The stroll through The Tucker's gardens begins off Hermitage Drive on the Aurora pathway, lined with moss, hostas, wildflowers, ferns and shrubs. The stairs lead you around a formal granite fountain and up to the house. A look to the left allows a view of what appears to be a bell tower, off to the right, but hidden from view is Carolyn's Secret Place where Lenten Rose grows alongside woodland shade plants, Solomon's Seal and ferns. Many of the ferns have been transplanted from their property joining Morrow Mountain State Park in Stanly County. Trillium and May Apple are prolific in the Spring.

A waterfall and pond were added behind the house in 1992. River rock and slate stepping stones were hauled in by Bob and Carolyn for these projects from the creeks on their property in Stanly County. The pathway by the waterfall leads to the Jasmine Garden where Carolyn and the granddaughters have tea parties and around the corner is the Lovers' Garden where a bench for two is tucked away.

The walk continues to the dripping fountain where frogs jump out of view and bog plants grow. Next is the cypress arbor where stones from Israel are cemented into a wall; a rock garden and night garden are follow. A walk into the woods reveals the newest and not yet complete bog garden behind the Carriage House.

The entire property consists of 33 acres.

In the mid 1950’s , this modest residence was built for Harold Hornaday, the former president of Cannon Mills. When we purchased the home in 1998, the yard was pretty much devoid of flowers or anything else that bloomed. Sharon’s passion for flowers and other plants was inspired by her late father, who at one time, nurtured no less than 100 rose bushes. Sharon wasted no time in adding the covered patio and transplanting 25 roses bushes from her former residence in Salisbury. Each following year she added more rose bushes to the front yard garden. In recent years, we removed several leaning pine trees along the rear property line. This enabled us to erect a retaining wall, behind which Sharon planted a wide variety of perennials. These plants are hosts to many birds throughout the year.

Our backyard garden is the culmination of a dream to create an oasis for our family to truly enjoy outdoor living at its best. The focal point is a 75 foot lap pool combined with a family pool and hot tub for year round enjoyment. The infinity edge pool was designed to accommodate serious swimming and lots of family fun featuring fountains, a tanning platform and boulders for jumping into the deep end. Encasing the hot tub is beautiful purple and black glass tile that accents the black tones of the pool. A fully functional outdoor kitchen covered by a pergola ensconced in Lady Banks roses completes the design. Our garden is planted with many traditional southern plants including crepe myrtles, gardenias, azaleas, hydrangeas, camellias, hostas and dogwoods. Day lilies, Black-eyed Susans, Iris and other perennials provide lovely color throughout the summer. A small boxwood garden provides structure in the center of a stone patio that leads to the far backyard. Accenting the hardscape and beautiful plantings are several pieces of pottery by Daniel Johnston of Seagrove, NC.

Being bordered on two sides by a community theater and situated directly across from an elementary school gives the Williams’ garden an urban feel. The two-story red brick former church building which now houses the Old Courthouse Theater provides a handsome architectural backdrop to a mixed evergreen border of tea olives, various viburnums, camellias, aucuba, black bamboo, rhododendron, mahonia and leucothoe. Making the most of a small backyard, three separate yet interlocking patios offer an al fresco dining area adjacent to a tranquil, more secret garden and rustic water feature. Plentiful plantings of rhododendrons, azaleas, ferns and woodland groundcovers along with indigenous boulders and rockwork bring a relaxed North Carolina mountain feel to this garden. Well-shaded by five mature trees and several Japanese maples, the back garden blooms primarily in white. In sharp contrast to the structured and subtle color palette of the back, the front yard erupts in a riot of color spring, summer and fall. Favorite perennials include dahlias, peonies, sedums, ornamental grasses and daylilies as well as several kinds of herbs. The occasional tomato, pepper or even watermelon plant has found its way into this family’s deliberately haphazard combination of front garden plantings.

The home at 24 Spring Street NW was built in 1923 in the Queen Ann Revival style. The gardens hint at the history and age of the home in the choice of plant materials and design, while at the same time adapting today’s living into the overall design. The garden beds are mostly all raised and are planted to give the over grown feeling of an English garden. The garden has many perennials mixed with boxwoods and small understory trees. In the garden you will find English roses, an herb garden, a large collection of dayliles, large hostas, a fish pond, and patio and screened porch for entertaining. There is also the original children’s playhouse that is now used for garden storage. The garden was designed to enjoy its beauty while using the different areas like one would use different areas of their home. Mixed in the beds you will find a collection of large pottery urns and planters, some are made by Seagrove potter Daniel Johnston. Though there are some trees, and a large climbing rose that existed, the garden design and plantings were started approximately twelve years ago. Though a relatively new garden, the hope is that it looks like it has been there for many years. Enjoy!