An assortment of multicolored tulips and diverse spring blooms will be on display for visitors at Tryon Palace during its semi-annual Garden Lovers Weekend, April 8-10 in historic downtown New Bern.
"These gardens are here for everyone to enjoy and Garden Lovers Weekend is a great chance to showcase the beauty of our gardens," said Keith McClease, Tryon Palace gardens operations supervisor. "We hope that those who may not have been to the Palace or gardens before can have a memorable experience here and become lifelong supporters of Tryon Palace."
Throughout Garden Lovers Weekend the 16 acres of Tryon Palace gardens will be open to the public free of charge. Tours of the Governor's Palace, historic homes, and the Pepsi Family Center and Regional History Museum in the North Carolina History Center will still require the purchase of a ticket.
A new, free exhibit, "Gardens of North Carolina," will open in the Duffy Exhibition Gallery at the North Carolina History Center Saturday, April 9, chronicling the history of garden and yard landscapes throughout the state.
Take home a reminder of the Tryon Palace gardens from the Spring Heritage Plant Sale, open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., April 8-9, on the Daves House lawn. Visitors can shop for a wide variety of perennials, herbs, annuals, trees and shrubs. Many items for sale are grown locally in the Tryon Palace greenhouse, but supplies are limited. The palace's Craft and Garden Shop will also be open on Friday and Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The 8th Annual East Carolina Pottery Festival will also be held during the weekend, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, April 9, inside the North Carolina History Center. More than 50 of eastern North Carolina's finest potters will exhibit their pottery for sale and provide various throwing and building demonstrations.
Each year Garden Lovers Weekend is held in conjunction with the Spring Historic Homes and Gardens Tour, sponsored by the New Bern Historical Society and the New Bern Preservation Foundation. A 10-percent discount on a Tryon Palace One Day Pass will be applied with a Spring Historic Homes and Gardens Tour ticket.