Chapel Hill: Woodland Wonders
On my second, sodden loop back to the open-air water gardens, where a drizzle drove me into an oak grove, I paused at the semi-familiar sight from childhood. Not quite believing my eyes, I called out to a staffer but she vanished behind a door. Another, groundskeeping, came into view and I beckoned him over.
"Is this a baby box turtle?"
"Juvenile," he said, "two or three years old." I marveled. Having grown up around box turtles, I'd never seen one this small before. Or many, lately, for that matter.
Finding out last summer that this species has been decimated by poaching - having seen rescues from a raid in Miami of box turtles destined to be sold in Chinese markets - made me angry at humans in general, the almighty dollar in particular.
This was one of several moments of awe on a woodland wander in the rain at the North Carolina Botanical Garden. Unsurprisingly, I saw few others on the well-groomed pathways. We'd expected better weather when aiming here, but I wasn't about to let a little wet scare me off the trails. And in fact, this woodland garden looks amazing when dripping.
I was here for the carnivores, of course, since North Carolina distinguishes itself as the home of the venus fly-trap and numerous species of pitcher plants. The Carnivorous Plant Collection did not disappoint.
Dating back to the creation of the Coker Arboretum in 1903 for teaching University of North Carolina students, the North Carolina Botanical Garden grew from 70 acres to stewardship of over 1,200 acres in Chapel Hill. Between the rain and the time of day, we focused on the Display Gardens at the Allen Education Center, home to a botanical reference library and gift shop.
With exceptions like the Children's Garden, Herb Garden, Native American Garden, and Water Gardens, plantings are thematically within habitats, a fascinating range from sandhills and Piedmont to niches like pocosin and diabese glade. It's helpful to have identified plant groupings as you'd see them along hikes in North Carolina.
In fact, you can hike right out of a few gates into the adjoining forest. Or settle into a bird blind to watch songbirds and woodpeckers visit the feeders in the woods. And pause for wildlife.
Since the Display Gardens back up to Highway 54 behind the Totten Center, that corner tends to be noisy. But a walk into the woodland habitats drops the rush to a hush. An hour and a half allowed a lingering stroll with some birding thrown in.
100 Old Mason Farm Road
Chapel Hill, NC 27517
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