Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden — Attraction in Cramerton

Something is amiss here as the experience we had and what we saw DO NOT MATCH the reviews we're seeing! A recent visit told an entirely different story from the collected reviews on Google...

DSBG was once a beautiful gem and on a path to being a standout in the USA. What has happened?

At first when we arrived, things were looking pretty good. They've put in a new trail system and the entry road and wine-cabin thing looked inviting. Plantings by the lake are pretty and the first impression was positive.

Pulling into the main parking lot however, it was clear that things were not so great. Weeds were everywhere, poking through the pavement and walkways, formal hedges hadn't been trimmed last season (or arguably in a couple of years) and were dominated by dead tips and unmaintained ground bed plantings (despite the spring daffodils pushing up all over the place) were the dominant feature and a gloomy sense of "poor maintenance" or budget issues abounded. Inside the main building, we saw chipped, dirty paint, outdated signage/brochures and handouts and our mention of scalding water in the women's bathroom, when reported to staff, was responded to with a defeated, "we've told maintenance about it over and over." Supplies, chairs and event tables were stored haphazardly and in public view.

The main gardens were not better. BY FAR, the dominant species in the formal planted areas was grass and weeds. Sure, we were there during a shoulder season but the sheer number of freeze-damaged, absent or otherwise just dead plants was shocking. I saw many identifying marker signs for signature plants that were either dead, physically damaged or just not there. The base and structural plantings (hedging/trees/backgrounds) had obviously not been well maintained over the past few years and just by glancing around, it was clear that neither had the trellises, buildings, pergolas and pathways. Even the fountains showed signs that they hadn't been adjusted (or cleaned out) in at least 3 years! Loved the tattered chlorine feeders sitting where toddlers could easily get to them...

Ugly, disorganized infrastructure from holiday event activities litters the landscape and the poorly marked "improvement projects" currently underway look to be "low bidder" or minimal works - lipstick on a pig. Honestly, a visit to ANY public park, in ANY town (maintained by a local government with minimal resources) would have been a better use of our time than our visit to DSBG.

I frankly saw more spring blooms along the highway and in my own yard!

Oh, and the "Orchid Sanctuary." Just wow. It's clear that a failure of the heating system or a major staff problem has happened. 75% of the tropicals in the building showed signs of cold damage or were already totally dead. ALL of the signature orchids had died (except 2 tiny specimens) and their answer was clearly to go to the local garden center, buy $300 of potted orchids and zip-tie them IN THEIR GROWERS POTS randomly around the building. A little moss was evidently used to try and cover up the pots but price tags and bar-codes were still on many of them! All still had their stem stakes and greenhouse clips on the flower stalks and were still in the shipping medium!

On the way out, a stop at the cabin/wine and picnic operation was a disappointment too... While the concessionaire is obviously trying with wine sales, it's a bit disconcerting to look at the food offerings and find rotten "fresh fruit" in clamshells and sandwiches/wraps days past their expiration date on display in the coolers.

For me, there is a clear reason. Leadership. Sure, their past interim director went to prison for drugs but DSBG HAS A MASTER PLAN AND AN ENDOWMENT to build and operate this place! Letting the garden dwindle, fall apart and "go to seed" like this is an embarrassment to the region. This is clearly poor execution on the part of leadership.

An actual treasure here is being destroyed by neglect, poor volunteer leadership and lost vision. Someone...

Something truly special and stunningly majestic! This place exceeded my expectations and I'm still overjoyed after seeing a lush green and colorful array of flora as if Persephone herself was there tending the land. Walking through the Pergola's onto the succession of spectacular gardens, I was in complete wonderment. The Canal Garden was overflowing with fragrant blossoms and foxgloves lined the pathway as water features and fountains unfolded along the way. I admired an abundance of wonderful plants and sculptures strategically placed throughout in a vivid design. To my surprise, I noticed many plant species that I had never heard of or seen before, forever learning something new. The Orchid Conservatory with the waterfall wall was amazing. (I've always admired glass garden conservatories like the ones found in the US Botanical Garden in DC, Vizcaya Museum in Miami and Isabell Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.) And if you are an orchid and tropical plant lover, as I am, the conservatory is a must see. The White Garden reminded me of a secret English garden tucked away for tranquility. The children's area called, Lost Hollow, was crazy good. They had a mini amphitheater that reminded me of my visit to Ephesus last year where a reenactment of Cleopatra and Ceasar (or Mark Antony) was held. The childrens area also had a magical/enchanted Fae/Faery like area where you can play in little forest dwellings and king and queen stone carved throne chairs with views of walking trails below. There is so much to see and do here. You can't get bored here. There is so much to learn and explore or just unwind or have a romantic outing. In comparison to my favorite garden, Dallas Arboretum & Garden, I love North Carolina's tree-lined landscape that added a wilderness and untamed backdrop to the garden, giving it a balanced elegantly manicured but not overly groomed appeal. Sometimes it's attractive to be slightly wild and rough around the edges, checkout the wildflowers in the prairie area. As a bonus, this place offers garden classes and workshops, summer camps for children, opportunities for private events, and has two stores (including a gift shop). Special thank you to the lady who welcomed me in and explained the map and noticed I might do a little work and pointed out great shaded spots for working. (She lovingly expressed for me not to work too hard...much appreciated.) Many thanks to the Boards, donors, and staff for the...

I really hate writing negative reviews on places but after the unprofessionalism i encountered i have to let anyone looking to book anything here to know what to expect. I recently booked an "Engagement Package" here to do a small proposal to my girlfriend and was not communicated properly about what this actually includes. To start things off the first location they were tying to set me up in was in the corner of this "garden" which wasn't even a garden it looked like someones backyard with no flowers no decor nothing it was just tucked away next to some bushes so i requested to be moved in to the conservatory which there was no problem in doing so. Why recommend someone a corner to begin with is beyond me. Anyways, here is when it gets even better, on their website they advertise the package as "Proposal setup with floral decor" which is not the case, all you get in reality is the lettering. No flowers not even the candles because it was not even offered until i asked about the setup to the planner helping me out who's name was Monica. I sent her a picture of the "setup" they have advertised on their website saying if i can have something similar to it and she proceeds to tell me that "Thats an older picture and we no longer include as many flowers to make it more affordable" and heres the kicker she said if i wanted to bring flowers on my own and decorate that i could, ending it off with a smiley face, and this is why it bothered me so much, I MENTIONED THAT I WAS DRIVING DOWN FROM NY THE DAY PRIOR, WHEN WOULD I HAVE HAD TIME TO DO THIS?! I even told her that i don't even need the 2 hours, all i needed was 30 min to 1 hour to propose and that i could've been compensated that extra time with more decor. To not even try to work something out in any way is how you get negative reviews like this one. None of this was ever communicated to me prior to payment nor is it advertised anywhere on their website that the setup doesn't include as many flowers as before which i can see why, because who would want to just pay for letters which aren't even that nice to begin with. False advertisement is what it is. Such a huge let down, i should have looked at the most recent reviews beforehand. Maybe it use to be nicer i guess but what kind of customer service is this. Now i have to think of something else i can do within 3 days. Thanks for...