The Chapel Hill Garden Tour Returns, and One Featured Garden Is in Governors Club

Photo Credit: https://www.chapelhillgardentour.org/

Every spring, the Chapel Hill Garden Tour gives visitors the chance to step inside some of the area’s most beautiful and thoughtfully designed gardens. This year’s tour, themed “Sculpted & Soaring Skyward,” takes place April 25–26 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., rain or shine, and features five private gardens in Chapel Hill along with the North Carolina Botanical Garden, the Carolina Community Garden, and the American Indian Cultural Garden.

For Governors Club residents and anyone touring the area, this year’s event includes a special local highlight: the McGraw Garden in Governors Club. Located at 10413 Manly, Chapel Hill, NC 27517, the garden is one of the featured private stops on the tour.

The McGraw Garden is described by the Chapel Hill Garden Tour as a Japanese-inspired landscape defined by serenity, structure, and symbolism. Visitors are welcomed by a composed arrangement of large stones, a sweeping drive, and a ginkgo tree, then led through a garden where stone, water, and wood work together in the traditional language of Japanese garden design. The landscape includes dry creek beds, grasses, large stone groupings, and carefully placed plantings that create a calming, ordered atmosphere.

One of the most distinctive features of the McGraw Garden is its use of stone triads, a classic Japanese garden element symbolizing heaven, earth, and humankind. The property also includes notable plantings such as Japanese Black Pine, Autumn Gold Ginkgo, and Weeping Japanese Larch, along with seating areas that take advantage of beautiful views over the Governors Club golf course and beyond.

The Chapel Hill Garden Tour is more than a beautiful weekend event. According to the Chapel Hill Garden Club, the biennial tour helps fund donations to organizations that align with its mission. The North Carolina Botanical Garden is the primary beneficiary, and the club says tour proceeds have contributed $295,500 to date. The tour has also supported other local organizations and garden-related community efforts.

Tickets are $30 in advance and $40 on tour days. One ticket provides access to all gardens on both days. Visitors may tour the gardens in any order, and guides will direct parking at the sites.

For anyone who loves landscape design, outdoor living, and the beauty of spring in Chapel Hill, this event is worth adding to the calendar. And for those who have always wondered what makes Governors Club so special, the McGraw Garden offers one more glimpse into the beauty, character, and lifestyle that make this community stand out.

Learn more and purchase tickets through the Chapel Hill Garden Tour website.