have to offer! You'll never know what treasures you'll find.
Food Trucks
Educational Displays and Demonstrations
Make sure to take a stroll through the Glade to explore and learn all about the nature and horticulture world.
Proceeds from Raulston Blooms! benefit the daily operations of the JC Raulston Arboretum. All funds raised at Raulston Blooms! are collected and managed by the North Carolina Agricultural Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit (tax ID 56-6049304).