The Philanthropists Cultivating Carolina's Great Gardens
Behind the state's celebrated botanical gardens stands a network of donors who see horticulture as a public good worth sustaining.
The Carolinas' great public gardens do not sustain themselves. Behind them stands a quiet network of philanthropists who regard horticulture as a civic cause.
Beauty as public good
The state's celebrated botanical gardens depend on donors who fund their collections, conservation work and public programs. These patrons see the gardens as a public good — places of beauty, education and refuge open to all.
Their giving supports everything from rare-plant conservation to children's programming.
A living philanthropy
Unlike a building or an endowment, a garden is alive, requiring perpetual care. The philanthropy that sustains it must be equally ongoing.
The donors understand this, committing to institutions whose work is never finished. In cultivating the gardens, they cultivate something larger — a shared public inheritance of beauty and knowledge, tended across generations for the benefit of everyone who walks through the gates.
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