The Bog Garden - Greensboro, North Carolina - Public Garden and Nature Sanctuary

The Bog Garden in Greensboro, North Carolina is one of three public parks maintained by Greensboro Beautiful Inc. This organization works in conjunction with the City of Greensboro and its citizens to conserve and enhance the beauty of the city. Set up in 1968 as a non profit group it is reliant upon volunteers, and staff of the city Parks and Recreation Department to maintain the beauty of the area.

The organization has created three different gardens; The Bicentennial Garden, The Greensboro Arboretum and The Bog Garden, with a fourth due to be opened in late 2009. Each garden has its own identity serving to provide enjoyment for the community and its visitors, and are open all year round from sunrise to sunset. Greensboro also hope that the gardens provide additional benefits such as education, environmental conservation, health and recreation.

Set within Benjamin Park at Hobbs and Starmount Farms Road, the Bog Garden is perhaps the most unusual of the gardens and was officially opened in 1991. It displays not only beautiful plants but also attracts many birds and animals indigenous to the area. The garden can be explored by following a half mile raised wooden walkway, which acts as a path over the wetland.

The conservation aspect of the garden is underlined by as many as 16,000 plants that were recovered from construction and development sites. Aside from the lush planting of shrubs, trees and ferns, there is a lake attracting geese, ducks and turtles. Many people like to visit the lake to watch and feed the birds.

Another big attraction at the Bog Gardens is the 160 foot Dr. Joe Serenity Falls, which are named after Dr. B Joseph Christian. Dr Christian is a retired physician and founder of the park and was largely responsible for the construction of the falls. Not only are the falls dedicated to Christian, there is also a bronze statue of him near the entrance to the bog garden to welcome visitors.

Dr Christian's idea for the park came about quite simply through walking the wetland, and thinking it would be nice to have plants and flowers to grace the area. His passion for plants has seen him travel up to 500 miles to collect plants for the bog garden. He helped coordinate resources to rescue plants from being destroyed, whilst also growing many in his own greenhouse.

The Bog Garden can be found to the southeast of the Bicentennial Garden, which has a parking lot in Hobbs Road. There is also parking available in Starmount Farms Road. Admission is free of charge but bicycles are not permitted on the Bog Garden trails.

Reviews of the gardens left by visitors are very positive. People are struck by the serenity and beauty of the gardens, and the many varieties of plants, flowers and birds that are found at the Bog Garden. Some offer the advice of the need to take along bug spray though.