Hillsborough -- Montrose

Four season gardening and propagating hard-to-find plants are the work of the owner of this 61-acre property with a 19th century house and outbuildings. The fall season from September into December brings more intense coloration to annuals and perennials while the gardener collects seeds, takes cuttings, divides and transplants perennials. In winter invasive trees and vines are pulled out of the woodlands and dead limbs are removed from the trees. The seeds that were collected are planted in little pots and kept in a cool, dark space for about six weeks then moved into a greenhouse for a year. In addition to the seedlings that are planted out in spring some are carried to new locations by the wind, mice or birds. There are 20 hillside wooded acres terraced in the 1930s that are the canvas for snowdrops, cyclamen, hellebores, primroses, crocus and other rare cultivars. Small groves of sabal palm, magnolia and sweetshrub were added to the mature trees. Sunny beds of flowers are grown on the site of the 19th century kitchen garden. Montrose has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2001, is a preservation partner with the Garden Conservancy, and participated in an Historic North Carolina Garden tour. Persons associated with the garden include: Kirkland (former owner, 1799- ); William A. and Susan Washington Graham and family members (former owners, 1842-1977); Thomas Paxton (landscape gardener, 1842).