Tony Avent - Plant Explorer, Breeder and Nursery Owner

Tony is the founder of the Juniper Level Botanical Garden in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is operated in conjunction with his nursery business and functions as an evaluation, research, teaching and display garden.

A few years ago a friend gave me the most incredible plant catalog from a mail order nursery out of North Carolina. It was big and beautiful and loaded with unusual, unique and "impossible" to find perennial plants. I pored over it for months trying to decide which of the dozens of "gotta haves" I could afford. For me the especially alluring items were drought tolerant selections that would survive in a dry sunny spot at my place called The Hill. Within those entertaining and enticing pages I selected from dozens of Agaves, Aloes and Yuccas. There were such temptingly cool plants I ran out of budget long before I got to the 300 varieties of Hosta for which this nursery is famous.

Such was my introduction to Plant Delights Nursery and to its founder Tony Avent. After spending so much time poring over the catalog and browsing his web site I felt like I knew him. Now that I do, I am eager to introduce him to you as Floridata's newest Celebrity Gardener. Tony is already well know to the horticultural community through his professional work and nursery business.

Tony and his wife Michelle live within the Juniper Level Botanic Garden and this is the view from their back patio late last spring. What a plant lover's paradise!

A man of many talents, he is also an award winning writer. Over the years he has contributed articles to many of the top gardening and horticultural publications. North Carolina residents recognize him from the weekly garden column that he wrote for the Raleigh (NC) News and Observer for more than a decade. Tony remains a prolific writer and currently serves as a Contributing Editor at Horticulture Magazine.

"It was certainly devastating to watch as homes began to take more and more of the land that was formerly rich with wildflowers. I remember watching in agony nearly 20 years ago, as land was cleared for South Hills Mall near Cary. Several of us worked frantically to rescue atamasco lilies, yellow lady slipper orchids, and trilliums, and much more from the building site."

Forms and textures harmonize across the rock garden where many of the nursery's unusual plants and new introductions can be seen.

His love of plants grew and led him to North Carolina State University where he earned a B.S. in Horticultural Science. After graduation he became the Landscape Director at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds, a position he held for more than a decade. In 1988 he began work on what became Juniper Level Botanical Gardens and founded his now world famous business Plant Delights Nursery, Inc.

In the years since, the nursery has prospered and the Juniper Level Botanical Garden has grown in size from 5 to 16 acres. Tony likes to be close to his work and he and his wife Michelle have situated their home within this magnificent setting.

He writes: "We live in the midst of Juniper Level Botanic Garden. We wanted to build our botanic garden around homes so that people could see how to use the plants in a similar setting. The gardens now engulf 2 houses (one converted to a office) and contain just over 16,000 different plant accessions. The garden actually is pretty amazing to visit which is why we have visitors from around the world for open house days..."

Tony in the wilds of Argentina on a plant expedition in 2002.

In addition to hosting educational and research facilities, Juniper Level Botanic Garden is also the home of the Plant Delights Nursery where Tony oversees a large staff that includes a researcher and propagation specialists. This dedicated team is the reason the nursery is able to offer such a wide selection of unusual species and varieties. That and the fact that Tony has spent the last couple decades traveling the globe in search of new beauties for us to grow. As a plant explorer Tony has conducted expeditions to such far flung locales as China, Korea, Mexico and Argentina. He has also explored for plants closer to home in search of native treasures in Texas, North Carolina and even near my home here in Florida's panhandle!

He explains why he became a plant explorer: "I had spent many hours tromping through the local woods. From an early age, I remember rescuing wildflowers just ahead of the bulldozers, while always looking for and selecting unique forms of wildflowers. I would bring these back to plant in my family garden and observe the clonal differences. Even at a young age, I was amazed by the diversity that existed within a single species. I could not understand why commercial nurseries didn't seem interested in making similar selections and then offering these plants for sale."

I asked Tony which, of all of the plants introduced by his nursery over the past years, was his favorite. He was unable to choose one but came up with these top three. I can sure understand how difficult it would be to pick a fav among the many stunning "Plant Delights" he has brought to the market! (All are available through PlantDelights.com)

Tony returns from his globe-trotting expeditions laden with plants and seeds. Once home they are grown and evaluated for use as garden plants in the southeastern United States. Tony writes: "Once we understand the plant and can determine its garden and potential commercial value (if any) and lack of aggressive weedy tendencies, the plant will be propagated for commercial offering." Those that make the cut are propagated and eventually offered for sale by his nursery.

Tony is also a collector and breeder with his specialty and passion being hostas (Hosta spp.) Many of those unusual varieties that bejewel the pages of the the Plant Delights catalog have originated from his ongoing breeding programs. I often marvel at the persistence and dedication that many of us gardeners exhibit in our quest to collect our favorite plants. I wonder why we exert such great effort and expense and asked Tony "Why hostas?". His reply: "As for hostas, it's probably the leaf variation usually found only in tropical plants, plus there are actually enough of them to collect. They also don't need spraying like roses." With more than 300 hosta's now offered, I think his nursery would be a good place to go to start your own collection!

Martha Stewart hosted Tony on her television show in February of 2004 and featured his book. (Look for him on re-runs of Martha's Living show.

Although busy with the nursery, writing, plant exploring and breeding Tony still finds time to conduct classes at Juniper Level and is available for speaking engagements. He recently completed a book that should prove invaluable to budding nursery owners. It's called "So, You Want ot Start a Mail Order Nursery" and I think it's a "must read" for anyone thinking of going into this kind of business. You can visit Tony and his plants online at www.plantdelights.com. The Juniper Level Botanic Garden hosts Open House weekends throughout the Spring. Visit the web site for times and driving directions.

- Jack Scheper 3/22/04

Photographs are Copyright 2004 Plant Delights Nursery, Inc. and are used here by permission.

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