{"id":788,"date":"2023-10-03T14:11:30","date_gmt":"2023-10-03T18:11:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.juniperlevelbotanicgarden.org\/?page_id=788"},"modified":"2025-12-09T17:53:46","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T22:53:46","slug":"history","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.juniperlevelbotanicgarden.org\/history\/","title":{"rendered":"History & Milestones"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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A flat tobacco field transformed by a strong vision<\/p>

Our history<\/h1><\/div>

Juniper Level Botanic Garden, JLBG, was established in 1986 when Raleigh native Tony Avent and his wife Michelle purchased a 2.2 acre abandoned sandy loam tobacco field (9241 Sauls Rd.) in the community of Juniper in Southern Wake County (central North Carolina). <\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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A flat tobacco field transformed by a strong vision<\/p>

Our history<\/h1><\/div>

Juniper Level Botanic Garden, JLBG, was established in 1986 when Raleigh native Tony Avent and his wife Michelle purchased a 2.2 acre abandoned sandy loam tobacco field (9241 Sauls Rd.) in the community of Juniper in Southern Wake County (central North Carolina). <\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Juniper Level<\/h2>
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The garden name originated from \u201cjunipers\u201d which used to grow along nearby Juniper Branch. These plants were Chamaecyparis thyoides<\/em>. Conifers are not new to the area, since more than a ton of 90 million year old (Cretaceous Period) petrified conifers and palms have been excavated from the JLBG property. The southern term \u201cLevel\u201d is used for the flat areas between creeks, hence the community name, Juniper Level.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Panther<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Historical landmark<\/h2><\/div>

The community of Juniper is also home to a National Historical Site, a preserved Rosenwald School, located just a few hundred feet north of the gardens. The Panther Branch Rosenwald School at Juniper Level, which operated from 1926-1956, is owned by the Juniper Level Missionary Baptist Church, and was fully restored in 2021. Rosenwald schools, a partnership which began in 1912, between Booker T. Washington and Julius Rosenwald, worked to fund and build safe and clean schools for descendants of freed slaves, during a time when our society was sadly still segregated. JLBG is proud to be a community partner with the Panther Branch Rosenwald School.<\/p>

Learn more<\/span><\/path><\/svg><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Soil preparation<\/h2><\/div>

For the first eight years, Tony would return home from his day job as Landscape Director of the NC State Fairground each day with a truckload of composted leaves, which would be spread and later roto-tilled into the undernourished sandy loam. This continued from 1986-1994, when he gave up his day job to focus on building the nursery. By that time, on-site composting had evolved, using debris from land clearing, along with purchased organic waste products.

Today, we generate all of our compost on-site, composed of garden maintenance debris from JLBG, shredded leaves from the collection efforts of the adjacent Town of Garner contractors, and plants we kill in the nursery. This is mixed using commercial loaders at 50\/50 with our native sandy loam.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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JLBG composting aerial view<\/em><\/div><\/div>
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JLBG leaf mulch stock pile<\/em><\/div><\/div>
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Large rental loader turns compost<\/em><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>